Chapter 26

  Roundabout Reflections

  Crystals can be found all throughout Iagorothi. They grow in clusters from stone, plants, soil, and even some creatures. For many years people thought Crystals grew because of Mana, but it was found that they are equal to Mana instead. Like Mana, Crystals can be used as a source of magic and other casting arts. Though not used in Modern Magic, Crystals are the center of many styles of casting spells.

  The most common variety of Crystals are simple color crystals. They can be found in all corners of the world, colorful shards that are often used in decoration or collected as a hobby. They appear in any color, though lack any magical properties and are less durable than glass. The most effective way color crystals are used is to change the color of light sources.

  In the world of Crystals, there are some that are coveted above others. Combat Crystals are rare and desired for their incredible durability, some exceeding even the most well refined metals. The most coveted of all Crystals, however, are the Elemental Crystals. A strong Fire Crystal can power a furnace for decades. A Water Crystal can generate and contain an isolated water cycle. Earth Crystals can emit tremendous force to break ground, or simply offer a massage if regulated.

  Air Crystals were the reason that Ailands existed. An Ailand defies the rest of the land, floating above the world as if lighter than air, often moving with the wind currents. As Crystals grow older, they grow larger and more powerful, making some of the largest natural Ailands ancient indeed.

  As Pierre stood on the polished glass viewing deck of the airship, he looked down at the immense silver and green crystal contained at its keel. The Air Crystal was encased in layers of Light Glass and Silver bracing. “Silver balances the flow of magical energies that come into contact with it. Is that how the Air Crystal’s power is dispersed?” He wondered to himself.

  “You got that right!” A woman with a fiery mane of crimson hair said, patting Pierre on the back hard enough to make him stumble forward. “You pick up on things fast, kid.”

  Pierre caught his footing and stuttered, “U-uh, y-yeah. Thanks.”

  The woman barked out a laugh, throwing back her head, “Ah ha ha ha! You found a fun one, Mien.” She said.

  Mien smiled, doing some stretches on the deck as he looked at the woman. “Seems so. Thanks for the lift Rils.”

  “My pleasure!” Rils said, eyeing Mien as he stretched. “Didn’t think you’d wanna head back to the capital anytime soon though. What’s the rush?”

  “New information regarding the search for my missing brother.” Mien said. “They want me to look at what they’ve found. Probably because they can’t figure anything out alone.”

  “So hard to get good help these days.” Rils said, shaking her head. One of the many airship workers hung his shoulders and pouted. Rils shot him a grin and they both burst out laughing before the worker got back to his job.

  “It’s rather impressive.” Kris said, “That you are an airship captain, I mean.”

  “Right? And don’t forget it. I’ve got the whole of Iagorothi out there, just waiting for me to explore it.” Rils struck a pose, holding a paper fan towards the suns. “I’m an adventurer of the skies.”

  Kris laughed, and Rils looked at Mien, who hid a smile. “Almost got ya.” Rils said.

  “Almost.” Mien admitted, “And it would be wonderful to keep chatting with you Rils. But we just got through with a long night of fighting, and I am ready to sleep for a while.”

  “Fine, go on ahead!” Rils said in mock annoyance. “Just leave me to work while you all rest.”

  Mien nodded, “I’ll have to take you up on that.”

  Rils smiled, “You can have one of the guest rooms to yourselves, all three of you. Den here will show you there.” A tall man with pale lavender skin and black tattoos approached from a hidden spot near the mast, nodding. He must have sharp ears to hear from that far.

  “Thanks Den.” Mien said, moving to follow the man. Den nodded and started leading Mien into the ship, while Kris and Pierre moved to keep up.

  They entered the wooden corridor of the ship and down a level. The airship was decorated with trinkets and objects of no value, treasures from voyages kept for their memories. Scraps of paper with crude maps on them were framed and hung, bits of broken tools and parts were secured to the walls. There was even an old ship wheel that seemed weathered from years of use. Den led them to a hallway and pointed out a room, then to Pierre. After a silent staring match, Pierre said, “Oh, I see.” And went into the room.

