Hector didn't know what Quirin did or said, but Varian was furious and upset all the time. Hector thought that intense emotions were healthy to have, as long as someone knew how to cope with it. Varian wasn't as practiced in these feelings as Hector was. He wanted to walk the kid through telling if he was mostly mad or sad, and which emotion was a mask for the other. However, Varian was now avoiding him just as much as he was avoiding the others.
Hector knew that Varian was probably having his own issues and didn't know how to cope with all of it, and he was isolating himself as a result. He knew this probably wasn't personal. But Hector couldn't help but feel like he'd done something wrong, and Varian was avoiding him for a specific reason.
He wanted to give the kid his space, but he couldn't. It just didn't feel right. And Hector couldn't even tell if he was worried for Varian's sake, because he knew how much isolation could mess with someone and he didn't want that for the kid. Or did he want Varian to open up to him because he couldn't handle the isolation himself?
Quirin was distant and tense, and yet at the same time he was softer and more affectionate than usual. The contrast in the treatment made Hector feel confused and upset, so even though he hated being alone he had taken to keeping his distance from Quirin. The loneliness hurt, but it made more sense than whatever was going on with his brother.
As for his sister, Hector didn't even know what was going on with her. Adira had returned from wherever she had gone, and she'd been acting weirdly. She wouldn't talk about where she went or why she was gone. Hector didn't really care about that bit. He just wanted to talk to his sister. Quirin got to her first, and whatever they talked about quickly turned into an argument where they were just yelling over each other, and even though Hector could hear every word they said he didn't understand any of it.
And then Varian came up from his lab, where he'd been isolating himself, only to start yelling at Adira himself. Quirin tried to step in to calm him, but Varian just glared at him with so much hatred and anger that it made Hector feel sick. Varian stormed back into his gloomy lab to work on his experiments. Quirin gave Adira a pointed look, and then went to do some work around Old Corona. Adira muttered something about them not understanding everything she'd done for this family, and then she disappeared too, with no indication of how long she'd be gone this time.
Hector was left alone, feeling numb and cold. He couldn't move from where he stood in the kitchen. He felt like his ears were still ringing with echoes of their shouting and fury. He felt like he could feel their glares on the back of his neck, even though none of them had glared at him the whole time.
In fact, Hector was pretty sure none of them looked in his direction. From the moment they started fighting to the time where they all stormed out, his siblings and nephew had acted like they forgot that he was even there.
Hector wasn't afraid of anger. He thought that it was healthy for someone to let go of their emotions every once and a while instead of bottling it up until it destroyed them. So why did this make him feel gutted? Why did this make him feel like he couldn't breathe?
Hector felt like he was standing at the edge of an abyss. A dark expanse of nothingness was laid before him, and he longed for it. The nothingness looked impossibly inviting when compared to the cold anger that he was surrounded by.
He wished they were mad at him. He could handle anger when it was aimed towards him. He could fight and defend himself, or he could make up for his mistake. He had options and ways to make things better. Right now he was helpless. How was he supposed to fix something when he didn't know what was wrong?
He just stood there, leaning against the wall. His thoughts were full and blank all at once. He couldn't think, but he couldn't stop thinking either. Hector just spiraled, and he didn't know how to get himself out.
"...Uncle Hector?" He felt a hesitant touch on his arm. Hector jumped and looked down at Varian. The poor kid looked exhausted, and there was still anger lingering in his eyes, but mostly he just looked concerned. "Have you just been there the whole time?"
Hector blinked and looked at his surroundings, as though anything had changed. He had no idea how much time had passed. Maybe it had just been a minute or two, and Varian was back to grab something he'd forgotten. Maybe it had been hours. It should be frightening, the thought of standing there losing track of time for so long, but Hector felt nothing.
Varian was staring at him expectantly, and Hector remembered that the kid had asked him a question. "I…yes?" He didn't know why he sounded so uncertain in his answer. Hector knew for a fact that he hadn't moved since Varian had stormed out, however long that had been.
Varian looked incredibly unnerved. He took Hector's hand. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know why everyone's fighting." Hector said, as though that answered the question.
Varian looked sad, and a touch angry. "I know." Hector knew he was probably saying that he knew and understood how frustrated he was feeling. But it sounded like the kid was saying that he knew what Hector didn't. And maybe he did. After all, Varian was mad at Adira and his dad about something.
"What are you thinking about?" Varian asked.
"The Great Tree." Hector said. "And where I would be right now if I'd never left."
Varian looked confused and a little scared. "Why would you be somewhere else if you never left? Wouldn't you still be at the tree?"
Hector said nothing. The kid didn't need to know the dark places where Hector's thoughts went. Nobody needed to know, though sometimes he felt like Adira and Quirin already did.
Even though Hector didn't say a word, Varian's eyes had a fear and sadness in them that made him wonder if Varian suspected. The kid knew about his bad days, and though he was still very young he was getting older every day. Varian was the same age now that Hector remembered he had been when he'd first had these thoughts.
"Do you want to come see what I've been working on?" Varian asked. He was usually so proud of his alchemy, but these past several weeks, ever since this tension had gotten worse, he'd kept it all to himself. Hector knew that Varian was just trying to distract him from his spiraling, but he was still glad that the kid was opening up.
