ONE FELL SWOOP - CHAPTER 12
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Action
Author's Note: I think the story is starting to near its halfway point, but this also depends on whether or not I decide to expand the plot beyond what is already planned. I'm also dropping quite a few hints between the character interactions that will foreshadow future events and reveals, so look closely and see if you can find them!
Also, because I'm more of a 'dialogue' story-teller, I tend to spend a lot of time on the actual characters' conversations, gestures, and expressions, but I'm also not sure if it's everyone's cup of tea, so let me know if there's anything that needs clarifying!
Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 12: The Equalizer
"The Queen was nicer than I thought she would be." Kaleb said while dragging his feet through the snow-covered path.
"Well of course. Queen Ashe may carve her arrows out of ice, but her heart is still that of a warm human heart."
Kaleb bit down on the sandwich he held in his hands.
"But it's almost weird how well she fits with the King. I mean, Tryndamere has such a terrifying reputation, being known by so many as the 'Undead Barbarian', but when those two are together, it's almost like they're the sweetest married couple I've ever seen."
"Woah, am I sensing jealousy coming from your general direction?" Zachariah swung his head over to Kaleb dramatically.
Kaleb shook his hands in the air and rolled his eyes to return an equally dramatic reaction, but then proceeded with the conversation like he had ignored Zachariah's playful provocation entirely.
"Ashe just sort of gives him these innocent, pleasant smiles and he immediately understands what she wants, gently handling everything to suit her desires." Kaleb breathed out, giving the impression as if he were sighing longingly.
Zachariah looked up at the sky and smiled. "I know what you mean. I've seen that smile too many times before—"
"Huh? You have?" Kaleb's face was a sudden mix of bemusement and curiosity.
Zachariah's eyes widened.
"I-I mean . . . like how he pours her tea and adds the perfect amount of sugar for her r-right?" he said quickly, hoping Kaleb wouldn't ask in more detail.
"Yeah!" the younger boy agreed. Zachariah laughed shakily, secretly wiping his brow with relief at the boy's density.
The two of them suddenly hit a slope on the path they walked. Gazing upwards, they noticed that they had already arrived at the base of the southern-most Mountains. The temperatures around them seemed to change without warning, rapidly dropping.
"We're here."
"Soo . . . how exactly is this mountain-hermit supposed to help us find Yasuo?" Kaleb skipped ahead then bounced back to face Zachariah.
"She's not a mountain-hermit—she's a Stone-weaver. She was actually born in Shurima but was picked up by Yasuo and trained under him until they had to part ways because he didn't want a bounty to be placed on her head too. So she came here under his instructions and she's been training here ever since."
"What's her name?" Kaleb wondered.
At once, the ground beneath them shook and the rocks were scattered around the base of the mountain began to move. It could've just been Kaleb's imagination but the mountain itself seemed to tremble. When the tremors came to a halt, both young men heard footsteps approaching them from above the fog that made it impossible to see any further up than a twenty-five meters ahead.
A youthful looking girl with long snow-white hair held up by a golden brooch with a sapphire decorating the center of the hair-piece descended the steep slopes of the mountain. Despite the way she dressed, anyone could immediately tell she wasn't native to Freljord from her tanned light-chestnut skin and her stunning turquoise eyes. She wore a warm blue winter-coat, a thick blue poncho—their edges lined with fur—and black leggings with brown winter-boots.
"Her name's Taliyah," she beamed, "And she's definitely not a mountain-hermit."
Zachariah grinned back at her. "Taliyah. How has everything been?"
"Boring and lonely since the last time you came and visited." The girl joked. "But the Queen and King entertain me just fine."
"You make it sound like they're your subjects and you're the ruler of Freljord." Zachariah teased.
"Oh please, Zachariah. You know very well that my ambition isn't aimed at becoming the ruler of Freljord." She shot back at him.
"Enough of your inside jokes, you two—I'm just sitting here like a dog freezing in the cold, waiting to be fed."
Taliyah looked at him like it was the first time she noticed him. She looked back at Zachariah questioningly.
"Your friend?" she gestured at Kaleb.
"My younger brother." Zachariah corrected her. "But you knew that already didn't you, Taliyah?"
"Hey, don't just point at me like that!" Kaleb complained.