  Den pointed out one for Kris next, and she stepped inside. “Night boss.” Kris said to Mien as she shut the door.

  Mien was led to a third room, and Den opened the door. Then he turned to face Mien. “Captain likes you.” Den said.

  “I know.” Mien said, stepping into the room.

  “She likes you, alot.” Den said.

  Mien paused, then nodded. “I’ve known her for a long time you know. I already knew that.” Den nodded and departed, leaving Mien to crash. He needed a good sleep. Tracking days on end did not allow for much sleeping.

  As the airship made its way across the skies, Mien wondered what he should do. Should he keep pursuing Michael? He was involved in Liniva somehow, but those four weren’t murderers, Mien could tell as much. The thing they were after, and those people that showed up near the end. They were bad news. Mien could feel it, a sensation of danger. For now, Mien climbed into the hammock Rils had provided, and closed his eyes. Plans could wait for the morrow.

  Michael picked up a small violet crystal and peered through it. It was cloudy, he almost couldn’t see the mountain peaks through it. Still, it was kind of pretty. Michael looked up at the early morning suns through the crystal.

  “Michael, stop playing around with color crystals.” Sebastian said, “Camp’s packed, we’re ready to head out.”

  “Okay.” Michael pocketed the crystal and jogged back to the others. They had already finished clearing camp, and Yan led the party to another steep dirt road.

  “Think we will make it by the end of the day, like you said yesterday?” Sebastian asked Yan.

  “Hard to say,” Yan said, “It depends on the mountains. We could run into Zori or rockslides that slow us down.”

  “We’ll try to get there today.” Michael said, “And if not, we can always get there tomorrow.” Yan glanced at Michael for a moment, her eyes flat. Then she looked away. Michael deflated a little. Was she still mad at him?

  Wolf patted Michael on the back as they made their way through the mountains. “Hey Michael, why don’t you show us that trick you used to escape prison.”

  “I was wondering about that myself.” Sebastian said, “How did you escape?”

  “Oh that.” Michael said, looking at his right hand. “I didn’t think to try it again. Let me give it a shot.” Michael focused, envisioning the light and remembering the feeling he felt. Nothing happened, and Michael started to grow worried. He pushed that aside and focused harder.

  “We’ll never make it if we stop every few minutes.” Hyato said, looking back at Michael.

  “Hold on, just a second.” Michael imagined the light of the morning suns in his arms, and remembered that place, the vision he had before. “I can do this.” A bright violet energy enveloped Michael’s hand, then turned white, and became light.

  “What in Phaerayoe is that!?” Sebastian said.

  Wolf let out a chuckle and clapped his hands, “Light Form!” He said, “Instead of Energy Form. Michael turned into Light and passed through the bars of his cell like there was nothing there.”

  “Really?” Yan asked. “I thought he broke the cell door with his sword. That’s what I saw.”

  “No, that was my cell.” Wolf said. “Michael busted out of his by turning into Light itself.”

  Michael grinned, and the light faded from his arm. “I’m still not used to using it though.”

  Sebastian nodded and got everyone moving again, then patted Michael on the shoulder. “Then practice now. We let you off the hook last night, but you need to get back to training, don't you think?”

  “Right!” Michael said, clenching his fists.

  “Woah woah, hold on.” Wolf said. “You can’t expect him to train and hike a couple marathons all day in the mountains.”

  “Something you’ll learn about Michael.” Sebastian said. “He has nigh endless stamina.”

  “True.” Yan said. “If he doesn’t burn it off through the day, he’ll probably stay up training too late and not get enough sleep.” Michael was already tuning the others out, focused on his arm as he walked. Hyato was walking ahead of him, guiding him on the right path while he focused.

  “Seriously...” Wolf said, sighing. “Well, he did seem to have an awful lot of extra energy. I won’t be outdone!” Wolf pumped his fist, then groaned and clutched his side. “After I finish healing of course.” Sebastian and Yan both chuckled.

