Winterish Summer

Ori had memories of visiting sacred places before. Grand temples and elaborate, sprawling complexes stood out most pointedly among his many strange recollections. Even so, the great hallway he found himself walking in was like nothing he had ever seen before. The walls with their fabulously engraved incredible artworks, enormous pillars stretching so high he had to crane his neck and lean back to see their tops, the raw splendor of being in such a massive space, and even oddly familiar statues of which some resembled him a little too closely for comfort, all of it constructed from gold, fine marble, and other such valuable materials.

Still, even with all the majesty the previous work had afforded him, none of it could compare to what he stood before now.

Unlike every other door in the temple, the massive monolith-like wall was clearly out of axle grease as sharp peals of noise sounded out as the stone scratched along the floors in its haste to get out of the way. Behind it, a golden flash of light awaited them from just around a corner, this one being special in that the light cascading around the edge feeling bright and full of energy, a very welcoming invitation forward. Decorations in the form of incredible paintings ran over the ceiling and down the massive pillars supporting it. Everything looked as though it were made of gold, but it was not a general metal-like material, no. Despite its otherworldly and magical nature, Ori could guess as to what it was made of. It was the energy he felt resting within himself ever since his light awoke and gifted him with life. Of course, it was a few orders of magnitude stronger, bringing with it a semblance of standing before his dear father.

Greater than even that, though, was the centerpiece of the room. A great fountain sat there, topped with an invaluable basin that looked as though it could hold his light weight.

Neither could prevent their eyes from wandering to the very top. Ori's little mouth hang softly open, astonished, while Mori's paw drove over the immaculate engraving-encrusted walls. The moki ran his finger along one line in particular, trying to analyze the painting. "Hmm… most exceedingly intriguing! I can't tell what it is, no matter how I try to associate it with something." He took a sharp breath before continuing, "At the most basic level, I interpret it as some kind of energy source. Just look at how powerful it looks! It covers almost the whole wall, like some serpent of flames meandering along."

Ori, however, had lost interest halfway though the moki's observations. Something else was calling for him, silently, but strongly. It couldn't really be further described than that. His gaze flew around the room, passing over his friend and the engravings while searching for the source of the beckoning feeling, until it eventually came to rest on one specific painting.

One painting out of several was far more distinct to the little spirit, the artworks to the side fading out his thoughts. Right behind the mystical fountain was a picture of a spirit presenting his palms to the ceiling in some sort of prayer position. Ori wasn't sure why, but it looked as though they wanted to catch something falling down, or to handover some presented gift.

He turned back to Mori standing at his side and opened his mouth to speak, but the moki could already tell from his expression what he wanted to ask. "For me, it looks like some kind of ritual position," he stated. "I'm absolutely certain that it has something to do with this fountain here. Probably with the basin on top of it." Ori brushed over his two antennae with his paw and blinked. "You mean, I should try and pose like this"—he assumed the position on the wall—"while standing in the basin?" He was unsure of what copying the painting would do, but his uncertainty was filled with curiosity and optimism. Mori merely nodded hesitantly in response, while Ori's planning clearly was hinging on his answer.

Carefully, with light steps and a wary feeling, the spirit drew closer to the large, empty fountain. When he got to the edge of the basin, he jumped and caught it with his paws. A short struggle later, he pushed himself to the top and straightened himself out again. That's when the feeling got stronger.

It was as though a very quiet, very kind voice was telling him to slowly close his eyes and listen to his heart.

Seeing no reason to object, he did exactly that and focused on his heart and light within. Very soon after he did so, he felt an erupting warmth spread forth from his inner being. Another invisible, gentle force began to move his body, with his tail and ears rising together with his paws into the prayer position depicted upon the wall, just reaching his chin.

His palms began to shine with a bright yellowish tone and a soft liquid of the same color dripped out from them, quickly becoming a gushing torrent of fluid flowing down the basin he was standing in. It felt as though the fluid was washing him away in all directions at once, sort of like the same sensation he felt when relieving himself, but with the difference being the warmth emanating throughout every fiber of his body.

