Chapter 3: The Discovery in the Scriptorium

“If the gods have lost their powers, then how are you able to do this?” She signed to him and then motioned to the floating books above.

“Right. Great question. This happened when I awoke with your arrival. It seems that I have the faintest bit of power back but not nearly enough to access our once-lost texts,” he said.

The two sat in silence for some time, Shosei giving her the time to take in everything she had been through until now. Finally, Shosei’s gentle yet curious voice broke through her thoughts.

“Shion? Can we try something?” He asked. He wore a tight, nervous smile while his eyes pleaded with her. She looked at the god before her; he seemed so human in that moment. Shion could not help but to nod.

“Thank you,” Shosei said, his entire form becoming visibly relaxed. He laid out one of the sacred tomes between them and sat cross-legged across from her. The beautiful quill he had tucked behind his ear, he laid on the blank parchment before them. He took one of his hands in hers and placed his free hand over the book.

“Shion…I want you to sign the first thing that comes to your mind. Close your eyes if you must and follow your heart,” he told her, squeezing her hand softly. Shion nodded slowly, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the touch of a god.

“Please…remember. Remember the tales you wish to tell.” She signed.

Silver light flowed from her fingertips and into Shosei’s; the quill beneath his left hand began to move on its own at an incredible speed. Pages turned faster than her eyes could comprehend until the back cover of the book slammed shut, causing Ihuman and god alike to jump a bit in surprise. Shosei’s hand slowly let go of Shion’s and she allowed it to drop into her lap with the other one.

Shosei picked up the book and flipped through it, his hand slowly raising to his mouth in awe. He stood abruptly and began to pace before sitting back down.

The Scriptorium of Falling Leaves felt emptier without Shosei’s chatter filling it. As he stared at the text before him, his glasses slid lower on the bridge of his nose. His trembling fingertips lightly brushed the restored text, terrified that the words might fade into nothing once more.

Shion watched him closely, somewhat rattled by what had just happened. Her signs had done this. The way the ink had bloomed like vines across the pages in a blink of an eye, that had been, in part, her doing. The cracked leather cover of the book was still glowing faintly, a signal of warmth in the perpetual cold twilight of the strange world she had landed in.

“…So it’s true then,” Shosei murmured, at last. Lifting the restored text and setting it adrift amongst the autumn-red leaves that floated endlessly through the courtyard’s air he added, “You’re not simply the missing verse of a long-forgotten prophecy. You’re like a living script, Shion.” His voice was strained with a mixture of awe and unease.

Her chest and throat tightened at the word ‘script.’ She felt once more reduced to a subject that needed to be studied, rather than a person. Even so, she found herself signing a small, hesitant thanks. though Shosei was already furiously scrawling at a new section of his divine scroll, recording every motion of her hands.

As he lost himself in writing…whatever he was writing, Shion got to her feet. She began to gently touch books and scrolls with her fingertips. Her other hand began to sign once more. She wanted to know if she could do it alone. Afterall, she had felt quite the surge run through her before.

She watched in awe as words exploded across blank pages. Slowly, she restored several of the beautiful ancient texts. Without guidance, she just touched as many as she could until Shosei broke her concentration.

The god’s bright blue eyes glinted behind ink-smudged lenses – he had clearly remembered something of importance. “Would you… come with me? The texts of this library were not the only things robbed of their voice. I would like you to see for yourself.”

Shion felt hesitant and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She had only just arrived in this world. And she was still reeling from not only an eclipse that had torn her from home, but also a world where her voicelessness seemed to be an asset. She could not understand any of it really but something about his tone—urgent yet hopeful—pushed her to nod and she stepped forward. “Yes. I will come.” She signed before shoving her hands into her pockets.

— — —

As they passed through the impressive archways of the Scriptorium, Shion slowly took in the sights that had been obscured by the Scriptorium’s enclosed courtyard. The world outside was nothing like she could have imagined.

Inside the Scriptorium had been dark and chilly but seeing it outside was much different. The sky was permanently awash in the same deep indigo and violet that had befallen her own world when the moon had eclipsed the sun. Here, however, the sky was frozen in an eternal dusk; the sky was devoid of the sun and the moon alike. The wind was even chillier outside of the temple and it carried the thick scene of ash and iron.

“This is Izumo,” Shosei explained, his breath fogging faintly. “It’s The Land of the Gods. Or… what remains of it.”

As they carefully made their way down a crumbling staircase carved into the valley cliffs, Shion slowed down to sign to Shosei. “No moon? No sun?” Shion asked, her hands shaking softly from the cold.

“Both have gone dormant - sealed in the veil between our world and yours, alongside our powers. It’s been centuries since they graced our skies, causing the days to blur together.”

She clenched her lip between her teeth and drew in a breath. She had always loved twilight; it was a beautiful and quiet hour when the world would soften. But here, in Izumo, it was different. The fields, that should’ve been lush, were brown, cracked, and grumbling – rice fields had dried up, scarring wide plains with famine.

Village homes were on the brink of their demise with collapsing rooftops and chimneys that had long since gone cold. The stench of rot wafted through the air from shallow riverbeds below. She saw the shadows of villagers kneeling in the mud, desperately scooping what little bit of cloudy water remained in the riverbed.

Shion’s heart ached and she clenched her hands to her chest. She wanted to run down and offer help, even if she did not know how, but Shosei placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

“This world cannot be healed with your gestures alone,” he softly told her. “But…I believe you’ll be able to awaken the others, and help restore their powers. In turn, this world can heal if you aid others. That is why I brought you with me.”