The elder led the way to the canteen without turning his head to check if Navia was following him. For some, the sound of the steps would be enough, but Navia had a keen eye; she knew he was constantly checking her.
“I forgot to ask how your injuries are since you surprised me with that eye of yours.” The elder voice echoed through the mostly empty corridors. With the only exception being the candles every few feet and occasional tables near the doors.
“Well… I don’t feel any pain, but that doesn’t mean I am in good shape. Especially my right arm… I can’t fully move my hand.” Navia lifted her right hand, trying to clench it into a fist, but all she could do with all the effort was to slightly bend her fingers.
“You are missing a lot of muscles there after all. I don’t know if you will ever be able to move it fluently ever again… If you don’t mind me asking. What did you fight to end up like that?” The elder gently asked, trying to find out what had occurred, at the same time trying not to antagonize her.
Navia could feel the sudden cold coming from all her injuries. Being reminded of that creature reminded her of all the wounds she had. “Unregistered creature. Stronger than anything we ever faced… It was mostly made out of bones. Its head was of some kind of horrifying fish… With only a single muscle thread, it had more than enough strength to overpower an Anchor, faster than hyenas… And it wielded a weapon.”
“If someone else told me that, I would think it was some kind of a joke or a legend to scare people… But seeing your state, I cannot ignore the truth.” The man didn’t doubt Navia; his voice showed concern.
“Is there any Order’s post nearby? I need to report it.” Navia asked, occasionally trying to look out the window, but the mist obscured most of the view outside, except for the fact that they moved to a different corner of the wall.
“Yes. Right down the mountain, in Soko Village.” The elder’s answer seemed to surprise Navia. Making her stop to look around.
“I thought I recognized this place… Except… It’s empty compared to when I was here last time… And the Tower of Ascension is missing…” Navia looked out the window; she could very well visualize the building just by seeing its features.
“So the news didn’t reach you… Warrior.” The elder opened the doors for Navia and looked her in the eyes. It was a tense look. There was some kind of story behind it, and it was still on his mind. “It is a complicated story… I’ll try to explain it as best as I can, but I might be missing a lot of important parts of the story.”
The elder moved to the end of the canteen to another room, a small kitchen with a stove in the wall. Before he could even lift the vase with water, Navia quickly helped the man. She then poured the water into the pot.
The monk whispered something, and as he flickered his fingers, the wood under the pot began to burn. “It happened recently… There were four promising disciples whose goal was to become Dragons. Two of them were pupils of Fire Dragon and Ice Dragon.” The elder began telling the story, at the same time cutting the carrot and onion for the food he was preparing.
In the culture of the Monastery, the monks could take two paths. There is a path of wisdom that gives the title of Eternal, and the second path for warriors embraces the title of a Dragon. Both of those titles are possessed only by a dozen monks.
“The two disciples were sure to become the next dragons as the two masters intended to pass their title onto the next generation. The problem appeared when something ironic happened. The pupil of Fire Dragon unlocked gates connected to ice and water, while the Ice Dragon’s disciple unlocked powers of flame. Apparently, both masters helped the pupils shape their inner worlds to help them unlock the powers of their elements.” The elder swiftly cut the vegetables, easily telling the story and cooking at the same time.
“Seeing the power of different elements made them suspicious of the other masters and even of their own pupils. Discord began to run among them, one argument after another… Right before the Ascension… And when the time came… A fight broke out… In it, the tower fell, and most of the Monastery had been destroyed. The two dragons died in the battle, and the candidates for the titles vanished…” It happened a while ago, but the man could remember this day very well. The very foundation of the Monastery was shaken on that day.
The elder put the vegetables into the pot and poured a bit of milk into it. “A shame… We lost two Dragons and two talented successors because of a simple misunderstanding…”
“What if it wasn’t? Maybe one of the students or masters was at fault… Maybe even a third party.” Navia began to speculate, building her own theory after listening to the tale. A habit she made since the order not only protected humanity from monsters but from themselves as well. Meaning that sometimes she had to solve a case.
“Even if you’re right, it is impossible to confirm. No evidence was left after most of the monastery was destroyed, and the possible suspects went missing. This will burden the Master's minds for some time…” The monk took a sip with a spoon, slightly nodding his head at the taste. He then added the spices and a bit of flour at the end to make the soup a bit thicker.