  Yan glanced at Michael, then looked away. A heavy feeling tugged at her stomach, a pit that dropped in whenever she let herself remember what she had done. She was the one that let Michael get kidnapped. It was her fault he had gone through all that. Yan pressed her knuckles against her sternum, trying to dampen the pain a bit. Then she looked ahead, and focused on the road. They needed to keep going.

  Their lunch plans were canceled when a pack of Zori popped out of the ground. They were like worms or moles, but with far too many spined tendrils for comfort. Wolf’s bowl of soup was knocked over the edge of a cliff, and he summoned a pillar of amber flame in revenge.

  The battle was spread out. Sebastian advised everyone to face one of the Zori each, since there were five of them in total. Yan split off with her double after one, and Hyato began carving the tendrils of another. Michael drew his sword and faced his opponent for the battle.

  Tendrils lashed out at Michael, aiming to gouge him apart. Michael slashed his sword, parried the tendrils, and looked for an opening. The thing had most of the tendrils on defense, forming a kind of barrier. “Okay, take this!” Michael thrust the sword into the ground and emitted the dark waves of force to knock his opponent skyward, “Dark Blade!”

  The attack made the Zori twitch about, but it remained rooted in the ground. “No good huh.” Michael said to himself. A tendril flew from the side and struck him on the face, cutting into him and making him stagger back with a grunt.

  “Gotta get close.” Michael took a sheathed stance and drew his sword, using the energy to force his body into action, “Flash Blade!” He zipped forth past the Anozori, warping along with a cutting edge slash. The attack could not be dodged, but it was blocked. The majority of the cut was absorbed by the defensive tendrils. A few dozen more like that, and the Zori would be cut in half. Tendrils struck Michael’s back, tearing his half cape and leaving stings from where they hit his back. There was no way to use that attack that many more times.

  “I still gotta get close.” Michael said, parrying the continued attacks of the enemy. Now that it was out of the ground, it wasn’t moving it's body. “Yeah...” Michael said, “I’ll get close in Light Form and tear it apart.”

  Michael focused. He had been training all day, but hadn’t managed more than just his arm in Light Form at once. But this had to work. He focused energy around his whole body first, then willed it to change him into Light. He felt a rush, and saw his arms glowing. It worked!

  With a battlecry, Michael lunged at the zori! He sprinted as hard as he could, intent on stepping past the enemy’s defense and then going crazy! “RAAAAAH!” Michael roared, rushing into the tendrils.

  A harsh pain struck Michael, then another, and another as the spines of the tendrils flailed against him. He felt every hit, and saw red blood from wounds. Light Form didn’t work at all! “DAMNIT!” Michael yelled, swinging his sword in fury. “I’m! So! Stupid!” Michael slashed away in rage as the energy he had flexed around him dispersed. Traces of violet light dissolved off his arms as Michael slashed down into the Zori.

  The rage subsided as the bloody mess of limbs turned into dust and then faded into nothing. His Light Form trick hadn’t worked at all, but he still won. Michael panted, looking around. The only other person who was still fighting was Wolf. Everyone else was looking at Michael, until they looked away. Michael turned his head, closing his eyes.

  “Here.” Hyato said, having walked over to Michael. He offered a warm wet towel. “Clean up man.”

  “Thanks.” Michael said, taking the cloth and wiping his cuts clean.

  “Don’t worry. It’s okay.” Hyato said.

  “Yeah...” Michael said, feeling ashamed at his outburst. “So, how’d you get this to be warm and wet?”

  “Elemancy.” Hyato said. “I prefer to use it for utility, rather than combat.”

  “That’s cool, actually.” Michael said.

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  “Okay.” Sebastian said, once Wolf had finished off his own foe, “Let’s finish up our lunch and get moving, shall we?”

  Wolf sighed, looking over the cliff into the canyon filled with a bamboo thicket. “My poor soup. You will be missed.”

  “There’s plenty more.” Yan said, “Don’t get all dramatic.” Yan dished out soup for everyone, and they sat to eat, now that their uninvited guests were dealt with.

  The clattering of spoons on bowls filled the silence of their lunch, until Wolf raised a hand. “Hey, I have a question. This enemy we’re after, the Revenant thing.”

