Today Is Enough for Today

“I’ll admit I’ve already tried asking, but, well....” Zaelahn, his mother, pruned carefully at the herbs potted on the bench of the kitchen, sunlight streaming through the glassless window. “The Scale’s gone dim, you know. It’s dimming every day.”

Seih’s gaze sharpened. “How is it dimming? That shouldn’t be possible.”

And why haven’t I heard about it?

“There are times it’s gone into a sort of hibernation over history. As though it’s gathering power.” She smiled over her shoulder at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “I don’t think it will abandon us. It’s just being dragonish. After all, even Fire has to take a nap now and then.”

Considering she spent her time curled around the Core of Darkness to protect the mantle of the world and its people, he hoped not.

“Though she seems to have been sleeping for the last thirty years or so,” his mother chuckled as she went on. “You used to be able to see the steam from her nostrils rising through the earth around her temple and up near the peak. The bubbling pools were certainly too hot to take a dip in when I was a child!”

He gave a noncommittal hum, arms folded and leaning back against the edge of the table. “What about the pulse it gave?”

“Oh, all that leafpile about the tenders?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “There’s been no word about the inquiry for weeks.”

She shook her head, white-streaked blonde hair flowing around her shoulders, and made a face out the window up towards the temple at the top of the winding road, just visible past the trees by the wall. “In all my time as a priestess, I’ve never heard anyone question the tenders the way these people do. Not when they were all seers blessed by Reyahn, and certainly not when they were Divinations given to Light itself. They’re practically Angels, there’s no chance they could possibly be wrong.”

“Very little chance. Not entirely none.” A flicker of movement at the corner of his eye made him turn his head to see his father stride in, the bearded man catching his gaze with a nod and gripping at his shoulder in greeting. “Fire’s warmth to you, son. I see you’ve finally stopped by.”

Zaelahn waved her snippers in his direction as he greeted his father back. “You should know better than anyone how busy a Domini can be. Though I would have liked to see him bring Brei by. Such a bright girl. I’m still waiting for you to finally marry her, you know. It’s been over a year since you brought her to us, and I would love to see little grandchildren pattering around sooner rather than later~”

He abruptly felt attacked on all sides.

Kellore chuckled, the deep sound almost resonating through his bones like the hearty slap of a larger hand against his back. “Give the boy some breathing space, Zael. These are troubled times—not very conducive towards a marriage, let alone any newborns.”

He cut his mother off as she opened her mouth before anyone could continue any more talk of newborns, marriage, or future familial plans, coughing firmly into his fist. “I was also wondering if you had any advice regarding fortifying the Light Pillars.”

She sighed mournfully. “Just like your father, willing to wait until you’re eighty to make a move.”

He resisted the urge to dig his hands into his face, barely. Only his mother and Brei. No wonder Zael liked her, they had a similar mischievous streak.

Thankfulness be raised to the Light, his father stepped in as though his mother had never spoken and Seih wasn’t about to spontaneously combust from shame. “It’s a reasonable move, considering. We’ve allowed our defenses to weaken with the lack of a need to maintain them. Have you heard of the creatures from the Strange Forest becoming bolder, recently?”

“No,” he had to admit, his interest sharpening.

“I doubt you would have. Everyone’s focused on Loh and the Drillers, but there are plenty of Haunts out on the east poking at weak points, even spidorcions. The Pillars out on the east border are weaker than most people think. All of them in general are weaker, really. I’d suggest looking into it if you have the time.”

He frowned. It was easy to think the Shield was perfect, but there were always remnants of Darkness prowling along the edges of the Scar. Most people, and now he himself, forgot that. With the Scale dimmed, the Shield must be weakening.... “I will. I think it’ll be worth bringing up to the Ripple if I can find some good sources.”

His father nodded. “You still spend time around the Hub Pub, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“There are some easterners there. I’d recommend asking Blassin to point them out.”

“Thanks.” He pushed himself off the table’s edge. “Well, I’d better get going. I still have some things left to do.”

