Blake and Sylvia go to visit Dommy-Mommy in order to find out more about the tablet, the Forest of Darkness, and all sorts of other things about this world that may help them find their way back home. What secrets will she have to share with them? Well, we'll have to find out!
Also, thank you to everyone who read my story "The Heir to the Dragon". I would appreciate if you continue to read and support it in the future! You can get there through my profile!
The votes for the Elimination Round have begun to pick up, that's pretty good! Hope we can start getting them to role in! I've been very surprised by the results of this poll so far, some people are leading that I never would have expected, and some people are trailing behind who I thought would be frontrunners. Just goes to show how much things have changed since last year!
Nominated: Alcea, Ayame, Carrie, Caelia, Cynthia, Dakota, Darla, Elaina, Elizabeth, Julia, Kate, Kitty, Lila, Maddi, Marion, Nikita, Olivia, Sango, Sylvia
KedharS: It probably won't be.
Rowlets and Oshawotts: Interesting, what foreshadowing have you noticed? I like when people tell me how clever I am, heh.
Aquahaze675: I think it's a cute name. But we definitely have too many Vals at this point.
JoshGamerV: Hopefully everything will make sense and be okay in the end. We just have to get there.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 641
Blake and Sylvia followed Valaya to the tent where the Valdette Sylvia had labeled "Dommy-Mommy" resided.
"Is it just me, or is Dommy-Mommy's tent a little bit larger than the others?" Sylvia mused. "From what I've seen, this society of yours doesn't seem to be hierarchical, but then again, she was the one leading your Feeding ceremony… I find that to be quite interesting indeed." She turned to Blake and smirked. "What do you think, Blake?"
Blake didn't really care about the politics of the Valdette and Valetty. He was more concerned with what this Valdette would have to say. Sylvia might have been able to trade between "fun mode" and "business mode" at the drop of a hat, but Blake found himself to be a little bit less favorably inclined towards that.
There was a very real possibility that they would end up being stuck here forever. With that in mind, part of Blake deeply regretted having left his headphones in his room when he went to go meet up with Sylvia. But now definitely wasn't the time to be concerned with something like that.
"Please, Sylvia, do not refer to her by that name when we're actually engaging in the conversation, I'm begging you," Blake groaned as Valaya opened the tent flap.
"Why?" Sylvia asked, raising her eyebrow in confusion. "I mean, it's not like she's going to know what the words actually mean, right?"
"What do the words mean?" Valaya asked curiously, glancing back at the two. She kept asking, but neither of the humans had volunteered an answer. Sylvia smirked and Blake glanced at her, shooting her a warning look.
"Fine, fine," Sylvia sighed, rolling her eyes. She flashed Blake a coy smile. "For you, Blake, I'll be on my best behavior. I'm still appreciating the fact that you actually trusted me when I said that we've been here for two years. I expected you to have more of kicking, screaming, 'it's not fair, I wanna be with Aya, Sylvia you're a lying poopoo head!' sort of response."
Blake gave her another look that she returned with a smirk.
"Um, humans, she's waiting for you," Valaya said, looking at them a little uncomfortably. Blake and Sylvia dropped their conversation and followed her into the tent, the flap closing behind them and flooding them with darkness.
"Welcome, humans." The Valdette who addressed him was nothing more than a set of glowing eyes in the dark, with the only other source of light coming from Valaya's own eyes. "She said you two wished to speak with me about the Forest of Darkness?"
"Yes, definitely," Sylvia said. "But there is just one little thing before the discussion can take place in full, see, I've kind of noticed that there isn't much in the way of indoor lighting in your tents, and I was wondering…"
"Indoor… lighting?" The Valdette asked.
"I don't know what that is," Valaya said.
Sylvia sighed. Right. Of course they wouldn't know. "What I mean is, since you Valetty and Valdette can see in the dark, you guys can see us perfectly fine, right?"
Both sets of eyes bobbed up and down in confirmation.
"Well, Blake and me, we can't see shit," Sylvia said. "Because your tents have no light. So I was wondering if we could take this conversation outside, maybe? Somewhere where I can see the looks on your guys' faces?"