  “Yeah?” Michael said.

  “Why are you after it? Did it, like, kill your family or something?” Wolf asked.

  “If you’re asking me to stop, the answer is no.” Michael said. “I’m certain that this thing needs to be stopped.”

  “So what did it do to you?”

  “Well, I don’t know if it killed my family or whatever, since I have amnesia.” Michael said.

  “Oh yeah, you mentioned that.” Wolf said.

  “But it did try to possess me. And it will keep possessing and hurting people if I don’t stop it.”

  “Well sure.” Wolf said. “But, there are tons of other evil things out there too. Like Zori. Why focus so hard on this thing just because it’s good at getting away? Why you?”

  Michael finished his soup and closed his eyes. “When it tried to possess me, I saw a vision of towns and cities being destroyed. And I dream about that all the time. I dream about lots of terrible things.”

  “Michael...” Yan said.

  “Well, I’m all aboard the hunt the Revenant bandwagon.” Wolf said, “Sounds like a fun time actually. But I’ve got news for you, Michael.”

  Michael looked over at Wolf, “What news?”

  “You don’t have Amnesia.” Wolf said.

  “What?” Michael blinked. Yan and Sebastian looked at Wolf too.

  “What do you mean?” Sebastian said.

  “He can’t remember anything before then.” Yan said. “So, Amnesia.”

  “Nope.” Wolf said. “It’s not Amnesia. And I’ll tell you how I know that.”

  There was an empty silence until Sebastian turned over his hand at Wolf, “So tell us.”

  “Because.” Wolf said. “I have Amnesia. And I have had amnesia for several years now. I’ve been to healers and brain guys.”

  “Brain guys?” Yan said, raising an eyebrow.

  “And I learned a great deal about amnesia, and Memory.” Wolf said. “Amnesiacs, like me, don’t dream the same way that other people do. We do dream, but it makes no sense. Our minds are all jumbled and the dreams mean nothing, or at least, can’t be interpreted. Because of the damage to our Memory.”

  “Okay, so you’re saying I’m not an amnesiac because I can dream?” Michael said.

  “Sort of.” Wolf said. “See, Memory is actually a powerful force. Stronger even than the four primary aspects of being.”

  “Aand you lost me.” Michael said.

  “The four primary aspects.” Sebastian supplied, “Body, Heart, Mind, and Soul. We’ve discussed them, Michael.”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Yeah,” Wolf said. “Change any one part of a person’s aspect, and they become a different person. If that Revenant is changing the aspect of Soul, like Sebastian was telling me he guessed at, then the person they became after they were possessed is not the same person as before.”

  “Okay, but what does that have to do with Michael’s memories?” Yan asked.

  “Well, it might mean that Michael was changed too. Except, sometimes when an aspect is changed enough, or multiple aspects are changed, Memory goes too. I’m saying.” Wolf said, pointing at Michael. “Michael never lost any memories. He didn’t exist before.”

  Michael, Yan, and Sebastian stopped moving, frozen in silence as they thought over Wolf’s words. Hyato finished his soup and began to clean up.

  “I didn’t exist?” Michael said.

  “I think so.” Wolf said. “What is your earliest memory?”

  Michael scratched at his head. “Well, I was in that ashen clearing in the forest, and that oppressive darkness tried to take hold. Then Yan and Sebastian arrived, and then the Revenant formed itself a body of ash.”

  “Do you two remember Michael before that?” Wolf asked, looking at Yan and Sebastian.

  Yan nodded, “Sebastian and I were camping out in the woods near the cliff, at the edge of the Eterna Forest, off the road a little ways, when Michael fell into camp.”

  “Yes.” Sebastian said. “He was dizzy and spacing out, didn’t respond to us at all. We were trying to figure out where he came from, it looked like he fell from the cliff above, but that’s impossible. Those cliffs are at least a hundred meters high, maybe more. There were some smaller trees nearby, I started to look at them to see if that’s where he came from. Then Yan told me in a panic that our sudden arrival had wandered off.”