From the basin the shining liquid flooded the whole fountain. An already strong pulsing of energy began to increase sharply with every passing second as the majestically built masonry shone brighter and brighter. Mori was forced to close his eyes and look away until, finally, a massive explosion of energy blasted out of the fountain and rushed through the whole building like a sonic wave. With the glowing structure beneath Ori's hooves full, the light filled every gap in the mysterious mosaics, increasing their previous simmer to a bright shine. The terrible, invisible beast that had recently covered every corner they weren't looking at was chased away like it was nothing more than vermin. With the darkness lifted, the temple lit up like an ignited candle.

Suddenly, a deep loud voice rumbled through seemingly the whole temple, no, the whole being they were in. It sounded like a very drawn-out yawn, causing the whole building to quake. Mori tried to stay on his paws, stretching his arms to the side for balance. Ori quickly turned his head to his companion and asked, somewhat apprehensively, "What happened?" Before the moki could answer though, the deep voice began to speak.

"My brave saviors, follow the light out of my being so that I may see you."

As soon as it finished speaking, they were greeted with a little floating light sphere, not too much unlike the others they had seen before. "And who would you be, then?" Mori asked the ball in front of them, which definitely didn't look like it would give him an answer. Ori gave the moki a look and said, "Mori… I'm going to assume that not everything that's shiny has a soul and wants to talk to us…. Let's just do what the mysterious voice said and follow the light." He began to walk behind the sphere with light steps and curious eyes.

It led them straight to a wall, the last thing now separating them from the outside world.

Ori's face fell, and Mori was about to give a piece of his mind to the mysterious voice on the feasibility of phasing through solid objects when the gigantic wall suddenly separated apart in all directions like some kind of exotic door. It was if several giant boulders were shoved to the side, but as the wall settled, a sweet and fresh breeze from the outside tickled the duo's ears and sent a comfortable wave from their head down to their respective hooves and paws.

Before them awaited a dark night outside, but there was at least a little bit of sunlight greeting their eyes through the thick masses of clouds above them. Below and in front of them was the watery surface of a lake, glittering very softly while a few light raindrops gently rippled the water.

Quickly, before Ori could jump in, Mori had a point to make: "Ori, I can't swim."

Just in time too, as Ori was preparing for an epic jump in the water and had to stop himself at the last second to give his companion a pained look. "But… you're an adventurer. Are you sure you haven't learned it somehow?" The moki gave a humble nod in response, a little too ashamed to meet his friend's eyes. He couldn't find a single memory that may have explained his fear of the open water, but he knew his brain only focused on the danger itself. "I'm not sure if I can carry you," Ori added. The moki took a moment to think further about the new challenge when an idea struck.

"I know! How about putting me into your magical storage room?" His comrade, however, wasn't nearly as amused as he was about that idea. In fact, Ori was visibly confused, his face twisted into an uncomprehending stare. "M-magical storage room? What ever do you mean by that?" he questioned. Mori wasn't one to give up, however. "You don't know? You were able to bring my journal with you without even using a bag. It just appeared in your paws right in front of my eyes. I am willing to be the first living test subject in my new experiment: testing if spirits can store living beings in their magical pockets! And I call it 'The Magical Storage Room'." It took Ori a while to realize what his friend was going on about, but upon realization, he felt rather the opposite of Mori's excitement. He was shocked and more than a little apprehensive about that suggestion. "No," he said quickly. "I will never bring you into danger, not even for your own experiment. Plus this isn't a 'magical pocket' of some kind. If I summon my sword, it is just a manifestation of my own mind. At least, that's what Kiri told us, and I'm fairly sure that it works just the same with your book." Mori was still curious, though. "Oh, I see. So you manifest a thought in your mind as solid light energy? That's exceedingly fascinating." Ori nodded and exhaled, somewhat relieved that his friend understood what he meant. "Besides… you remember how the book didn't disappear all at once, don't you? It dissolved in my paws… I really don't think I want to risk the same happening to you, for obvious reasons." Mori's face spoke similar concerns. "You're probably right. That was stupid. That puts us back at square one then, so what do you suggest?" The little spirit looked quite clueless at first, but inspiration struck as he looked into Mori's eyes and said, "I have a better idea."