Taliyah didn't say anything but Zachariah could tell he was right from her resigned expression.
"So where can we find Yasuo?" Kaleb asked eagerly.
Sighing, Taliyah crossed her arms.
"I'm sorry you had to travel all this way, but the answer you search for is not with me, nor with my Master."
"What—?" It took a while for Taliyah's words to sink in. "What do you mean—I need a proper teacher in order to learn how to properly wield Vagus. Who else would I ask if not Yasuo?"
Taliyah reached into her pocket and pulled out a small grey handkerchief.
"My master has already foreseen your search for him but he informed me that it was not his time to step into your life yet." She told him.
"Then . . . then how the hell am I supposed to—"
"However," Taliyah interjected. "However, he has left a gift for you that may assist in your growth."
She handed him the grey handkerchief.
"This is his gift."
"What the hell?" Kaleb was starting to become annoyed. "Why in Runeterra's name would he give me a handkerchief? I'm not some helpless maiden who needs a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her forehead. I don't need a handkerchief."
"This isn't a handkerchief, boy," Taliyah reprimanded him. "It's the Cloak of the White Phantom."
"The 'Cloak of the White Phantom' . . . ?" Kaleb repeated slowly. "What am I supposed to use it for?"
"Wear it only when you and Zachariah become one of the Five Kings. You will understand everything when you do." Taliyah replied.
"But we never really planned on—" Kaleb began, but Zachariah interrupted him.
"No, Kaleb—this is good. Now we have an actual, concrete goal to work towards."
"But how long will it take us, to get there?"
"I'm not sure," Zachariah shrugged, "But let's break another record for you, shall we?"
Kaleb sighed and ran his hands through his uncut, black hair. If he didn't sweep it back, his bangs would already drop past his eyes.
Become one of the Five Kings, huh. I've never really thought past simply growing stronger. He pondered to himself.
"You know, you don't have to go all the way back to Ionia just yet." Taliyah's suggestive tone caught Kaleb's attention.
"Yeah, it would be a pain in the ass to walk back with just a presently purposeless handkerchief." Zachariah added, stretching his arms in the air.
"Do you have something else for me?" Kaleb asked.
"Nope. But I do know the perfect place you can train with Vagus without any disturbance whatsoever. I believe it would be acceptable in my Teacher's eyes if I assisted you in your training as well."
"If you're talking about these southern mountains, now would probably be the right time to tell you. I'm afraid of heights so I don't think I would be able to . . . thrive in these conditions." Kaleb paced restlessly.
Taliyah shook her head. "Not exactly. There is a hidden passage leading underground whose entrance you can find approximately 800 meters above ground on the side of this exact mountain we stand underneath. That passage expands into to a labyrinthine system of tunnels and caverns, eventually leading to a training ground I believe will suit your needs quite well."
"Are we training underground? I'm kinda claustrophobic too." Kaleb grinned sheepishly while Zachariah gave him a disappointed look that said 'are you serious right now—'.
Taliyah wagged her finger. "Once again, not quite. The passage resurfaces and it is then that you will have reached your destination."
"This better be some epic training ground if I have to climb up mountains and crawl through underground tunnels to get to it." Kaleb grumbled, but felt just a tiny tinge of excitement creeping up on him like a feline predator would to its prey.
The girl reached up to her elaborately tied hair and removed her the hair-brooch, letting her long white hair fall all the way down to her lower back.
"Don't worry," she said with confidence. "I'll be guiding you the whole way. If worse comes to worst, you can get Zachariah to hold your hand to help calm your nerves."
Zachariah turned his face the other way before Kaleb could catch him snickering.
"If you keep shitting on my like that, I might as well go back to Ionia." Kaleb complained.
"Alright, alright." Taliyah raised both hands up in the air, promising to stop tormenting him. "On a more serious note, you better prepare yourself. We're going to visit the eye of what is probably the most dangerous storm in all of Runeterra. We're going into the Gelid Vortex."
. . .
