Rising Shards

Mawiril continued to inspect the bloodsaber I’d found.

“I found it in a treasure trove of a big monster guy called Lophor Hothon,” I said. “It fell out of a glass case that was smashed.”

“A glass case?” Oka asked. “That…it couldn’t have been…”

“Maybe it’s a recreation of the one from Tesata?” I asked.

“What?" Oka said. "How do you know…oh, right, duh. The memory trial.”

“Are you guys gonna explain this, or…?” Aira asked.

“What happens in a shared memory trial, stares in a shared memory trial.” Kalei said. “Or, not, whatever. Oka, you wanna explain?”

“It was a bloodsaber at my old school. They kept it locked away…” Oka said.

“Oh,” Aira said. “Weird. Was Tesata in the void or something? And that’s how it ended up here?”

“Not to my knowledge?” Oka said.

“Regardless of where it came from,” Mawiril said. “It is one of the twin swords of the Kathron family.”

“So like, it’s a cool…sword? A cool one?” Aira asked.

“It’s a sword of legend. Great evils have been defeated with this sword, and many generations of Kathrons have wielded it.”

“The Kathrons…” I said. “Should Arctus have it then?”

“No,” Mawiril said. “You must take it with you.”

Mawiril sheathed the blade and forcefully handed it back to me.

“Why?”

“The Kathron sword is said to be a beacon in the dark, a guiding light. Use it on your quest.”

“O-OK…” I said, never holding something with that magnitude of responsibility before. The closest was when Stella won an auction for an autographed poster of Tower of Hate and Love, and asked me to hold it for a few seconds once it arrived in the mail while she got the frame ready. I held the Kathron sword with similar reverence to that poster.

“Holy crap,” Kalei said as we all stood outside in the village.

“What?” Oka asked.

“That was so cool,” Kalei said. “The robot elder of some magic island just told us ‘I wish you the best of luck on this vital mission.’ We’re going to some place called the ‘Ice Thunder Canyon.’ Zeta got like a magic sword! Like that’s total Tyrant Rangers stuff, and we’re living it!”

“There are some pretty cool things about being a Cani.” I said.

“I think he said vital task.” Laenie said.

“I heard vials of glass.” Aira said.

“It was vital task.” Lillia said.

“And aren’t all bloodsabers magic, technically?” Laenie asked.

"And aren't we magic?" Aira asked.

"Technically, yes, I'd say so." Laenie said.

“Mawiril didn’t specify if Zeta specifically had to use the Kathron bloodsaber, so I call dibs on the next turn with it.” Aira said.

“We should really get going.” Lillia said.

I saw Kiki giving confused and annoyed looks to what we were saying. I realized she hadn’t met everyone else formally.

“Oh!” I said. “Everyone, this is Kiki, she’s an Exumi. She’s cool.”

Kiki waved, seemingly imitating my awkward wave from earlier.

“So what was that about a train? Going to…somewhere?” Kalei asked. “Weren’t we just on a train? And at some point, someone is going to have to slow way down and explain what an Exumi is, please.”

“The train to the wastelands yes,” Kiki said. “But…Mawiril neglected to note the amount of time needed to prepare the train.”

“Prepare the train?” Kalei said, crossing her arms. “All that other stuff was so cool sounding. Preparations for a train are not.”

“How long will it take?”

“Approximately three turns?” Kiki said after a few moments of thinking. We all stared blankly.

“OK, but like in our time, maybe?” Aira asked.

“I don’t know what ‘your time’ is. It’ll be ready within approximately three turns.”

“Three turns of what?” Oka asked.

“Three turns!” Kiki said.

Kiki shooed us away from her, leaving us standing awkwardly in the middle of a village of Exumi. Since we were the only full organics outside of a recovering Arctus, we all just kind of stood there for a while before Lillia spoke up.

“This wait may be beneficial,” Lillia said. “Outside of catching our collective breath after our arrival here, I would like to speak with Zeta and Oka.”

“OK,” Kalei said. “Can we come with?”

“I’d prefer this to be just between us.”

“Fine.” Kalei said. “I’m going to find one of these guys near us to explain what the hell an ‘Exumi’ is in detail if the rest of you want to join me.”

Lillia gestured for me and Oka to follow her. We walked to the edge of one of one of the platforms of the village, away from the others and any Exumi that might listen in. Lillia paced in front of us for a moment.

“I’ve figured it out.” She finally said.

“Figured what out? That we’re dating?” I said.

“Zeta, no.” Lillia said. “You…told me that in person.”

“I told her too,” Oka said.

“Oka told me too,” Lillia said. “I knew. I’ve known this whole time?”

“Right, sorry,” I said. “I’m just. Very nervous. Because I feel like you’re gonna tell me something scary.”

“Hopefully not scary,” Lillia said. “I want to help you two.”

“And you thought it’d be good to do this now?” Oka said.

“If we’re facing something serious, I’d rather get this taken care of first and get you two back to normal to have you in top shape.” Lillia said.

“That’s a good point…” Oka said.

I didn’t really want to face whatever it was. I knew what Lillia was talking about immediately; that Oka and I had been freezing up before doing anything lately.

“Something Oka said earlier about the freezening had me thinking,” Lillia said.

“The freezening? You have a name for it?” I asked.

“Yes,” Lillia said. “Oka and I came up with it together.”

“Oh.” I said. “It’s…a pretty good name for it, I guess.”

“Thank you,” Lillia said. “I’ve deduced that—"

“You think Oka should break up with me? That…you think she wants to be done?” I asked, my fears falling out of my mouth. “That it’s not working for her?”