  “We couldn’t just leave him to wander off and get killed, obviously.” Yan said.

  “Obviously.” Wolf agreed.

  “So I found his tracks, we went into the Eterna Forest, and we caught up to him. Then the revenant appeared.”

  “You see?” Wolf said, nodding and looking Michael’s way.

  “See what?” Michael asked.

  “The person that fell into their camp was someone else. Then, you came into existence as you fought the Revenant.” Wolf said. “You were probably under some curse or something, maybe the person you were before used a Chaos Altar.”

  Michael leaned back. “It doesn’t really change anything.” He said. “I’m going to take out the Revenant, and stop it’s path of destruction.”

  “And I’ll join you.” Wolf said. “After all, you saved my life. And I love a good fight. I get the feeling chasing this Revenant will give me lots of chances to polish my skills.”

  “Glad to have you along.” Michael said.

  Hyato stood up and brushed off his pants. “Now that we’ve settled all that, we should get moving. We cannot pursue the enemy if we do not get Yan’s Clan to give us information and then head to Cryston.”

  “Right!” Michael jumped to his feet, “And we can’t sit around waiting for Mien to catch up and drag us back to Myrrh.” Together the party cleaned their small camp and continued their journey.

  The day stretched long as the party traveled the mountains. Several more Zori packs attempted violence, only to be slain. Michael kept up his training on using Light Form, until Sebastian advised him to mix it up and do some elemancy practice. The party crossed through paths of trees, bamboo thickets, and tall cliff top roads as they followed Yan’s careful gaze.

  As night was drawing near, Yan pointed out a side path. “There is a freshwater lake over here that we can camp at for the night. We are close, but still need a few hours to reach my village.”

  “Camping again...” Sebastian said, dragging his feet along the dirt road, “I wish we had a wagon or something.”

  “Ah, it’s not so bad.” Wolf said. “Sleeping outside really gets you in touch with nature. Isn’t that an Evari thing?”

  “Ugh. Maybe for some of us. I prefer a feather pillow and plump bed.” Sebastian said, “With some plump company.”

  Wolf chuckled, “Maybe you should stick to the city circuit of adventuring.”

  “I’ll never reach the sky if I stay in town.” Sebastian said. “I can make do, for one more night anyways.”

  “We’re here.” Yan said, as the party stepped under a natural stone arch they came to see a huge immaculate lake in the mountains. The lake itself was broad and still, fresh and clear. The shore was a rocky bluff all around, with thickets of bamboo growing in patches. Near them, there was a short dock on the lake, near a small old cabin.

  “Hey, there’s a cabin.” Michael said. “Should we rest there?”

  “Hmm, might not be safe.” Wolf said. “Think we should risk it?”

  “It’s worth considering.” Michael said, as the party arrived at the lakeside.

  Hyato continued walking, “While you four consider, I’ll go forage. I’ll be back.” He walked along the lake shore towards the nearest bamboo thicket.

  “I’m going to check out the cabin.” Wolf said, “I’ll let you know if it's safe or not.”

  As Wolf walked towards the cabin, Sebastian turned to Michael and Yan. “Help me gather some freshwater from the lake, you two.”

  “Alright.” Michael followed Sebastian to the lake, getting out his water pouches.

  Yan went to the docks near the lake while Sebastian and Michael used elemancy to replenish their water. She tested the dock with a foot, and found it to be solid enough. As she knelt to gather water, she noticed something odd. A small sign at the very edge of the lake, just inside the water, off to the side of the dock. Curiosity got the better of her, again, and Yan went over to it.

  The sign read, ‘Lake of Mirrors. When water is stilled, peer forth into the surface, and see your true self.’ Yan read it a few times, then turned to the boys.

  “Hey guys,” Yan said, “Come check out this sign.”

  Sebastian and Michael approached, “A sign?” Michael wondered. Sebastian knelt and read the sign, and Michael bent over to do the same. “What does it mean?”

  “Only one way to find out.” Sebastian said. He stood and walked to the end of the dock, looking down at the waters.