Kaleb had several different ideas of what it would be like once he surfaced inside the Gelid Vortex. Perhaps the wind would howl in a roaring symphony of chaos and the extreme cold would seep through even the insulating material of his AOMF body suit. Or maybe the heavy snow would blind him with the force of a hurricane and the blizzard would pound at his back in the form of a thousand frozen hailing pellets. Even the possibility of getting caught in the powerful current of the Vortex and thrown about like a rag doll crossed his mind. It would be a story worth telling for centuries to come.
When he burst out of the end of the last tunnel, he was disappointed by what lay before him.
Kaleb had arrived at a valley of some sort, mountains piercing the sky on every side. A giant wall consisting of fog and storm butts circled the perimeter of the valley in a slow, almost peaceful manner, if not for the occasional streak of lightning and resounding echo of distant thunder. The area of the valley itself was quite vast but much of it was filled with scattered patches of barren trees and snow-covered logs. The large area at the center of it all consisted of an empty meadow of snow and dead grass.
Zachariah stumbled out of the tunnel a few steps behind Kaleb, squinting from the bright white light of the Freljordian sky. Noting Kaleb's look of disappointment he shuffled awkwardly to the side.
After a few moments of silence, Kaleb walked over to a nearby log, and sat down. He undid his mechanical mask and carefully placed it next to him on the log.
"I don't need the mask—I can already tell that the magical signatures within the eye of the Vortex are basically identical to the ones within our house and Master Zilean's Diachronika Replica." He told Zachariah, sounding discouraged.
"Yeah, I guess I don't have to tell you, ahaha . . . I'm just going to—I'm just going to explore the area! Right, I'm off to explore!" Zachariah jogged off towards the other end of the valley in a hurry, safely escaping the air of negativity from Kaleb's sullen mood.
"I know what you're thinking. It's not as impressive as you expected it to be." Taliyah said to Kaleb, ruffling her long white hair to loosen it. "But the reason why I took you to this place was not so you could survive harsh weather conditions. I chose this as your training ground because of the virtually impenetrable walls of storms surrounding this place. You can keep the process and results of your training a secret from the rest of the world."
"I get that we have to keep my training with Vagus a secret," Kaleb was already sulking, "But how am I supposed to get results from training in such a peaceful atmosphere? There's no challenge to it."
Taliyah placed a hand on his shoulder and moved her face closer to Kaleb's. She looked into his eyes, causing Kaleb to look away and blush with self-consciousness.
"You're a strong boy, Kaleb. I daresay you have the potential to become stronger than I am. And I draw power from the earth itself. But those gifted with immense power must learn to control it—not let it control them."
She spread her arms out, gesturing to the expanse within the valley.
"Look around you Kaleb. This is not a place where you will improve your physical combative abilities. This is a place where you will ponder the path you truly wish to take, meditate upon it, and choose its direction. This is a place where you will learn to control your emotions. In doing so, Vagus will become a weapon that responds to your emotions as you command them instead of becoming an impractical tool that rampantly changes form according to its master's fickle emotions."
Still feeling self-conscious from the lack of distance between them, Kaleb only took in half of what Taliyah had said. His mind was occupied with the fact that the only times he had ever been this close to a girl was with Karma and Rosalyn.
"A-alright, you have a fair point . . . umm . . . c-can you give me a bit of space please?" Kaleb struggled to find the words to form a full sentence. It wasn't a new feeling—he always became nervous and fidgety whenever he engaged in a conversation or interacted with any other girl that was not Karma or Rosalyn.
"Huh—?" Taliyah looked slightly puzzled at Kaleb's bashfulness. "Oh—my apologies, do you feel uncomfortable with me being this close?"
"No—I mean, sort of like—" Kaleb grew increasingly flustered.
"This is just something that Yasuo used to help me regain focus. I was hoping it would help you the same way it did for me but—" Taliyah shrugged.
"I know, I'm just not that great with—"
"Your lack of self-confidence." Taliyah pointed out. "Your lack of self-confidence is another sign of your emotional insecurity."
"That's . . . you're probably right." Kaleb sighed.
"Well, prove me wrong," said Taliyah.
"How?"
Taliyah stepped back.
"Draw your sword."
. . .
"Probably the easiest way to command Vagus to take a certain form is to assign a specific core memory to each emotion. Draw from your memories as to which moment best represents joy, sadness, anger, love, and so on and so forth, and channel from that memory the primary emotion you felt at the time." Taliyah advised from her seat atop a levitating slab of rock. Zachariah observed from nearby, leaning against one of the barren trees.
