After several tries, Archways finally managed to pry open their bleary eyes to greet the morning sun. It had been six grueling days of walking until they reached the start of the Path at last. The only eventful things that happened all came from dealing with Alive-one, whose outbursts had become even more frequent and lasted longer without their space and plants to soothe them. Archways frequently caught them at night gazing back towards the direction of their home and a couple of times early on trying to walk back.
Archways stretched out their aching body to try to wake up some more but last night hadn't been restful at all as what seemed to be becoming routine. The two of them had such a lack of sleep from all of the fits and second guessings that last night they passed out beneath the starry skies just before hitting the wind barrier that encased the path. It was far from being as comfortable as Alive-one's beds and coupled with the worry that the tall white cloak would try to sneak off into the night it made sleep extremely light.
It was only after they blinked most of the sleep out of their eyes that they noted that it wasn't just the typical heaviness that was making it hard to wake up fully, but hollowness. It had started about four days into the trip and had only gotten worse as time dragged on.
They almost jolted awake as they remembered to check for Alive-one, only relaxing once they saw the ancestor sprawled out right next to them, having not moved during the night for once. They knew better than to try and wake Alive-one up themselves, they'd just have to wait, but meditating wasn't an option; they knew that they'd just fall asleep again. Instead, they rose up and continued stretching, even pacing about a little bit to work out the stiffness.
Eventually, their shuffling legs and ruffling cloak brought Alive-one back to the waking world, who also had to blink the sleepiness out of their eyes and stretch to fully wake up.
Neither of them really talked just quick simple morning's greetings as the two tended to themselves.
Soon though, the two started on the last bit of their trek towards the Path with Archways leading the way. They didn't need a map anymore as half-way through the fourth day the Mountain had appeared on the horizon, faint and distant but a welcoming sight all the same.
"Wind wall soon." Archways informed Alive-one as they approached the edge of the Path.
"Wind wall?" Alive-one half-heartedly questioned. They felt like garbage and couldn't really think well.
"Wind wall around Path. Stops less experienced being lost," Archways explained. "Strong and pushing."
Alive-one didn't respond verbally, only scrunching up their eyes as they puzzled over the little red cloak's words. Why was there some kind of barrier around this so-called Path to the Mountain? Who were the 'less experienced'? The place looked barren of all life… no people, no cloth, no animals, and no plants; just long-abandoned ruins occupied the place. Were all the less experienced dead now? Is that why they left in the first place?
Their thoughts were interrupted because suddenly they were yanked off their feet and flung forwards, sand whipping their panicking, tumbling form. But it was an incredibly short affair and soon the two were in clear, sand-free air again.
"Misjudged where wind wall was." Archways sheepishly tweeted as they shook the sand off of them. The ancestor didn't respond to the little red as they fought down the surge of adrenaline and shook more than needed to get the sand off.
"Where..now?" Alive-one managed to get out as they searched feebly about, unable to get enough grip on themself to focus on anything in particular.
"There! Waving cloths!" Archways chirped enthusiastically, a smile beamed from them despite the tiredness. Alive-one squinted towards the direction the little red pointed to before switching to closing their bad eye fully in order to see the objects on the horizon. But what they saw made their heart sink.
The "waving cloths" were attached to two gravestones; a chilling sight.
But the little red was absolutely cheerful despite it and treated it like a welcomed sight.
"How morbid." Alive-one whispered quietly enough to go unnoticed.
"Start of Path!" Archways said as they sped ahead, leaving Alive-one to start jogging after them despite their nerves. Archways surfed through the sands with practice ease, only slowing down for the struggling Alive-one. Maybe when they got to the bridge area they could stop for a lesson or two.
But for now, Archways began trudging up the dune as soon as Alive-one caught up. With each step, Archways became more and more filled with wonder and excitement, those feelings never having diminished despite the countless journeys. And here at the top of the dune next to the two beckoning graves with their strips of cloth waving in greeting, drawing curious eyes towards them to show them to the larger goal beyond, Archways closed their eyes and savored the moment. They bathe in the familiarity of the Path, of the calling light of the Mountain, of the complete relief and ease they now felt, to be home…
At least… momentarily.