  The dock sent out small ripples along the water, but the waters were settling faster than usual. Sebastian waited for the ripples to clear, gazing down at his broken reflection. The water here was, indeed, an almost perfect reflective surface. He gazed at the water as they stilled.

  Sebastian gazed for a long moment, and saw his reflection change. He took in the details of what he saw, then snorted and began laughing. Sebastian clutched his sides, very amused. He had seen himself, but far more feminine. Garbed in an eloquent pink and white dress, the reflection of Sebastian carried herself with feminine grace and the assets to flaunt. Sebastian dropped to his knees in laughter.

  “What is it? What did you see?” Yan asked, as Sebastian stepped back along the dock, still laughing.

  “I saw...” Sebastian started, “I saw...” he let out another few chuckles, then caught his breath. “I saw myself. As a girl. In a dress.” Sebastian’s voice was high with mirth as he explained, “I was hot.” Sebastian kept laughing.

  “So the womanizer’s true self is a woman?” Yan said, shaking her head, but smiling.

  “The cabin seems safe enough.” Wolf said as he walked over. “What’s up with you?”

  “Get this.” Sebastian said, and burst out laughing.

  Michael pointed at the sign. “This sign says that if you look at the lake while the waters are still, you see your true self. Sebastian saw himself as a girl in a dress.”

  “A hot girl!” Sebastian said, sitting down. “I never considered being the fairer sex, but I don’t mind what I saw. Heheh.” His laughter was slowing down.

  “Well.” Yan said, crossing out onto the dock. “I’m curious what the lake has to show me.”

  “I’ll go next, then.” Michael said, having a seat.

  “This sounds amusing.” Wolf said, waiting for his turn as well.

  Yan peered at the waters of the lake as they began to still. The reflection of herself in her green shirt changed before her eyes. She stared down, and narrowed her eyes. She looked at herself as she wore dark bandages around her head and limbs, and pieces of black armor over her chest and crotch. Her reflection turned, but Yan had seen enough. She stormed from the dock and kicked a stone, then sat down, her arms folded.

  “Uhh, so.” Michael said. “What did you see?”

  “I don’t wanna talk about it.” Yan said, scowling at the lake.

  “That bad, huh?” Wolf said. Sebastian looked away while Michael looked at Yan for a moment. Then Michael walked to the end of the dock.

  Michael gazed down at the mirror lake, watching the waters grow still. He watched his shimmering reflection, his wild white hair, his pupil-less violet eyes, his wolf-feral ears that betrayed his mixed heritage. The waters stood still, and Michael peered at them.

  The reflection did not change. He saw himself, exactly as he appeared. His clothes were damaged from travel and battle, he had two black scars on his face, running from his neck up his cheeks in symmetrical diagonals, and he looked no different than he had last seen himself.

  “So?” Wolf called out. “What do you see?”

  “I see myself.” Michael said.

  “Well, yeah. I meant besides that.” Wolf said.

  Hyato arrived with a small bag of bamboo shoots. “Why would he see anything different?”

  Michael walked back along the dock to join the others. “That sign in the water says this mirror lake reflects your true self.”

  “Indeed.” Sebastian said. “The sign is a haiku saying as much. The Lake of Mirrors. I saw myself as a woman, wearing a cute dress and looking rather dashing.”

  “Of course you would.” Hyato said.

  “I saw...” Yan said, still scowling, though not as much, “Myself. But I was wearing armor from my clan, it made me mad. I stopped looking.”

  “I saw myself.” Michael said, “Exactly as I appear. Though I guess it’s something, some of the mirrors back in Nita didn’t even reflect me.”

  “That’s not ominous or anything.” Wolf said. “I’m next, so you have to wait, Hyato.” Wolf walked to the end of the dock, while Hyato looked over everyone and frowned.

  Wolf stood at the edge of the dock, smiling as he waited for the water to still. He waited, ready to see what the lake had to say. Hyato continued to watch everyone in stoic silence. Sebastian had been amused, Yan had gotten angry, and Michael had not been moved by what he saw. Wolf was next.