"For example?" Kaleb passed the bladeless-hilt-form of Vagus from one hand to another aimlessly.
"Let's start off with a basic emotion: joy. Think of the happiest moment of your life and draw out its joy. Try to remember how it felt, then once you've got a firm grasp on it, immediately project the emotion into the weapon as if you were casting a stone into a pond. I know it might not sound like it makes a lot of sense but just try and feel it. It should come to you naturally."
"There's one problem with that approach." Kaleb frowned. "It's a bit difficult for me to think of anything genuinely happy at the moment because . . . you know . . ."
Taliyah bit her lower lip. "Hmm . . . try a more combative emotion then. I know! How do you usually feel before a fight?"
"Mostly calm, but with a tinge of excitement," Kaleb answered without hesitation. In response, Taliyah grinned, clapping her hands together.
"Then let us start from there. Remember that feeling, isolate it, and project it into Vagus as if you were telling him a story."
Kaleb closed his eyes and controlled his breathing. His nervous energy began to settle. He understood now—why Taliyah had chosen this place. The comfortable silence across the valley allowed him to concentrate solely on the intended emotion and avoid any unnecessary thoughts.
In through the nose, out through the mouth.
Think Kaleb, think. What usually goes through your head before a battle even if you are out-matched or outnumbered? That's right: 'Let's equalize the playing field.'
A tremendous burst of aura sprung forth from the hilt of his weapon, enveloping it. This time, the aura was colorless but translucent, giving it the impression of resemblance to murky water. When the aura dissipated, Kaleb held a golden staff with three large golden rings at the top end, each hooked to a hole punched through the staff, positioned one on top of another. The staff stood slightly taller than he did.
"Aequatore." Kaleb whispered as he lifted the staff up.
The Equalizer.
. . .
A small man dressed in plain Ionian garments quietly entered the Main Hall of the Grand Temple carrying a small, wrapped package in one hand. He walked around the perimeter of the rectangular seating formation in which the Executives and Commanders of the Order were engaged in quiet, almost inaudible discussions with those beside them. Occasionally, someone would clear their throat and the room would go silent for a split second, and then the conversations would continue as if nothing had happened. Arriving at the other side of the Main Hall, he took one step up to the elevated platform, where a young lady and an old man were having their own secretive conversation in the shadows. Unlike the other men and women in the room, these two individuals sat across form one another with a traditional Ionian coffee table in between them.
The young woman noticed him first and nodded her head, prompting the small man to bow and take a sitting position a few feet from the two leading figures of the Order of the Lotus.
"What have you got for us, Surveillance Unit Chief Zelos?" Karma asked with a hint of eagerness in her voice.
"I regret to inform you that no major leads have been found on the suspects that you put a search order out for, exactly 3 months ago. They have disappeared completely off the radar—or rather I should say, they never existed on the radar in the first place." Zelos reported. "Unfortunately, this means that the actual thief that stole Kaleb's body also has not been found."
Karma placed her hands together and pressed them against her lips. "What about our guest assets, Rayven and Ekko? Have they found anything on Zachariah?"
"None, milady." Zelos replied.
The Commander-in-Chief turned to the old man. "Father, don't you think it's about time we revealed Zachariah's name to our guest assets? I'm sure it would assist them significantly in their search for them. It would benefit us as well as we're the ones who enlisted their aid in this search for Zachariah."
"Actually, it would help neither of us. If we gave them his name, it would not help any more than if we gave them a physical description of him. Our guest assets' strength is reading magic signatures, not tracking down lost men. In the end, they would not progress in their search and we would have given up a valuable secret."
"Are they not trustworthy enough yet?" Karma gave the Grandmaster a grim look.
"Considering that the girl had developed sufficient hostility towards you to investigate your past, even successfully discovering your familial relationship with Kaleb, I still do not trust them." The Grandmaster stated.
"Well, they can't really be blamed for being a bit hostile at first, taking into account the fact that the Champion of one of the Five Kings literally walked up to them and declared that she would help them in their quest to destroy the Five Kings' stalemate and take rank one. For themselves." Karma added.