"Sylvia, is that really such a big deal?" Blake asked. He didn't get the point of this objection, considering they didn't need to see each other to have a conversation. Part of him wondered if Sylvia was just messing around. "Let's just talk here, you don't need to be rude to our hostess."
"It's an incredibly big deal to me," Sylvia said, her voice going from jovial to sharp. "I do better in conversations if I can speak with people face to face. I'm sure that you know what I mean by that, don't you Blake?"
He did have a pretty good idea what she meant by that. Sylvia was probably counting on her ability to catch the Valdette in a lie by watching her facial tics. It was just another of her annoying little habits that allowed her to mess with people.
Blake couldn't actually see her face in the darkness, but he could distinctly feel her cold stare aimed right at him.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," Blake asked a little gentler. He turned to Valaya. "Valaya, is that okay?"
"Why did you call her Valaya?" The other Valdette suddenly asked. "After her evolution she is a Valdette."
"Valaya is my name!" Valaya proudly declared. "Blake helped me come up with it! I'm still trying to get used to it, though."
"…So you now refer to yourself the way humans do. With different words. This is what a 'name' is, then? Indeed, I've heard the Traveler use that word before, though I never imagined another Valdette would choose a name," the Valdette mused. Blake wasn't sure if she was upset by that or not. Her tone didn't sound upset, at least, so that was a good sign. But he still felt a shiver go down his spine for some reason, even though the temperature of this world had remained constant since he'd been here. Even the water hadn't made him feel cold, he had noticed in hindsight. Nor the flame from Sylvia's torch brought him any warmth.
So yeah, the fact that he was shivering right now was probably a pretty bad sign, he reckoned. But before he could come to her aid, Sylvia spoke up.
"What's the matter with having a nickname?" Sylvia asked. "Or is 'the Traveler' the only Valdette who gets her own title?"
"I'm not like the Traveler!" Valaya squeaked. "I would never presume that!" She turned to the Valdette, and though Blake couldn't see her face, he could hear the panic in her voice. "I just wanted a name like the humans do!"
"That's fine," the Valdette said, although again, her tone made Blake feel cautious. "So long as you are willing to accept the risk."
"What risk?" Sylvia asked sharply. "What risk could there possibly be in having a name? Hell, Valaya didn't even know what the word 'name' meant until we explained it to her. Me personally, I can't think of a single reason why that would be. And while this world might not run on the same natural laws as our world does, I find it hard to imagine that there is some sort of punishment for having a name, which means it's a societal thing. So what's up?"
"It is complicated," the Valdette replied. Her eyes rose up and Blake realized she must have been sitting on something from how low they had been. "We can discuss, as you wished. Your request wasn't necessary, this conversation could only take place outside. Shall we go?" She drew closer and Blake felt another shiver as she passed. What was it about this Valdette seeming upset with him that made him feel like this?
The Valdette opened the tent and let the light flood inside, Sylvia and Blake heading out and leaving Valaya to follow after them. The Valdette shut the flap behind her and walked past them out through the sand, heading for the forest. She looked back at the group, her golden eyes shining mysteriously. "Coming?"
Blake didn't want to go towards the forest. The last time had been too close for comfort. His heart and head had recovered from the pain from before, but that didn't mean he wanted to endure it again. Just looking at the forest right now was sending a dull throb of pain shooting through his skull and get his heartbeat going.
But the Valdette seemed insistent, and it was clearly the only way that they would be continuing the conversation. And he needed answers if they wanted to get back home. Sylvia and Valaya were already following after her. So even though he was loathe to do it, he reluctantly followed after them through the sand and towards the Forest of Darkness.
Hopefully, they wouldn't go as close to it this time.
Blake needed to learn to stop hoping for things in this hellish place, because it only ever turned out poorly for him. It wasn't just that they were far closer to the forest than he had gone to bring back Sylvia.
They were right at the edge of it. The dead, white trees were so close Blake could practically touch them, and he could see the silvery sand continue on into the darkness. Every bone in his body was screaming at him to run the other way. His heart was burning in his chest and his head was screaming so loudly that he could barely hear the Valdette speak.