  The waters stilled, and Wolf’s reflection changed. He saw himself, his muscles more impressive than they were, fires all around him. His eyes shone with dark malice, and his swords dripped with blood. Behind him, a trail of corpses pooled their blood into a river, and an army of shadows knelt.

  “GAAAH!” Wolf screamed, stumbling back, his heart racing. Red lines of adrenaline appeared on his face, a side effect of amped up Phanokai. He stumbled back along the dock and tripped back, falling onto the ground in fear.

  Yan and Michael leapt to their feet, “Are you okay!” Michael asked.

  “Curious.” Sebastian said. “What did you see, Wolf?”

  Wolf shook his head, the adrenaline lines on his face fading. He took a few breaths to calm down. “I’m a monster.”

  “What?” Yan said, worry in her tone.

  “No.” Hyato said, in a flat voice. “You aren’t a monster. If you four will stop playing around, there is only one logical reason for what you saw.”

  Sebastian, Yan, and Michael all looked at Hyato, while Wolf recovered himself from the ground. “What’s that?” Yan asked.

  “A spirit.” Hyato said. “A trickster spirit of the lake. Remember that we are in the wilds. The Drakmor Mountains are isolated from cities, and the further you get from cities the more spirits there are. You’ve all been tricked, a spirit amusing itself by getting different reactions from you.”

  Hyato turned away and walked over to the cabin, dropping some wood into a firepit and setting up a pot to boil the bamboo shoots. Everyone else traded looks, then Wolf let out a deep sigh. “I can’t believe I let a spirit trick me.”

  “Well,” Yan said. “I should have guessed. There are a lot of spirits around the mountains. I just never paid them any attention.”

  “Are they invisible?” Michael asked, glancing at the lake. “I didn’t see any spirit or anything.”

  “You have to use mysticism to see spirits.” Sebastian said. “They can manifest themselves, but people don’t usually interact with them.”

  “I want to.” Michael said. “They sound interesting.” Yan smiled, and Wolf chuckled.

  Sebastian patted Michael on the back, “I haven’t gone looking for spirits since I was a kid, but I’ll show you how. Let’s go get something to eat and get some sleep.” He joined Hyato at the cabinside firepit.

  Everyone gathered around, “You guys, we’re in luck.” Wolf said, “The cabin is only a few rooms, but there are six beds.” Sebastian let out a sigh at that.

  “You don’t want to look in the lake, Hyato?” Yan asked.

  “I don’t like being tricked by spirits.” Hyato said, focused on cooking. “Maybe someday, I’ll come back here and take a look.”

  Yan chuckled, “That would be a long trip just to come be tricked by a spirit.” She started to help with the cooking.

  “I’ll think about it... in a few years.” Hyato said. “Probably.”

  The party had an enjoyable dinner, followed by some training. Sebastian showed Michael how to look for spirits, then Michael did some combat training by himself while everyone else went to sleep. As the last light of the suns had faded away from the mountains, Michael went to the cabin and crawled into the bed he’d chosen. Tomorrow, they would head to Yan’s village.

  An hour into the night, the door to the cabin opened. A soft crunching of rocks broke the eerie silence of the night as a shadow crossed along the shore. In the darkness, the area looked much different. The lake’s surface was reflective, even at night, showing the area around. In and around the lake, mountains came out of the sky, and stood there.

  Hyato’s coat caught the swirling wind as he stepped onto the dock. The light of the moons shone along the drifting cloud in the reflection of the water, as he waited for them to still. His eyes seemed much older than earlier in the day. “I’ve always wondered.” He said to himself.

  The ripples of the lake stilled, and Hyato peered at his reflection. He was not surprised by his true self, and sighed as he saw himself standing next to Michael and John. There was another person there, and the sight made Hyato shake his head, blushing. “I don’t know what reaction you wanted from me.” Hyato said. “But I didn’t expect this.”

  Hyato turned and returned to the cabin, taking one last look at the Drakmor Mountains. “I should come back here someday.” He watched the shadows of the peaks in the distance for a few minutes as the cool night winds hushed the land. Then he went into the cabin.