"Enough, Karma. They are guest assets. They are to be given only the minimal amount of intel to assist them on their task."
"Fine." Karma said resignedly before turning back to Zelos. "Proceeding to the next priority. Any news on the Black Phantom and his Mage, Thanatos?"
"Ever since their abrupt withdrawal from the scene of Ranked matches three months ago, there has been no updates on their status besides the fact that their rank has decayed from Gold II to Gold V. There have also been no sightings whatsoever of the Mage and Champion duo. Because of their extended inactivity, they have been stripped of their public status as one of the two 'Deadly Amateurs'—a nickname that they shared with Rayven and Ekko—and labelled as the Fallen Amateur. Ironically, now that Rayven and Ekko have risen all the way to the Master Tier, they too have lost their previous nickname and are now known as the 'True Challengers' because of their potential to break through the Great Wall consisting of the top 25 ranked mages and even 'challenge' the impasse between the Five Kings."
"Mmm . . . break the impasse, eh? That girl may just be the key to this mess." Karma smiled nostalgically and gazed out one of the windows. "That would be interesting. Now that I think about it, it's been three years since someone broke the Great Wall."
"W-what?! What did you just say?!" Zelos exclaimed in a whisper, careful in keeping the volume of conversation in the Main Hall consistent.
"Oh—you didn't know? It's not exactly common knowledge, but the current impasse actually consists of the top 26 mages, not the top 25." said Karma. "The Great Wall was actually created five years ago, but two years ago, one of the Five Kings, Caius of the Frostguard, and his team were defeated by a random solo-queue Challenger mage. Their loss was the result of a fluke, but it was regardless, recorded as a loss. This threw the Challenger Tier into chaos and the amount of Ranked matches per day skyrocketed due to the increased opportunity for other Challengers to break into the top 25, which caused the League's Ranking System to crash. Many of our ranks were scrambled and now, the issue is that we each know of our own ranking, but have no clue as to how the others rank on the Challenger ladder."
"Then what rank do you and your King hold right now, Commander-in-chief?" Zelos asked.
"Matthias and I are ranked 5th. Compared to the other Kings, we've been having suspicions that one of them, Caesar, has achieved Rank #2."
"Then do you have a clue as to who's currently ranked 1st?" the man's eyes shone with interest.
That's the Surveillance Unit Chief for you. Always striving for more. Karma thought to herself and was comforted by how much the Order of the Lotus had grown under her father's leadership.
It's too bad that . . .
"That's the main problem." Karma shifted uncomfortably atop her pillow-seat. "None of us know who Rank #1 is."
. . .
"What the hell is this . . ." Kaleb narrowed his eyes and threw the letter onto the kitchen counter. "Why have we dropped down to Gold V?"
"If we are inactive for too long a time, our League points will automatically decay." Zachariah didn't seem surprised. "I thought you knew that before you suggested that we embark on our training hiatus?"
"Still . . ." Kaleb scratched the back of his head.
"It's not like we've lost our actual combative abilities. If anything, you've definitely become stronger."
"It's just—we have to work our way back up and it's going to be such a hassle." The younger boy complained.
"Right . . . you're just being lazy and—Kaleb! Can you please put some pants on?" Zachariah exclaimed exasperatedly.
"What's wrong with wearing boxers and a long-sleeve shirt around the house?" Kaleb complained. "It's comfortable."
"What's wrong is that you're wearing nothing underneath your loose cotton shirt and your tight boxers are showing off defined outlines of everything below your waist." Zachariah emphasized.
"That's why I wore this long-sleeve shirt—it's a size larger than what I usually wear so it goes down to my mid-thighs. See?" Kaleb pinched the edge of his shirt with his index fingers and thumbs from each hand to prove his point. "You can't even see my boxers at this point."
Zachariah gave him a horrified expression.
"That's even worse! You're going to look as if you're not even wearing anything to cover up your . . . your . . ." Zachariah gestured around Kaleb's general pelvic area, unsure of how to describe it. "Your . . . your nether regions—?"
This time, it was Kaleb's turn to give Zachariah horrified look.
"W-what the hell is with that description?! N-nether regions? I'm not a girl!"
"No—! I mean . . . aargh—never mind that! Just put something on a pair of pants. It doesn't have to be anything fancy."