"Tell me, humans, what is it you feel when you stare at the Forest of Darkness?" The Valdette asked, running her hand across one of the trees.
"Not a thing," Sylvia said, shaking her head. "Looks like an ordinary forest to me."
The Valdette seemed surprised by this answer. Her eyes widened imperceptibly. Blake was too focused on his pain to notice, but nothing slipped past Sylvia's eyes. The Valdette turned to Blake, next. "What of you?"
"I want to run the other way," Blake gulped, shaking his head. "Just… just staring at that place, it's causing me unbelievable pain. I feel like my chest is on fire, I can't breathe, and my head…" He swallowed, clutching his head and wincing in pain. "Please, even just a few feet back, is that okay?" He pleaded.
At that, the Valdette was stunned. She glanced at Valaya, who seemed equally surprised by Blake's response. Apparently, searing agony was not the proper response to the forest. Blake wasn't exactly in the right emotional state to take note of that.
"Come," the Valdette said, her voice taking on a tone of concern. She beckoned towards him, but Blake shook his head. No way was he going anywhere near that forest.
"Blake, are you okay?" Sylvia asked, finally showing a little concern herself. "I knew you had a bad feeling about the forest, but actual pain? That's troubling…" She turned to the Valdette. "Okay, spill it, what's up with this forest?"
But the Valdette had moved on. She walked through the sand and approached Blake, since he clearly wasn't coming over to her. She stopped and reached a hand out to him. He flinched. "Yes…" she murmured. "You are in pain… Your head. But your heart is even moreso… how troubling… I've never seen this response before."
She seemed to know what she was doing, so Blake reluctantly ceded to her hands. She reached up and cradled his head gently, tilting it a few directions as she studied him. Her fingers traced over his scars and he winced. Seeing his face change, she frowned, and let him go.
"Unfortunately, I can't aid your pain," she said, shaking her head. "But your response was strange." She turned to Sylvia. "As was yours."
"I'm assuming that we weren't supposed to act this way towards the forest," Sylvia replied, crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't amused. "So what were you expecting from us?"
"You really don't feel any pull to go into the forest?" Valaya asked. "An urge, right here?" She placed her hand over her stomach.
"What, irritable bowel syndrome? No, none," Sylvia said, shaking her head.
"But… I thought that with how adamant you were about going into the forest, it must have been because you were drawn there," Valaya said, confused.
"All feel the pull of the forest," the Valdette said, turning and walking back to the edge of the forest. "Even us. It is only by the wisdom of the Traveler's teachings that we know to stay away, to remain here. It is odd that you were headed this direction when the forest did not call to you."
Sylvia blinked.
"So that's normal, then?" She asked. "I see. So normally, people who are lost in the desert feel a compelling urge to walk in that direction, towards the forest. And we just chose our way out of coincidence."
"Look," the Valdette said, gesturing to her feet. "Even the shadows are drawn to the Forest of Darkness."
Sylvia smirked. She had chosen her path based on the shadows, so in a manner of speaking she had been guided there.
"So, if humans like us are supposed to yearn for the forest, then why is it that we aren't interested in going there now?" She mused. "That doesn't sound right, does it Blake?"
Blake had retreated a good thirty feet or so from the conversation, just to give him some room to breathe. Sylvia grumbled and stomped after him, shooting a glare at the two Valdette from over her shoulder.
Valaya chased after her and the Valdette came as well. The Valdette had a troubled expression on her face, which worried Blake. If she didn't know what was going on, then that could mean problems for their eventual escape.
"If you read from the tablet, it does not make sense that you would not feel the draw of the forest," the Valdette frowned. "Puzzling…"
That led Sylvia to the obvious question, but she had another, more compelling one. "Before talking about the tablet, how are you even aware of it?" She asked. "Because I find that odd. Are you telling me that you once lived on earth, and came across the tablet? Or are you from somewhere else, and that world had a tablet of its own?"
The Valdette shook her head. "Our memory does not go back that far," she replied. "We know nothing but this world. Our mural speaks of the tablets, and we have learned from many others who come here. But only the Traveler has set eyes on another world herself.