"Yeah, sure." Hector said.
Varian gave him a small smile. "Awesome." He grabbed Hector's hand and pulled him outside. "Dad told me to leave it alone, but I can't just see a problem and leave it alone when there might be something I can do about it."
Once outside Hector looked around at Old Corona. The black rocks had spread from the outskirts of the kingdom. Hector saw them everywhere around Old Corona. Every day he saw a new rock. Buildings had been destroyed. Crops had been ruined. People had been hurt, though Hector thanked the Moon that nobody had died because of the rocks yet.
The skies were dark and it was snowing, which was very odd for this time of year. Hector looked at Varian, wondering if all of this was because of him. Not that he blamed the kid. The Moon was volatile at the best of times, and it was a lot to expect a kid to control its powers. Especially when he still didn't know about them in the first place.
Seeing the snow on the ground and the black rocks surrounding them, Hector thought that Old Corona was looking more and more like the Dark Kingdom every day. It made him feel at home, but he tried hard to not like it. As homesick as he felt, he wouldn't wish the pain and suffering that thrived in the Dark Kingdom on anybody.
A cold breeze blew through. Hector was used to the cold, but he saw Varian shiver. He took his cloak off and dropped it on Varian's shoulder's. It was a little heavy for the kid, but he seemed glad for it.
Varian brought Hector into his lab. He'd been down here before, but not for a while. Hector was horrified to see a large number of black rocks in the middle of his lab. There were a fair amount of them clustered on one area, and they were large. Larger than the average black rock.
Varian's emotions had been all over the place since he'd had that discussion with his dad, and he'd hidden himself away in his lab frequently since then. What if something had happened to the kid down here? He didn't know how to feel for the black rocks the way that Hector did.
Varian was unbothered by the black rocks. He moved around them with practiced ease and went to his chemicals. "I've been trying to find a way to get rid of the black rocks. I-I feel like it's my responsibility." Varian looked to the side. "I know it's not, but I feel like I have to."
Hector felt conflicted. He felt like the black rocks were here because of Varian's bad mood, but he didn't want the kid to blame himself. He already carried a heavy weight on his shoulders.
"What do you have?" Hector asked. Varian gave him a shy smile and showed him a vial with an acidic yellow liquid in it.
"So, I've been trying to study the alchemical properties of the black rocks." Varian said. "It was a little hard to do when my samples are so big, but I work with what I have." Varian held up the vial, giving it a careful look. "But this formula here should, theoretically, neutralize the black rocks…somehow."
"Should?" Hector raised an eyebrow. "Somehow?" It didn't sound very scientific.
Varian sighed. "I know, I know, it's a long shot, but I have to try something. I'm not just going to sit here and wait helplessly while my town gets destroyed by these stupid back rocks that shouldn't even be here in the first place!" Varian slammed the vial on the table, almost making the liquid splash out. Just as quickly as Varian's frustration came, it went away. He groaned, drooping. He shouldn't look so drained.
"Sorry. I'm sorry, I just…" Varian sighed, exhausted. He turned back towards Hector. "The black rocks are created by the moonstone. They can probably only be destroyed by the power of the moonstone."
Hector was stunned. "What do you know about the moonstone?"
Varian shook his head and tucked his hair behind his ear with a grimace. "Only what my dad told me."
Quirin had talked to Varian, which meant that it was okay for Hector to do the same. He felt urgency and hope in his chest as he stepped towards his nephew.
"Maybe there is something you can do about the black rocks." Hector said. He put his hands on Varian's shoulders, his grip a little tighter than maybe it should be. "I know these incantations. They harness the power of the moonstone. They can get rid of the black rocks."
He wanted Varian to look hopeful and confident in his knowledge. The way that Varian always used to look at him when he was younger. The kid just looked cautious and a little anxious.
"Don't you need the moonstone for those?" Varian asked.
"Yeah," Hector put his hand on Varian's head, ruffling his hair a little. His hands lingered on the blue streak in Varian's hair. The kid grimaced, like Hector was making him nervous and uncomfortable. He was probably just projecting. Varian hadn't been nervous around him since he was five years old. Why would he start now?
"It can't hurt to try though, can it?" Hector asked. Varian still looked incredibly nervous.
"I-I don't know." Varian said. He rubbed his arms. "Maybe…maybe we shouldn't do this."
"It can't make things any worse than it already is." Hector said. He knew that one of the incantations that he knew could get rid of the black rocks, because it granted control of them. "Can you just try? I'll do it with you."
"I guess so." Varian said quietly.
"Atta boy." Hector grinned. "Look, just repeat after me, okay? Everything will be fine." He recalled the incantations that he'd learned about as a young child. The knowledge had been mostly lost in the Dark Kingdom, but the Brotherhood had been given the incantation, just in case something happened and they needed somebody to wield the moonstone to protect their kingdom. Adira and Quirin had probably forgotten about the incantation, but Hector had committed it to his heart.