Alive-one had glanced down the dune immediately, too hasty to pause for the brief but important moment. For them, the beginning of the Path seemed to start with a warning and not a call. Alive-one slid down the dune in sobering silence as they slowly wandered into the graveyard, a caught-off-guard Archways stumbling to catch up.
Archways watched with apprehension as Alive-one leaned down to gaze at a gravestone with downcast eyes before moving onto the next. This wasn't new, Alive-one had been stopping at every graveyard they came across, and yet they didn't know what to do. Archways followed behind the white cloak as they slowly wandered about to examined each stone.
"?"Archways pinged after a time had passed, causing Alive-one to startled out of their thoughts.
"Sorry… I'm just… searching is all." Alive-one quietly chirped back the same answer they always gave as they straightened themself out. Archways cooed in response – in the back of their mind they recognized that these stones marked the final resting places of those who had died, but it was an impersonal affair for themself. They didn't know any of these people, who they were, or what they were like. But it must be entirely different for Alive-one.
"Who?" Archways asked, knowing deep-down that Alive-one was searching for someone in particular. They had asked before, but Alive-one never gave a straight answer.
Alive-one was silent for a long moment and they wondered if they would ever answer the repeated question when Alive-one finally whispered a wavering answer. "A.. friend.. I guess."
"Who?" Archways repeated, hopeful that they were finally getting somewhere, as they slowly walked to the ancestor's side. Alive-one glanced down at them but didn't face them fully, instead, they peered down at the next stone in front of them as they spoke again.
"I.. didn't catch their name… only their glyph." They vaguely said as they looked away from Archways to examine yet another gravestone. "But… they did save my life."
"Their glyph? Help?" Archways offered. Alive-one mulled the idea over in their head before shaking it.
"No… But thank you," Alive-one squinted their eyes with a sad smile at the red cloak. "It's a bit of a fool's quest anyway and I don't even know if they came this way."
"Their glyph?" Archways pushed. Alive-one paused their idle search to look at Archways with an unreadable expression before looking towards the sand and nodding reluctantly. Their foot slowly shifting the sand until it read:
l -_ l l
_- l U
Archways studied it for several moments, but eventually shook their head; they didn't recognize that glyph from any of the stones… though perhaps there was one at the mountain with the symbol on it? The storm there made it very hard to actually get a good glimpse of what symbols the gravestones had so there was a chance…
Soon, however, Archways was struck by a lightning of revelation.
They now knew the word for 'name'.
It was too bad that they didn't get a chance to ask Alive-one for their name because suddenly they gave a loud boom of surprise. Archways swiveled to where the white cloak stared dead-on and spotted the first glyph… or at least where the glyph would be if Archways hadn't already grabbed it nearly two weeks prior. But they knew, they knew Alive-one hadn't and could therefore see.
"Is… Is that a glyph?" Alive-one spoke in quiet awe as they kept their gaze locked on the ever-shifting glyph. Archways simply nodded and trotted up to it, stopping just at the base of the broken platform. Alive-one was still stuck in place as they looked between Archways and the glyph. Archways pinged and gestured for the unsure ancestor to come closer.
"I… I-I can't take… that."Alive-one stuttered. "I-I-I… I mean you should have it."
"I did." Archways stated plainly like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What? Excuse me? But it's right there!" Alive-one blasted out their bewilderment.
"Not for me." Archways calmly explained as they climbed up the rest of the way to show them. Alive-one stared at them with curiosity and suspicion as their eyes followed the red cloak up the platform only to be shocked when… nothing happened. The little red cloak was standing right in the middle of the glyph and yet it wasn't being drawn in.
Alive-one stood in stunned silence, long enough that Archways was starting to get a little bit worried.