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. That was right in line with her suspicions. So the Traveler had visited other worlds, maybe even earth.
"So that's why you call her 'the Traveler' then." Sylvia confirmed her suspicions off the looks on the Valdettes' faces.
"The Traveler was Valdette," the Valdette said. "She came to us, and spoke of another world, of the tablet that we all knew of. A tablet that would take people to this world, if they could read the chosen words of our people. Like you did."
"Actually, I didn't," Sylvia said, shaking her head.
This response stunned the Valdette, who froze in surprise. Valaya's jaw dropped.
"This is… not possible," the Valdette said, shaking her head. "If you could not read the words, then the shadows would not have consumed you! It is written! Only those sinners chosen by the tablet will be brought to the Realm of the Ravenous!"
There it was again, the Realm of the Ravenous. A rather ironic name, Sylvia thought, considering that there was no food to be had here.
Then she thought of something. …Or is there? She had observed that, while she and Blake possessed no appetite, these creatures clearly did. It made her wonder why that could be. Not to mention that the Valetty and Valdette seemed to be naturally-occurring species in this world somehow, at least as far as they knew. It has to be connected, there are reasons for all this. These disparate threads are too suspicious to be coincidental. I need to figure it out… but first, we need to know more…
Sylvia turned to Blake. "He's the one who read from the tablet," she explained. "I merely joined him along on the ride."
"So he read from the tablet, and was chosen, and thus came here. But instead of being drawn to the forest, it repulses him," the Valdette said, glancing at Blake. Blake's pain had abated enough where he could at least follow the flow of the conversation, fortunately. He glanced at Sylvia. The way she'd phrased that…
"So you've never had someone come here before who hadn't read the tablet?" Blake clarified. That was suspicious. "Surely there must have been others who were sucked in along with the reader, like Sylvia was."
"It should not be possible," the Valdette said, shaking her head. "The shadows only consume those who sin, only those who can read the words. One could be holding it in their hands and not be consumed, if they are not chosen. So it is not possible for her to be here, I have no answer for how this could have happened."
Blake cast a suspicious eye towards Sylvia. "Neither do I… Sylvia?"
Sylvia cleared her throat and averted her eyes.
"So, uh, with that in mind, what if, say, for argument's sake, someone who was not chosen by the tablet saw another person get dragged in, and decided to jump in after them?" Sylvia asked. "I mean, that's possible, right?"
That didn't sound hypothetical enough to Blake. He glared at her.
"You jumped in after me?! What were you thinking?!" He exclaimed. "I knew you were an excitement junkie but couldn't you have MAYBE drawn the line at getting sucked into a black void that you just saw consume another student?!"
"What was I going to do, let you get pulled into some shadow void and not go in after you to make sure you were okay?!" Sylvia shouted back.
Blake couldn't believe this. Of all the reckless-!
"This is insanity," Blake said, shaking his head. "Do you realize what you just did? If you hadn't done that, you could have been there to get help! To tell everyone what happened, maybe even find a way to bring me back! For all we know, nobody even has any idea we were there in the first place! I can't believe you would do something like that!"
"Oh please, if not for me that worm would have devoured you!" Sylvia growled. "You would still be wandering aimlessly in the desert! I came here to bring you back, and that's what I'm going to do, you got that?!"
Blake didn't have a good argument for that. He caught his tongue and glared at her, shaking his head in frustration.
"So you were not chosen by the tablet…" the Valdette murmured, catching the attention of Blake and Sylvia. The look on the Valdette's face was surprising enough to make Blake temporarily forget about his outrage.
Her thoughtful expression looked almost hopeful.
"I see…" she mused, a sharp-toothed smile peeking out from beneath her lips. "If this is so, perhaps you could enter the Forest of Darkness and return safely…"
Blake's eyes widened. He liked the sound of that. Maybe they really would be able to get home safely after all.
Things are finally looking up for our heroes! But there are still more mysteries to uncover! Who is the Traveler? What is the Darkness? Why could Blake read the tablet and Sylvia could not? What "sin" did he commit? And why is this place called the Realm of the Ravenous? Many things are still left in confusion as we move to the next chapter and begin planning Sylvia's infiltration!