The spoked star slowly crept over the horizon illuminating the plains that surrounded the acres of land that the Garden Inhabited. The silent forest lived up to its name. There was always an eerie silence that lingered if nothing was said for too long and currently there were many things left unsaid...
From high above within a small section of the Silent Forest there were 16 outposts scattered in a spider web-like formation around the Garden. The treeline seemed to drift around the towers like flowing water but could not stretch too far past them.
However, many of these structures were damaged and destroyed and it seemed that the trees no longer had any resistance to spreading. So it encroached closer and closer to the Garden. It was as if a massive living mass of tendrils were reaching out towards the Garden, like an old withered hand grasping onto fire.
Outpost number 1 was the deepest into the silent forest, The first outpost built and where Juraman and the remaining firekeepers were maintaining a defensive stance against the rapid assaults of the King Shuck and its minions.
The outpost had regained some life, however the thick haze of post-humus karma still lingered in the air like an omen waiting to come true. In a room of the tower three people sat around a table each of them doing their own things. The one at the head of the table was Juraman.
To his left was a bald man who had his eyes and hands clasped in devotion. His expression was the picture of serenity. There wasn't a single tensed muscle in his jaw or brows.
To his right was an older gentleman whose features were wrinkled and covered in divots and there were sparse golden strands that acted as an accent to his grey temple. His expression was contemplative as he ran his fingers across the map in front of him, occasionally muttering something under his breath.
Juraman did not pay much attention to the two. He opened his eyes briefly to glance outside of the tower. He could see stacks of smoke rising in the distance casting the Garden in a mysterious haze. A haze which had kept it isolated from cryptid attacks for generations. There was a slight twinkle in his old eyes. It was as if he was looking into the past as he looked forward.
His breathing hitched for a second drawing the attention of the two next to him. The bald man opened his eyes glancing towards Juraman, and the older gentleman went silent.
Juraman paid them no attention and heaved out a heavy sigh. 'I hate this place…but who am I to lose myself? I've never run from anything before, but it feels as though I should this time. Their flames burn brighter after their death? , but when I die, will the vastness of my corpse smother the flame that should never go out? '
Juraman continued to look outwards hoping to see an answer in the distance.
There were new fortifications built after the arrival of Farod and the rest of the senior firekeepers.
The area surrounding the tower was cleared of the stone rubble of the demolished structures. Using mortar, sections of walls that were in some places up to five feet high were restored. The carriages that came almost a week ago were nowhere to be seen. Their only remains were wheels left haphazardly around.
The wood was used to create corridors and lynchpins where the walls were weakest and reinforce certain sections of wall that needed to remain strong.
The remains of the structures that couldn't be uprooted were dressed up in tarps and served as temporary barracks for the firekeepers present.
A young man whose eyes had lost their lustre sat languidly in a corner shaded from the sun.
" Yonnis…" The young man said the name out loud and winced in pain. He lifted his hands from his side only to see the wound had already scabbed over.
He then looked up and outwards into space once more. " Yonnis." The young man once again winced in pain as if a jolt of electricity flashed through him.
"Yonn-.."
Achk! Before the young man could figure out what happened he felt something solid collide with his ribcage. He doubled over in pain and spat out a fresh mouthful of blood.
His eyes watered and he gave himself a solid blink to distance himself from the pain and clear out his eyes. When he opened them, standing before him was a young man.
He recognized him immediately. " Mr Mylo…"
The boy didn't understand why Mylo kicked him. In his mind was only one thing, revenge. But the revenge hadn't come. The Outpost hadn't been attacked for a week.
The first day he was ready. He was angry. He felt like an avenger, a battle crazed maniac who would tear the world down for revenge. He plotted everything down to the minute detail. He was going to make them suffer...
Then the second came, and there was nowhere for his anger to be relieved to. Then the third came and the anger started to fade. Then the fourth. The fourth and fifth days were filled with his guilt. His mind told him things he didn't want to believe.
' Your best friend died and you could only hold that anger for four days? Did he really even matter to you?'
' Yes he did, I just- my mind can't handle it, I still want to fight.' He responded to his own thoughts rambling unsure of what to say to himself. He was also unsure of what to say to Yonnis, who he thought might have been listening into his mental conflict.
' Do you think Yonnis would have stopped feeling his rage at your death?' His mind chided him again.
' I don't know?' he replied.