"Come up?" Archways asked, but Alive-one just blinked once and proceeded to wheeze out an awful squeak. "You… Okay?"
Though they still didn't speak, Alive-one was now taking a few tentative steps forward, eyes locked and now thoroughly confused. Just before they were within reach, they abruptly stopped.
"H…How?"Alive-one quietly managed to struggle out. Archways could only shrug; they never really thought about it, it was just the way things were. Alive-one continued to falter as they rapid-fired off face after face trying to piece together a puzzle they clearly did not understand. All their subsequent sentences ended up half-form at best and single syllables at worst; if Archways wasn't so concerned they'd be giggling their glyph out at Alive-one being the one to speak gibberish now.
"Up to glyph?" Archways offered again. They watched with worry as Alive-one puffed out tensely again and wondered if they were really going to have an outburst so soon into the day. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case… yet.
"I can't." Alive-one's cloak fell with defeat.
"You can." Archways cooed encouragingly. "Everyone does."
"… Everyone?" Alive-one's head shot up in surprise. "But… I thought everyone was dead?" Archways blinked a moment, to register the words, and then calmly considered them. They thought it had been obvious from the previous pictures that there were others like Archways but they guessed it didn't come across quite right. They only ever put one other person in each picture despite them thinking about multiple people. Perhaps they thought there had been only one other who, for whatever undesirable assumption, was no longer around?
"Those like you, zero."Archways clarified. "Those like me, many."
"Oh." Alive-one muttered under their breath and Archways worried about the tone, it sounded almost like… resentment, but it was too quiet to be sure.
"There are… Six like you." Archways added. "Dead, but speak."
"Ah yes… the six statues, the six messengers." Alive-one emptied-ly said. "Was this one of them?" Archways looked to where they gestured. Just behind the first glyph was –technically speaking- the first statue, though Archways called it the seventh statue simply because they hadn't realized until their third journey what it was. It was one that was broken, their top half completely missing, unable to offer words or pictures or to provide support up at the Mountain. But…
"Seventh… gives first glyph. Gift."
Alive-one didn't respond right away, but Archways saw their eyes lighten. They weren't yet free of whatever negative thoughts ran through the ancestor's head, but it was a step in the right direction.
"Even… for me?" Alive-one finally brought their head up to look directly into Archways' eyes and what the red cloak saw made their soul ache. They looked so small right now and so very, very lost; Hopeless, and yet hopeful at the same time.
"Gift for everyone." Archways softly affirmed, stepping aside to give the tall white cloak the clear go-ahead.
And still they hesitated, looking between Archways and the glyph unsure of themself.
But, eventually, Alive-one took a small step forward, and then another, and another.
Within several long tentative moments, Alive-one was eventually engulfed by blinding light, only to soon reappear as they normally did… well, almost normally. Archways gave a series of prolonged excited chitters and quickly searched the nap of the tall one's neck for a little scarf. Only, it wasn't there. The little backpack was still there and Archways wondered if the scarf got hidden under it.
"Look down." Alive-one chirped with frail amusement. Archways obeyed until their eyes rested at the very bottom of the ancestor's cloak. Small and tattered, there was a scarf - if it could be called that; from where it was placed it looked more like a stub of a tail.
"Not much to look at is it?" Alive-one mournfully commented on the pitiful state of the scarf.
"You have one, I have three." Archways replied instantly while looking up to watch the little school of cloth flyers come down to show Alive-one how to fly. Instead, as quick as a whip, Alive-one bolted off the platform leaving behind a startled Archways who stumbled and fell off. The fall wasn't a long one but it hurt a lot harder than it should have. The red cloak wheezed as they tried to recover and they wondered why they didn't bounce back up like they always had before. A shadow suddenly engulfed them and Archways dazedly looked up to see an anxious Alive-one.