"Crescent high above, evolving as you go." Hector said. "Raise what lies beneath. Let the darkness grow." Nothing happened. Of course it didn't. Hector didn't have the powers of the moonstone. But Varian did.
The kid was breathing harshly. He looked like he was about to faint. "I…Uncle Hector, I don't think I can do this."
"Come on, kid, please." Hector said.
Varian closed his eyes, tears falling down his cheeks. Hector didn't know why he was so bothered. But Varian spoke regardless. "C-Crescent high above." Varian's voice trembled. "Evolving as you go."
Hector expected to feel the Moon's power, or to see a sign that it was working. Either for the black rocks to light up in the way they did when influenced by the Moon's power, or even for the streak in Varian's hair to take on the iconic glow of the moonstone.
"Raise what lies beneath. Let the darkness grow." Varian said. He shook his head. "Uncle Hector, i-it's not going to work."
"It can, it can." Hector assured him. "Just take a deep breath and try again.
"No!" Varian yanked himself out of Hector's hold. "Stop! It's not going to work. I'm not the moonstone!" He swung his arms out and his hand knocked against the vial he'd been working with earlier. It tumbled off the table and crashed on the ground, splattering the yellow liquid everywhere. Some of it splattered on the base of some of the black rocks.
Hector only partially paid attention to that part. His focus was on Varian. The kid was openly crying, his hands over his mouth as he looked at Hector in horror. He was shaking. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Hey, hey, kid, it's okay." Hector took Varian into his arms. Varian cried against him. Don't be so hard on yourself." The knight of the Brotherhood inside of him was screaming. He wanted to shake Varian's shoulders and ask him what he meant when he said that he wasn't the moonstone. Of course he was. He had to be. Adira had said so, and she didn't lie.
Hector pushed that back. The uncle part of him felt the need to comfort his nephew and make him feel better. Hector cried frantically, just clinging to him, and Hector held on to him, beating himself up for pushing Varian so far. He hadn't meant to . He just wanted to…he didn't even know anymore.
Hector could have stood there for hours, holding Varian, but something was nudging him at the back of his mind. He had good instincts, and he always trusted them. He sensed danger. Like mild movement out of the corner of his mind that he knew meant trouble. He looked to the side, towards the black rocks, and Hector felt his world freeze.
The liquid that had splashed onto the rocks looked like it was bubbling, but after taking a closer look he saw that it was actually crystalizing and expanding. Hector had a very bad feeling about this, and he was suddenly very aware of how close they were to the crystals.
"Kid, move!" Hector gave Varian a harsh shove and tried to move out of the way himself. Hector stumbled and fell, twisting his ankle because he couldn't move his right foot. It was stuck, caught in the yellow crystals that were still growing. That wasn't good.
"U-Uncle Hector?!" Varian stepped towards him.
"Hey, hey, it's okay." Hector said. "You're okay."
"But you're not!" Varian sounded like he was about to break down. "What do I…What can I do?"
Hector's instinct was to suggest the other incantation. The decay incantation. He'd seen it destroy everything around it, burning through solid steel, but Varian was worked up, and he hadn't been able to use the black rock incantation before.
If it didn't work, Varian would blame himself, and Hector couldn't let the kid carry that with him. Instead he came up with another plan. One that he wasn't looking forward to, but it would work just as well.
The black rocks were indestructible, which meant that they could destroy anything. Hector had seen them slice through humans like butter. Maybe for once that could be a good thing.
"Varian, listen to me." Hector said. "Go find Adira. Make sure she has her sword, and then send her down here. She'll take care of everything. And then I need you to stay with your dad until this is all over, okay?"
"O-okay." Varian adjusted Hector's cloak around his shoulders. "I can do that. I can do that." He ran out, stumbling over his feet as he did. Hector was left on his own, sitting on the floor in an awkward position as the now amber crystals slowly climbed up his leg. He hoped Varian was quick. Hector needed Adira's sword, and then he would need his help getting out of here. And he definitely needed Varian to stay away, because this wasn't going to be pretty.
Maybe there was a way for Hector to get his foot out of the amber, but he didn't want to waste the time trying to figure it out. His best bet was to get out of this as quickly as possible before the amber engulfed him completely. His foot and the lower part of his leg was a lost cause. It was dead weight, and Hector thought that the best thing to do with dead weight was cut it off.
He was a little scared, but he didn't have a choice. If he had to choose between losing a foot, and possibly dying, he'll lose a foot. He'd adjust. Somebody couldn't really adjust to being dead. Hector just hoped that Adira got here soon, because no matter how willing he was to do this, he would rather lose as little as possible.
And now that Varian was gone and no longer needed comfort, Hector found his thoughts going to the doubts that he'd pushed to the back of his mind. The incantation hadn't worked for Varian. It should have. Hector hadn't even considered that it wouldn't. Adira said that Varian was blessed with the moonstone's power. Maybe it wasn't strong enough.
That was probably it, but now there was a little doubt prodding at the back of his mind that made him feel sick. He tried not to let it get to him. He just needed to trust Adira. She would come. She always did, when he needed her. Even though she was a traitor, she hadn't personally let him down before, and he didn't think she would start now.
She was still his sister. That had to mean something.
