Echoes (II)

This wasn’t the first time Sayo received “advice” from a noble. The way Lucien spoke left him with the same feeling.

Icky.

While that’s the way Sayo felt, the word didn’t do the feeling justice. To Sayo, Lucien’s words were like devouring a bowl of spider silk. It wasn’t a specific feeling, but rather it felt like a sickness⸺one that twisted Sayo’s insides around until they felt like puddy. His chest tightened and the more he thought about it the more memories flooded into his mind.

Bad memories.

Sayo shuddered.

The only thing he was satisfied with was that Lucien had the common decency to wish him a good night⸺and the tea. The tea was a highlight; brief, but nice at the time. Sayo hadn’t noticed it when he first arrived, but despite how humble the noble’s home appeared, the guest room looked quite nice. The bed felt nice, it was decently cold, and it smelled like honey. It wasn’t sleeping on a cloud, but certainly a step up from a hospital bed.

Sayo’s arms ached whenever that memory popped into his mind.

Originally, Sayo assumed it was late into the night when he arrived, the clouds blocked any form of sunlight, like a constant veil of night, but the void that rested outside his window was all he needed to see. It was definitely night, but it was a peaceful night. According to Asahi, sorcerers didn’t get to have many nights like this. Either they’d be piled under paperwork, or out working jobs until their bones were ready to give out. Both were lies, but Sayo giggled. The second thing wouldn’t be a problem for someone like him, even Asahi admitted it.

Sayo still couldn’t get the picture out of his mind: Lucien flinching as if he somehow was going to get burned when he wasn’t even the one picking up the cup.

Hehe, “no bones”.

The thought lingered in his mind until it faded and a new thought entered.

I wonder what Asahi’s up to…

Lucien made it sound like Asahi was dead, but that had to be the furthest thing from the truth. It was only two years ago that Sayo woke up to see his brother on the edge of a rooftop with tears in his eyes silently wishing he’d finally wake up. And even though he was angry, Sayo quickly realized what Asahi gave up in order to bring him back. Sayo would never forget the sight. His brother’s beautiful golden gaze faded into a milky white. Even though happiness radiated off of him, Asahi traded away his sight and his ability to use Lakia just for the chance to bring back a brother he’d never see again.

Asahi saw it as atonement, but Sayo still couldn’t fully accept that.

Before, he didn’t even believe Asahi cared.

Whether it be because of Lakia’s nature, or the way the world works most sorcerers were considered to be selfish; idolizing the pursuit of their own happiness by developing their sorcery without any care for how it could affect the world as a whole or the people around them. For the longest, Sayo was the affected until the cost was too much and he broke⸺all because Asahi was selfish.

But they’re both different now.

Sayo sighed.

If that was the metric that good sorcerers were measured by, Sayo would be destined to become an awful sorcerer. Alternatively, whoever caused this storm had to be some kind of master. Sayo thought about where the sorcerer could be hiding—if only to plan for the morning. It was then that Sayo remembered what his brother told him, oddly enough this village, though small, covered a lot of ground with many houses being built around, on top and some inside of the roots of the tree near its center.

Maybe the sorcerer lives inside the tree? I’d live in a tree if I managed to pull off something like this. Imagine using the roots to draw out the shape of your soul. Imagine if the roots WERE the shape of his soul.

Sayo chuckled to himself.

Now I really want to meet ‘em.

The storm raged outside, but its roar was dulled. Sayo initially assumed that he finally got used to the sound. When he glanced out the window he could see the rain but also something else. It looked like fireflies, but different. Light pulsed and warped along the roots of the tree like a raging fire.

Sayo’s eyes sparkled at the sight.

It’s…different.

On his journeys with Asahi, Sayo recognized the faint dance of fireflies but this felt different, almost as if the light was calling to him. Sayo sat up, carefully reaching towards the window. Unlike most fireflies they had a moon-tinted shimmer to them. His eyes focused on the sight, fighting through the rain until he saw the faint outline of a giant bonfire.

Sayo jumped out of bed, initially hoping to stop the spread until he noticed how contained the fire was and how many there actually were. The fires were littered along the roots highlighting how each lit up a group of huts surrounding it. Something about the sight rivaled the web of lights Sayo saw only hours earlier. Unlike those lights, these were much more natural—much more free.

Sayo couldn’t resist the urge to find their source. All it took was that thought and a careless click of the window before Sayo forced it open, allowing rain to splatter onto his face as he set out into the village.