"Are you okay?" They asked with big wide eyes. Archways simply nodded and struggled to stand up, but had to rest halfway. As they gathered their strength back, Alive-one thoughts were racing one after the other in a battle of what to do. This was exactly the reason why they had wanted the little red cloak to take the glyph, they could see that their body had become a few shades duller and the light of their eyes noticeably dimmer as the days went by. But indecision of where to take the clingy child to top their energy back up had cost them time. Frustration built up again in the back of their mind, of their own indecision, of the little red's stubbornness to travel so far away from the safety and comfort of their home, and then at themself once more for even thinking of being so selfish as to stomp on their excitement for this trip. They vigorously shook their head, shoving their wild emotions deep down in a too shallow pool, and instead tried to focus on a solution.
The easiest solution was just to lean forward to try and give a light touch; it was a simple way of sharing the energy and they had seen such acts often in their distant past, even if by accident. But instead they ended up frozen a few mere inches away from contact. Their compassion drove them to help but all-encompassing terror held them back from doing so, no matter how much they tried to reason it off as irrational at this point. They were two hundred and fourteen years long gone.
"Are… there any other glyphs around?" They asked, only to quickly to amend it as not to come across as greedy. "For you, you look like you need it."
"Need?" Archways tweeted in confusion.
Alive-one paused.
"Excuse me?" They finally managed to click out the question.
"Need… Glyph?" Archways repeated their question with a slight bit of clarification.
"Yes?" Alive-one said with visible confusion. How old was the little red one, now that they thought about it? Too young to realize that they needed energy to function and live but too old to be just born as evident of their flying skills, knowledge, and other ticks. It didn't make sense!
"Yes!" They repeated after they realized they had been staring. "You don't run on infinite energy! Look at you! Have you not noticed yourself fading away?"
They watched as the little red's face switched from confusion to understanding in a flash. Archways felt a piece of a puzzle click into place that they didn't even know existed. They looked down at their far more brittle cloak, felt that creeping hollowness deep within them, and realized something fundamental. All this time they thought the ancestors were fueled solely by greed after the last of the power had run out, that they were so blinded by said power that they went to war over scraps of it.
But in reality, it seemed it was less greed and more desperation. They weren't just fighting for power but because they were starving to death.
"How did you not know?" Alive-one asked in a quiet tone.
"I… never leave Path." Archways replied.
"Never?"
"Longest I've was away." Archways shook their head before turning to watch the cloth flyers curiously. "They help?" Alive-one turned to where Archways was looking and nodded.
"They only give a little bit, nothing like a Glyph, but was it does help. Yet I wouldn't -"
"Help you?"
Archways watched as the one-from-before stiffened at the suggestion and tilted their head in thought. Surely Alive-one had been feeling as awful as they were now right? When they were traveling they needed the energy too? Then why were they practically bristling at the mere mention? It made their touch aversion much more extreme then, if they'd rather starve than touch another living thing. … Except now that they thought about it, it was also a two-way thing. Was it selfish, to not share? Or self-preservation, to keep oneself going? Or did others, way back when, use it as a means to steal another's energy so they themselves could keep going?
Archways shuddered at the thought.
"Not now?" Archways said after Alive-one didn't move or speak. Perhaps they shouldn't touch the flyers either, considering everything.
"No… I'm good, that one glyph was enough." Alive-one's cloak sagged and they turned away from the cloth flyers. "Where to now?"
"This way to First." Archways motioned with their head, starting to follow the trail of flyers towards the first statue. "And two more glyphs near."
"You can have them." Alive-one automatically said.
"Already did. You have one, I have three." Archways repeated.
"Right…" Alive-one muttered sheepishly, watching as Archways decided to avoid the little flyers, a good indicator that there weren't just three glyphs on this Path and that they could wait a little longer. All too soon the two of them were overlooking the ruined building that signified the true start of the Path.
Archways couldn't tear their eyes away from the center where the first statue beckoned them forward with its light.
Alive-one couldn't stop the pit of dread that was slowly yawning wider and wider as they got closer and closer to those dead eyes.