' You don't know? You don't even know how he would do anything for you? What kind of monster are you? Do you remember his face? Can you see it? No you can't, because his corpse was burned to keep the flame alive. But what is the flame? Why couldn't he be spared from the fire? Why is he now ashes in the wind? Why does he only live on in the memories of someone who can only mumble his name? ' They replied back.
' I don't know? ' He spoke to himself again.
'You don't seem to know anything about anything. What is your purpose then…?'
' I don't know. ' He answered one more time.
His mind spiraled like this for days. Until he retreated farther into his mind. Until the only thing he could think about without being chastised by his own thoughts was his friend's name. He couldn't remember their voice but he could devotedly remember their name. Yonnis wouldn't be forgotten.
" Yonnis.." Through blood soaked teeth the words fell from his lips again.
Eugh! Cough! Cough! Once again he felt a solid kick collide with his side. But just like everything else that happened to him. It hurt less the second time around.
" Hey." Mylo called out to him.
He looked up at Mylo through the faded lenses of his eyes. ' Why? If you want to hurt me go ahead but just let me remember his name. That's all I have left. If I forget that, he won't ever exist again. I was weak…He couldn't get away in time, he saved me. I don't deserve to be here right now…I should have been the one who died. Yonnis…Why? '
" Hey." This time Mylo called out his voice a bit softer. " Get up and leave Seren. Get some food in your stomach. Get that look out of your eyes. I'm tired of seeing it. What happened to that war cry? Just because a week has passed you've lost your fire? We are fire-keepers, we only burn brighter when we die, because those that come after us will always fuel the fire."
Like a caveman dashing two stones together in the abyss that clouded his heart, sparks appeared briefly in Seren's eyes. But they were quickly swallowed whole once again. "Fire? I've been hearing that a lot lately. I hear that everytime we burn another corpse of a karma master, who gave everything for this stupid place. We should be worshiped. We are stronger, they, they don't respect us! Vivian would return things to how they used to be. After this I'm done being a firekeeper. I'm going to leave the Garden and go to the Monastery or Foragim. I don't want to die and become fuel for someone else's fire."
Mylo, hearing the words Seren spoke did not respond for a long while. Seren ignored Mylo and retreated back into his shady spot. Mylo watched this unmoving, his expression like stone. Eventually his hands reached outwards and Seren watched as Mylo's palm grew larger and larger in his field of view.
Mylo without saying a word gripped the Insignia of the Firekeepers that was stitched onto his shirt. The sound of fabric struggling to resist the strain frightened Seren, who then quickly found himself sliding across the dirt.
Seren, unable to break free from Mylo's grasp, struggled in shock. 'Mylo is an Empath, he shouldn't be able to physically overpower me.'
Seren struggled harder. Some firekeepers briefly stopped what they were doing to observe but were quickly deterred by the look on Mylo's face.
Three women were standing together nearby discussing their plans for fortification and reinforcement.
"Tamsun's suggestion was useful." Dixy spoke
A young lady with sharp angular features replied with an indifferent tone. " I doubt he was the one who came up with it. The little shit isn't that smart"
Jenna didn't reply and instead looked towards a certain direction. 'Hmmm..Why does Mylo look so upset?And why is he dragging that little boy?'
Noticing Jenna's silence Dixy and the young lady with sharp features glanced over. They all watched as Mylo dragged a young man by the back of his collar towards an open space.
The boy who was being thrashed was familiar to everyone looking. He had caused a scene near the bonfire a week ago and had been lamenting in a corner for the past few days. Nobody did anything for him. They each had their worries and their own considerations.
Almost all of their thoughts followed similar tracks. ' I've lost people I cared about and I can still function. If you can't then you're too weak to be one of us. '
Seren, noticing that people were watching him, called out to the three people who he believed would get him out of this situation fastest.
" Help! Someone, Help? Miss Dixy? No Miss Jenna, Miss Zarra help!?" Seren didn't realize how unmanly he looked calling out to the three nearest women for help.
The trio ignored his pleas and glanced towards Mylo who shot them a look. Mylo's eyes said a singular message. 'Interfere and Die.'
They each had their own reactions.
Dixy simply shook her head. "Sorry Seren, If you did something to anger Mylo I doubt I can do much to save you. "
Zarra, who was the woman with sharp angular features, replied. " Don't be late for the meeting in an hour Mylo! " She gave an enthusiastic wave towards him as he continued to drag Seren away.
Jenna hadn't paid any attention to Seren and cocked her head curiously at Mylo. " I thought you hated attention."
Mylo paused for a second and looked at the scene he was causing and frowned.
Tch! "Mind your business."