"We're living in a house built on top of a mountain, Zach. Nobody's going to see me like this. Like, who would ever walk in on us?" Kaleb waved his hand dismissively at Zachariah.
At that exact moment, a knocking sound was heard from the front door. Kaleb's eyes widened as he froze. Slowly, he turned his head towards Zachariah. His older brother was just as surprised.
"Shit! I left the door unlocked!" Zachariah whispered with panic.
"Why—WHY, would you leave the door unlocked?!" Kaleb whispered loudly back at him.
"Because like you just said, I didn't think anyone would even find this house!" Zachariah quietly retorted.
"Hello?" a woman's voice suddenly called from the front door, causing Kaleb and Zachariah to flinch in unison.
"Is anyone home?" she called after another series of knocks.
"Zach . . . should we answer the door?" Kaleb asked urgently. "Or should we hide?"
"No! Just leave it. If nobody answers the door, she might leave. And don't make any sudden movements just in case the individual at the door is sensitive to changes in the physical atmosphere."
Kaleb sighed. "You're probably overthinking it but that makes sense. Let's just stay put for now."
They then heard the sound of a doorknob turning.
"Excuse me—I'm coming in." the woman said.
"Hide!" Both Kaleb and Zachariah thought of the same action to take but in their panicked scramble towards the backdoor, they collided into one another and collapsed from the impact.
The woman who was knocking on their door entered the house and as her footsteps grew closer, Kaleb pushed against Zachariah with both hands, who had collapsed on top of the younger boy.
"Get off me!" Kaleb whispered frantically, but it was too late.
. . .
A few minutes earlier . . .
On the steep, narrow path up to the mountain's peak, a moderately tall woman took small, cautious steps, careful not to and fall to her death. A man of slightly taller stature trailed closely behind her. Both were dressed in similar yet unique attire, sharing the same themes of golden armor and white garments. They both had long hair but the similarities ended there. While the man had beautiful golden brown hair, the woman had longer, stormy blue hair that almost looked grey in the sunlight. They both chose to tie their hair up in a ponytail but while the man used a simple, white string, the woman had an elaborate golden headdress-like hair brooch.
Reaching the end of the path, they hoisted themselves over one last ledge and climbed up onto the peak. The peak had a wider surface area than they anticipated, providing sufficient room for a few patches of vegetation to grow without difficulty. However, the main attraction on this peak was the two-story house that sat at the centre of this little secret nature-haven.
"This is it, isn't it?" the woman walked up to the house and examined it from top to bottom.
"It should be. It's the only house I see around here." The man chuckled and gestured towards the front door. "Shall we?"
The woman rolled her eyes. "Of course. Let the lady take the initiative."
She strode up to the front door and gave it three rapid knocks, then repeating the cycle another two times with a five second interval between each.
Nobody answered.
"Maybe they've gone out?" the man guessed.
"Hmm, let's check just in case." The woman said before raising her voice. "Hello? Is anyone home?"
Nobody answered.
"Yeah, I guess they've actually gone out." The woman sighed. She tested the doorknob out for no apparent reason but as she did so, it turned and the door opened up.
"Oh—it's unlocked." She said with a mix of astonishment and satisfaction. "Excuse me—I'm coming in."
"This politeness is very unlike you," the man commented. "You're usually the one to break-in and enter without the consent of the inhabitants within the house."
The woman gave him a look that said, 'got a problem with how I do things?' and the man backed off, shaking his head.
"Alright, alright—don't need to give me the stare. I'll stay outside to keep watch." The man told her and proceeded to sit himself on the steps of the porch. His partner smiled smugly at him and entered the house. As she did so, there was a sudden crash that came from the end of the hall. Instinctively, she activated her wrist-mounted crossbow and assumed a combat-ready stance.
"Get off me!" a frantic, feminine voice exclaimed from the room at the end of the hall.
With her crossbow aiming forwards, the woman edged towards the frame of the kitchen's entrance and found herself looking at what seemed like quite the peculiar sight. Two people were on the floor, a young man straddling the girl with long black hair who lay underneath him, with one hand against the floor on either side of the girl's head. He looked as if he was about to kiss the girl but when they both noticed the woman standing with her eyebrows raised at the entrance to the kitchen, they froze.