He leapt into the water and swam towards the nearest shore. "What are you up to, Ori?" shouted Mori, a little fearfully. While pushing his light body up out of the water, Ori shouted back, "You'll see!"

Hundreds of giant trees greeted the little spirit once more, welcoming him back to the living forest. There were moments back in that cave where he wasn't sure if he'd ever see it again. Still, he had a task to complete. Petting his round chin with his finger, he looked up into the gently swaying treetops, slowly dancing in the wind. Soft clouds covered the sky behind them, giving the picture a scenic backdrop. He took it all in, basking in the image for a moment before bringing himself back in and looking for a suitable branch to cut. Spotting one particularly fine growth near the top of one of the trees, he elegantly climbed a nearby tree and reached its top within a couple of seconds.

Back in the middle of the lake, the moki couldn't do anything more than watch as a big, long branch fell from the green sea of leaves above with a loud thud and a brief flash of light. Soon after, the little spirit was shoving the log across the ground towards the water. Lucky for him, the grass was soft and as such pushing the wood was an almost effortless endeavor. The log splashed into the water and floated upon its calm surface. Ori guided it over, the log just as long as he needed it to be.

"Here, you can use this to get across. I'm here, should you stumble," said Ori, pleased with himself. "Alright…," Mori said hesitantly, "I'll try it." Very carefully, the moki put one paw on the wooden surface, only to immediately pull it back. Ori's ears drooped pitifully. "What's wrong, Mori?" he asked. The moki was more than a little embarrassed about his fear of deep water, but fear was still stronger than any sense of pride he had. "It's… it's not stable," Mori stuttered. The little spirit blinked, his mind blank before a thought ran through his mind. "Wow… He really is serious about the whole swimming thing," he thought. Realizing he had to say something, Ori said, "Hold on, I'm coming." He put one hoof over the branch without hesitation to steady it. The position was a little awkward, but the branch was thin enough that he wouldn't have too much trouble pushing it across the water.

Although he was mainly focused on his friend at the moment, Ori couldn't help but admire the massive and majestic being they were in. From outside, back on the shore, it looked as though its whole body was made of stone. Back in the cave, the stone had been full of darkness and sorrow, but now it looked alive and friendly, the complete opposite of beforehand. The calming atmosphere let him try some calming himself. "Don't worry, I'll help you," he said, slowly but surely moving closer to his comrade and extending his arm in a gesture of kindness.

With Mori's trust and Ori´s help, they both reached the shore.

It was there that the voice came again, its source clear this time. "Please, come closer to me, my children. I can hardly move in these shallow waters."

…

"Brave children of the forest, hear me. It's been decades since I last saw one of your kind, little spirit. I am Gor. Once, I was the guardian of the springs of Niwen, until I was forced into an eternal slumber in the darkness."

The large being made a brief pause.

"Little glowing child, little fluffy moki. You have restored the light within me and brought my spirit back to the light. Even with your heroic act, I'm afraid I can still feel darkness covering this land. I wish I could tell you more, but my sight is limited. I can't see the origin of what is trying to devour our forest. See the clouds clenching together in a dark mass over there? They warn of something horrible nearby. Take care of yourselves, children. Seek the light of our great father. Seek for the eternal vessel. Call me from the surface, if your heart wants for warmth."

With his kind words over, the giant being vanished beneath the surface, somehow not causing even a single ripple as it displaced untold masses of water. A deep, long sigh accompanied its disappearance.

Mori's face showed his clear concerns over what the creature had just said. "Ori, what did he mean by that? Darkness that he could still feel? Is there something evil just around the corner and we are simply not aware of it? Is it that soft rain that's increasingly becoming less so?" The little spirit had to think over the words himself, assuming much the same expression as his friend. "I will tell father. Maybe he knows something about it. Do you want to come with me?" The moki hesitated. "Back to the Glades," he mused, a sigh of nostalgia coming over his lips. "It's been months since I've been there."

Ori interrupted him. "No, I actually want to visit that huge tree over there. That's our father."

"Oh," Mori said. Rather than disappointment, a deep happiness welled from inside him. His theory turned out to be true. "I knew it! Spirits actually can talk with the tree!" he thought. Not one to turn down such an opportunity, he responded, "Of course. I always wanted to watch a spirit communicate with the elder tree."