“Now it will burden my mind too.” Navia chuckled, making the master pleased with the joke, nearly making him chuckle as well.
The elder placed two bowls on the table. Inside them was a creamy soup with vegetables. “If you like meat, I must apologise… I am a vegetarian.” Once the monk sat down, he clasped his hands together and then began to eat.
“That’s not a problem. Humans don’t need meat to live.” The elder smiled, enjoying Navia’s company.
They chattered while eating, barely noticing that the world outside was getting brighter. The mist made way for the sunlight. Only when the light shone directly into Navia’s eyes did she squint them.
Standing back up, she approached the window and looked outside. The monastery was placed at the very top of the mountain. A single path stretched from the shore right toward it. At the bottom was the largest village with wooden towers near the shore to look out for the monsters.
The road twisted upwards like a snake, along it two more villages and a few single houses made by the loners who would rather live away from the masses. Some had dojos in the forest to keep their students' minds at peace. There were many schools of martial arts and gates.
While those dojos were often visited by many students, the one that stood on top was the Monastery. A home for the smartest and most talented. The brightest star on this mountain.
“This sight stuns me every time… And this is also the reason why I chose to study the gates and share that wisdom. To help warriors like you. I am no fighter, but I do want to fight against the gods, in my own way.”
“And that is admirable. Thanks to you… Well… Now that I think about it. You didn’t introduce yourself.” Navia hesitated for a moment, but as she thought a bit longer, she didn’t recollect the man’s name.
“Right. Apologies… I was surprised by your eye and reaction back then, which I had forgotten. Ha! My name is Taro.” The elder scratched the back of his head, a bit ashamed that he had forgotten such formality.
“And my name is Navia.” She lightly bowed her head out of respect to the elder.
His eyes twinkled at her name, recognizing it from somewhere. “Mind if I ask you for your surname?” Asked the elder.
“Of course not. It’s Silckthron. Navia Silckthron.” Hearing her surname, the elder smiled warmly.
“So… You must be Taizen’s wife.” The elder placed a spoon in the bowl, nearly finishing the food, but knowing that Navia was connected to Taizen, his priorities changed. All he wanted to hear was about him.
“Taizen… Wife?” Navia whispered, her head suddenly itching. She placed her hand on her forehead and lightly scratched the place.
The elder was surprised by the reaction; his smile vanished as he was worried he had mistaken her for someone else. “You don’t know Taizen? Then I must’ve mistaken you for a different person…”
“Taizen… Taizen… Taizen. Taizen.” Navi repeated his name again and again, the itch became stronger, and so did her scratching. All she could hear was his name, but nothing else. No image of this person, not a sound of his voice, not a single memory.
“Navia!” She suddenly heard a scream. Looking forward, she saw the elder, leaning against the table, one hand wrapped around her arm. Once she stopped moving, the man slowly backed away.
Looking at her right hand, she noticed that it was stained black with her blood. She didn’t even notice that she was harming herself. “I… I…” Navia was about to scratch her forehead again, but even if the sound was muffled, she reacted to the elder’s voice.
“Calm down… You don’t need to answer… Just take a deep breath and focus on my hand.” The elder slowly moved his hand from right to left, breathing loudly so Navia would follow in his example. “Feeling better?” The elder asked, not stopping the movement of his hand.
Navia didn’t answer at first. A tear ran down from her right eye while the dark one turned the tears black with blood. “I know this name… But I can’t remember… I don’t remember him. All I know… is that he is important to me.”
“I’m sure he is… Maybe you should get some more rest. Meanwhile, I’ll send a word to the Elders.” Taro approached Navia and helped her stand back up, slowly leading her back to the chamber he had slept in for the past few days.
He checked on her from time to time, but her eyes were distant, as if looking for something, or rather someone. Deep in her mind, searching for the truth that she had forgotten.
Once in the room, he placed her on the bed, but it didn’t seem like Navia was going to fall asleep. Especially not in the current state. He placed an index finger on her forehead and a thumb on her nose. He whispered something, a chant, a prayer of some sort. Navia’s eyes slowly closed, and she was able to fall asleep.
The elder stood up and left the room. Once he closed the doors, he couldn’t hold it any longer and fell to his knees. “She wasn’t resisting… And yet I had to use almost all of my strength to just calm her to sleep…”