"Oh my—I'm sorry, am I intruding on something intimate here?" the woman asked bluntly. "I mean, I can let you two finish and then come back in to say what I have to say to Zachariah."
"W-wha-what are you saying?!" the girl seemed shocked. "Don't you think you're misunderstanding something here?"
"Hmm, my skills of deduction are usually quite accurate. Wasn't he just about make love to you?" the woman tilted her head. "Although—it's strange that I was not informed of the existence of a second inhabitant atop this mountain-house."
Zachariah's jaw dropped. "Make love? Why the hell would I make love to a guy like him?"
He pointed at the black-haired individual underneath him, causing the woman to take a step back in bewilderment.
"You're a boy?" the woman exclaimed. "Then why do you . . ."
She examined the boy from head to toe.
"Why in the Watchers' name do you look like a girl?"
Zachariah stood up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I've been asking myself the same question ever since I started working with him. And he refuses to cut his hair too."
"It's easier to conceal my identity this way!" the younger boy protested.
The woman stroked her chin. "Mmm—my bad, I remember now. It was mentioned once in the entire document, so I almost forgot about you. You're Kaleb Reiyver, aren't you?"
For some reason, neither of the young men looked surprised. It was clear that they had already expected their secret to be discovered sooner or later, only this was much sooner than they had anticipated.
"Yeah, that's me." Kaleb stood up too and brushed the dust off his shirt. "And as you've probably guessed, this is Zachariah.
"I'm impressed with your audacity—neither of you are trying to hide the truth." The woman smiled.
"Despite all the hate radiating off of you like a stench, I can tell you're trustworthy." Kaleb blinked intently at her. "But honestly, what is a woman with so much hate serving the Green Father for?"
"Hate?" the woman eyed Kaleb guardedly. "What gave you that impression—?"
"I've spent the last three months training myself to hold absolute mastery over my emotions. In the process, I've also taught myself to read the slightest gestures, movements, and mannerisms to deduce an individual's state of mind."
Fascinated with the boy's observational prowess, the woman walked over to the kitchen table and sat herself down on one of the wooden chairs.
"And how did you know I worked for the Green Father?"
"From the Markings of Life on your forehead," Kaleb pointed at the patterned scars on the woman's arms. "A friend of mine used to tell me all about the Green Father and how he granted those who chose to turn away from the dark, the power to purge the dark using life."
"Your knowledge on this is truly spectacular! Perhaps I should tell Varus to come in too . . ." the woman walked back to the front door and knocked from the inside.
"Oh, and by the way, I don't usually introduce myself, but I've deemed this a worthy instance. My name's Shauna. That man sitting on your front porch is named Varus. He may seem grumpy at first but he'll get friendlier as you get to know him."
"Shauna . . .?" Kaleb glanced at Vayne suspiciously. A moment later, his face brightened up as he struck an epiphany. "You're Vayne! You and Varus are one of the 132 top-tier legendary champions classified by the League—it's an honor."
Kaleb bowed his head respectfully, causing Vayne to shift self-consciously.
The boy laughed warm-heartedly. "Sorry, it's part of Ionian tradition to greet strangers this way."
"I see. Well, I appreciate your warm welcome." Vayne replied with a tight smile.
Zachariah exhaled impatiently; this idle chat was going nowhere.
"Now that we know who you are, why are you here?" he asked without reserve.
"Ahh—always to the point, aren't you?" Vayne opened the door and Varus walked in. The man waved but did not smile. "Those who hide in the dark call us the Arclight Hunters. The Green Father sent us to help you defeat the Golden Watcher."
I'm realizing that I'm using a lot of terminology and cultural references from the real world in my story (ex. japanese clothing, weapons, names) and other made-up AU terminology (ex. Diachronika Replica) so in order for readers to understand the story with greater ease, I'm thinking of creating a Glossary on a completely different document (or maybe on my profile page?). Let me know what you think about this in the Comments/Review section below!
As usual, if you liked the story and you haven't already, FOLLOW IT. If you LOVED IT, and you haven't already (seriously tho? .) FAVORITE IT.
See you in the next chapter!
Peace!
~Nightrous