As they spoke, the clouds hovering above them began to unleash a more threatening hail of water. They clenched their dark fingers into a powerful fish of fury and the rain went from a light touch to feeling as though icicles were pounding their skin. It was an unusually cold temperature for a summer storm. A worried expression overtook Ori's face as he looked to the sky, now completely covered in clouds without a speck of blue in sight. The giant, dark fingers dipped deep into the recesses of his mind and stirred up a single phrase in his brain: Eternal Vessel. What did Gor mean by that? That giant guardian of the lake spoke in such puzzles, and he couldn't make heads or tails of half of the terminology he used. While he was in the middle of trying to compare the message to everything he had ever heard, a hard, cold drop hit him right square in the forehead, quickly awaking him from his reverie. "We have to hurry," he said, the words escaping his little mouth before he even thought about them. He took the moki by the paw and sped up his pace from a walk to somewhat of a panicked speedwalking. Around them, the treetops began to tell an anxious story as they swung to-and-fro in the building wind.

That's when things took a turn for the worst.

Bang! A lightning bolt struck one of the trees with a loud crack echoing in every which way. The now ignited branch became a dangerous hazard, glowing bright and dangerous as it fell into their path. The terrible flame blazed with a powerful light, shooting waves of natural fear through the poor bodies of both of the duo. The little spirit also felt dread and sorrow, feeling a connection to the gruesome end of the beautiful living being. A third feeling came in a wave as he noticed one of the flaming branches above fall and threaten to bury the moki underneath. "Watch out!" he shouted, followed by a reactive pull on his friend's paw to move him out of the way. Mori merely responded, "Thank you." Ori continued, "The weather's getting worse. Let's just hope that father is okay." He was shivering throughout his whole body, even more so than the moki standing beside him. "Ori, do you have some terrible experience with weather like this?" Mori questioned, confused that the spirit be showing so much fear when he wasn't the one who was almost crushed. However, the spirit shook his head, answering "Not now, we don't have time. We have to get to father." Just as soon as he finished his sentence, they were forced to dodge another direction to avoid more falling branches and fire. A few frantic moments later, and they'd inevitably lost their orientation completely. Giant trees surrounded them on all sides, and the unrelenting rain only made focusing harder.

"Ori, do you know where we are?"

He felt a rising panic overtake him, comparable to the disturbing nightmare fuel he'd been through all last night, but it was a little different. He felt lost, disoriented, and most importantly like he'd never find his father again, the feeling increasing with every heartbeat. "No… Not anymore…" he muttered. "D-don't tell me that we're lost"—"We're lost," Ori stated, his voice breaking from both fear and the constant blows of the merciless raindrops. It was as if the sea itself was falling from the heavy clouds above them. That terrible maelstrom must have come from some god-like creature, it was the only explanation.

A sudden flash in the distance distracted him. "Wait!" Ori said. "What's that light over there?"

…

"Hey you!" Ori shouted, "Did you get lost?" His kind voice left his mouth, always ready to comfort any sad person. The light continued to get stronger, until eventually, he saw its source. In front of him stood another spirit, thought it was like one he had never seen before. "Would you like to come with us? We search for father." The other spirit, however, had no reaction to his words. At all. As if Ori hadn't said anything. "You are scared," he stated kindly. "Just like us. You look like you could use a hug." The silent spirit began to carefully approach both, a soulless expression anchored on his glowing face. "The weather scares us all, little one," added Mori. "Is something wrong, my brother?" Ori asked, his concerns evident on his face. "Yes, come closer." Although the other spirit was a little taller than he was, he felt that they were definitely more scared than either he or Mori. Slowly spreading his arms for a hug, he stood still and ignored the pattering rain on his skin for a moment. The silent one also began to spread their arms as they approached the kind, smaller spirit. He answered Ori's offer…