“You really only just arrived.” Zael sighed, moving over to pat at his cheeks, giving him a slightly melancholy smile. “But that’s the life of a busy Domini. You give Brei our blessings when you see her, alright?”

He smiled back. “Of course.”

(10:1:4)

|Trouble with Dark-kind in your own lands, eh? That’s ironic.|

Seih grunted, staring into the depths of his own drink as Crosc upended his. Pallis was absent today. |Apparently it’s nothing much. Just a few more Haunts than usual testing the limits of the Forest. They gave me a few experiences for my trouble, anyway.|

He’d already passed them on to Voice—little snippets of the townspeople’s interactions with fighting off the spirits that occasionally manifested as twisted and dangerous versions of more normal creatures. Though they hadn’t made a big deal out of it, last evening, they’d more than welcomed the idea of strengthening the Pillars to help keep the Forest’s denizens at bay.

|Oh look, here’s a Haunt right now.| Dotz—another regular—raised his glass to welcome someone across the room.

Seih turned, catching sight of the Haunt in question, Talao. And it was a reasonable comparison to make. The man’s soul manifested as a massive spider-ish creature twice as tall as anyone else in the room with multiple eyes and horns like antlers curving from the sides of his skull. Segmented legs with sharp, claw-like tips, and a pincered tail, curled close to his back as he sidled awkwardly between tables that somehow always held just enough room for him not to bowl someone off their chair.

|Where’ve you been, ugly?| Crosc called over the babble. |Hurry up and get your Arachnid butt over here. You’re not running anybody down in this bar.|

|Wha’?| The other yelled.

|Ah for the love of—|

Seih smiled to himself as Crosc muttered dire curses under his breath, and took a swig from his glass—a tall one of a design he didn’t recognise—raising an eyebrow at the man. |It might help if you used his name.|

Crosc shook a finger at him. |Shut it, O Smart One.|

He left him to it with a wave of surrender. If he didn’t want to direct-tag the other and have a shouting match over the noise instead, well....

They did just that for a good while until Talao gingerly perched his bulk on a tiny stool, thumping his arms onto the counter. |Soulspace is unfair.|

|Sure is, ugly.|

|Everyone looks at me funny here.|

|Yeah, well, you’re a giant spider. Get used to it.|

|Is that why you haven’t been around for a while.| Seih sent him a sidelong glance.

Talao gave a rolling shrug. |I wanted to hear what’s going on in the rest of the world. There’ve been rumblings in Arathnea. Hey, where’s Pallis? I thought he was webbed to the bar.|

|Dunno. Gone.|

Blassin wandered over to their little cluster. |He said he’s moving. Taking his family further down south to keep ahead of the Drillers, like a lot of ‘em in Loh. Terrible business.| He caught Seih’s eye as Talao exclaimed that he had no idea it was that bad, letting Dotz and Crosc engage him in conversation. |Saw your friend over at the other end in the corner.|

He paused, only listening with half an ear to the others. |The soulwalker with the gold eyes?|

Blassin nodded. |That’s the one. He’s over by the barrels listening to the band—refused a drink when I offered him one.|

|Hm.| He pushed back from the counter. |I think I’ll go give him a greeting.|

Since he’d spoken up at the debate, Seih hadn’t seen him around. What a kid as young as him was doing around here, and how he knew these things.... There was something going on, there, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious.

He found him where Blassin had said he’d be, sitting on the top barrel of the stack in the corner, almost hidden among trailing vines hanging off the currently disused upper balcony. Apparently just listening to the music playing on centre stage instead of the debates that had occupied it more often than not, lately, his expression was unreadable.

For a moment he watched him from the edge near the bar, lingering casually as if he was just there to mingle with the others at the counter. Something... hm. The more he observed him, the more something just seemed... off.

It was almost as if....

The other’s head turned, and stared directly at him with vividly glowing, golden, piercing eyes.

...Dammit.