With a forceful push to the ground.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the smaller spirit yelled, appalled by the act. His voice rose up until a powerful punch struck him dead in the face and made him shout briefly, only drawing another strike. "What's wrong, brother? What did I do to you?!" Ori had enough pain for several lifetimes now, and so he pushed the arms aside with a forceful shocking movement. They flung to the side, and he followed up with a strong kick with his hoof. While the taller spirit stumbled back, winded, Ori asked, "Whatever is the reason to hurt me? What terrible torment did you have to endure that would convince you to do such things?" The moki, for his part, was as appalled as his comrade. "Why, just why, did you attack him? We're trying to help!" Whatever the reason, the other spirit hadn't even winced from the impact, completely ignoring the fact that Ori had just hit them right in the stomach. Not a single tone of any kind escaped their mouth, not a single sign of pain or suffering showed across their body. Ori was not only visibly confused but also worried that they would try and attack him again. Although he hated the act of fighting one of his own siblings like nothing else, he was more than capable of defending himself when it came to it.

Meanwhile, the moki tried to sneak behind the attacker in order to surprise them with a powerful grab attack. He succeeded! With a flash of black limbs, he grabbed them underneath the arms and pulled them back into a position that made it impossible for them to use their hooves and free themselves. "Thank you, Mori," breathed Ori, panting slightly. The being started to struggle, but it was to no avail. The moki's grip was too strong. "Please, tell us. Whatever someone did to you, we are not your enemies! Please tell us what happened." The spirit, however, didn't say anything. They didn't even change their expression. It was only now that Ori realized that they didn't just not show any kind of fear, but they didn't show any kind of emotion at all. No pain, no worry, just an emotionless stare directly into his eyes. It was if they didn't have any feelings. Ori's expression, though, changed drastically to a scared and worried one. "You… you look as though you've lost your soul…," he said with a shivering voice. He couldn't help himself any longer. Grabbing the other spirit by the shoulders, he said, more urgently this time, "Please, tell us what happened!"

Silence.

Suddenly, a terribly hard hoof hit him in the face with a well-performed hook, and he stumbled back, now at the verge of crying. In the same moment, while Mori was distracted by the rapid pace of events, the spirit's elbow rammed into his flanks, causing the moki to scream in pain briefly. He fell to the ground and the spirit approached Ori, who had only been pushed farther into the realm of breaking emotionally. Their fearless eyes looked into his sea of tears, which was only growing more and more. Light was looking into darkness. The moment took only a fraction of a second, but it felt like minutes to Ori. Then, the being leapt at him and buried him underneath their weight; their paws pushing against his neck in an attempt to strangle him. It felt like there was a terrible coughing attack coming, but his respiratory tract was blocked effectively. He tried to move their arms away, but they were far too strong. He tried to kick them again, but they were too heavy and his legs were buried underneath. Only one option remained.

He didn't know what thought he had to do it, or if it were just self-preservation instincts kicking in at this point, but he finally summed his blade to his right paw and swung it forcefully in an uncontrollable path right at his "enemy." A clean cut drew itself right through the freaked-out being and caused it to stumble backwards. Ori could only watch in horror as he watched the results of his action, until the spirit burst into thousands of wispy light crystals that dissolved into the air.

"Wha… what have I done?" the little spirit wailed dejectedly, an unknown force still pinning him to the ground. He was absolutely aghast at the consequences of his action, and was still considering how to act on it when a paw reached over him. The moki had quite the opposite opinion on Ori's act. After recovering himself, he carefully walked up to his companion to lend him his paw. "You disposed of a dangerous being that was about to kill us both, that's what you have done. Now come on, get up." Ori, however, protested feverishly. "No, he was my brother! I—" "No, he wasn't. I'll tell you something, Ori. That spirit was not organic like you." Confused, the little spirit tilted his head to the side, lost in questions. "What… do you mean by that?" he asked. "He didn't bleed naturally like you did back when you got hit by the guardian in the temple. He just dissolved in the air, after you only hit him once," said Mori, resolute in his delivery. "But—" Ori tried to protest again, but he was cut off. "No buts. I know it's hard to understand, but this spirit wasn't like you. And it wasn't comparable to anyone of your kind. Now get up." Ori grabbed the moki's paw and let him lift his body up to his hooves. "Now, let's go find your father."

There was a swirling multitude of sensations and feelings to pick through that the little spirit had to endure right now, but one in particular stood out. That strange tingling feeling in his gut was back. Ori had felt it so often over the past day that he eventually could tell what it meant.

It meant danger.