The Star, The Demon, and The God - 3. Missing in the Snow

Luno - The Star

“What is wrong with the nickname?” I pout.

Sadly Tobias can’t see it because he is walking ahead of me.

He huffs and shakes his head. “It is a stupid name. Do not call me it again.”

Smiling, I glance up at Enfi. She soars above us in circles, keeping her eyes open for any danger.

I like to think that deep down, Tobias secretly likes the nickname I gave him. I would think it was normal. Viktor and Moni had both given me a nickname. I will forever cherish it and will only go by Luno.

The fact Tobias thinks Tobi is stupid must be a lie! It is a cute nickname! Surely it would grow on him.

I pull at the front of my jacket, trying to air out my neck. It seriously feels like I am being choked by this clothing. It is awful!

At least Kulu seems to love it. He really likes the fluffy sheep fur in the hood.

Oh I know! What if I were to tear the hood part off and use it as a little pouch for Kulu to sleep in! It would be perfect!

Wait nevermind. Tobias would be cross if I were to do such a thing.

He did go out of his way to summon these clothes. I might as well take care of them.

I sigh and kick at stones as we walk along the rocky road.

At least the snow is not so steep here. Most likely from all the humans using these roads.

Hmm...if the roads are not fully covered in snow, that must mean their deaths have become recent.

Biting my lip, I try and come up with reasons as to why anyone would want to do this.

I know humans can be hateful and mean, but they are not all like that. If anything, some are incredibly sweet!

A small smile plays on my lips are the memories of Viktor and Monie.

I do miss them greatly.

Sighing, I kick at more stones and skip along the road.

Moving around a lot in these clothes seem to help with getting used to them. Perhaps skipping the whole way will be a good idea?

Nevermind, I have already learned that my feet will hurt soon enough.

Sighing again, bow my head down in defeat. Already I am bored out of my mind. Where are all the creatures that live out here?

“Could you please stop sighing,” Tobias says in irritation. “You are just going to attract every Angel in Thymestrys before we even get to the next location.”

“But I am so bored,” I groan. “Can I not just fly us over there?”

He gives a mocking laugh. “You think you could lift me up? You are barely taller than Raiyo. I doubt you could even get me off my heels.”

Rolling my eyes, I fold my arms. “Fine then. You could always let me ride on the back of your tiger form again.”

He scoffs and looks back at me.

“You must be joking, right?” He smirks. “Why would I let you do that?”

Narrowing my eyes in confusion, I tilt my head.

“We’ve...we have done this before,” I frown. “You offered your back for me to ride on and you saved me from those demons...remember?”

He smiles and shrugs.

“Can’t say that I do,” He says.

This is hurting my head. I am so confused. I could have swore I did not imagine that. I am fairly certain I know when I am seeing stuff that is not truly there. I ate some bad mushrooms once on accident.

All of a sudden he starts laughing.

Frowning, I hurry to his side and touch his arm, I try and feel for any problems in his body. He feels pretty healthy to me in all honesty.

“Are you okay?” I ask, a bit worried for my new friend.

“Yes, you dofus,” He chuckles. “I was messing with you. You should have seen yourself. I could see the gears grinding in that head of yours.”

Oh. He was playing with me.

Yet again, I find myself preferring the company of creatures once again.

“Demons are strange,” I say, mostly to myself. “At least you all smell good.”

Tobias snorts and shakes his head. “Do you even hear yourself? And you say I am strange. ‘At least you all smell good.’ You sound insane.”

I shrug. “Maybe I am. I chose to leave the sanctuary with you, did I not?”

He shrugs as well. “Yeah, you are a bit of a weird bastard, aren’t you?”

Sighing, I roll my eyes.

I let Tobias walk ahead of me again. No point in talking with him for now I guess. He seems to be in a bit of a bullying mood.

Having to remind myself that he is just a lonely person is pretty much one of the only things that is keeping me going. The other would be the fate of the world being pushed into my hands.

Why am I the answer? The gods created the world. At least that is what everyone, including Mother, has said.

Now, I do not have the greatest knowledge of the Gods. Mother made sure to keep secrets from me. Only recently have I met a Demon and an Archdemon.

Well, a God mixed with an Archdemon. That part confuses me. Apparently nobody is like Raiyo, but how was he created?

Did a God and an Archdemon create him together? I am not so sure. If they did, they sure make a scary combination.

Scooping up some snow, it make it melt in my hand. A small bit of water for Kulu and Enfi to drink.

Kulu’s tongue sits inside the water, not at all trying to drink it.

Smiling, I gently tip the water into his mouth.

Enfi swoops down and perches on my shoulder. She dips down to drink the water as well. She also twitches her head around, splashing water everywhere.

I laugh and and drop the rest of it onto the ground.

Look up, I find Tobias watching me. As soon as he notices that I see him, he turns back around and keep walking with the map in his hands.

He sure is interested in that map.

Enfi stays on my shoulder to rest her wings. I look around for anything that might need out help.

There are not many creatures around here. Most are sleeping probably. I can tell they are out there, hiding in the snow or inside trees.

None of them seem to need our attention.

It is a good thing the wild seems perfectly fine. The thing killing all the humans only seems to focus on them and their own animals. Nothing wild.

The creatures in my Sanctuary are wild. Hopefully they will stay safe? It has been a few days. I miss them all.

I miss them, but this is also for them. Raiyo said the evil source could turn to my friends after it finished with the humans. I will not let that happen.

Swinging my hands with each step, I sigh to myself, a bit quieter than normal so that Tobias will not get onto me again.

This is so boring.

It really does not help that it is so unbelievably quiet. You would think the end of the world would be a lot louder.

Well I suppose it is not the end of the world, but when the humans are threatens to cease to exist, you would think the world would be louder.

Maybe the world wants the humans to disappear?

No of course not. I just wish I could know why this is all happening. I wish I knew how bring all of the humans back would weaken the source. What even is the source?

It is all hurting my head again.

I am conflicted. If I do not think about what is going on, I end up boring myself to death with all this walking. Nothing else grabs my attention, so nothing else will cure my boredom.

It makes me feel guilty for having the lives of others keep me from being bored.

There are other things I could think about. Mother said she would explain those things in proper detail in the next time I see her.

Ever since Raiyo told me what I was, who brought me here, and how important I can be, my mind has just been on a wild ride. Sadly it is not the rides I particularly enjoy. Why does this seem to happen to me?

The first time I left the Sanctuary, I found the little town called Varen. That was just an absolute mess.

...I guess it was a nice mess as times.

This time when I venture out without Mother, I learn about some scary thing is out here killing humans, how I was made, and I learn that Mother is married to the scary Moon God.

Still very strange that she wants me to hide from him. Could she not just tell Morgoren to leave me alone? She is married to him. She must have a say in the matter. However, Raiyo made it sound as though Morgoren does as he pleases.

That is not very comforting to think about.

Again I am reminded that Morgoren and Raiyo have slept together. Maybe those things he said about Morgoren are true. If he is willing to sleep with others behind Mother’s back, why is she still with him? It is all stupid and could easily be fixed in my eyes.

Either he stops and remains faithful, or Mother should leave him.

I have read a few stories written by humans so I am aware of their choices and dramas they tend to create. This thing between Mother and Morgoren feels just like one of those said dramas.

Even just reading those stories were tiring. I imagine all the other Gods are quite annoyed as well.

Gods do not seem that different to humans in my eyes. Based on the two I have seen, they seem very human.

Sure, they have various degrees of power, but their thoughts seem to betray them. That alone makes me feel a bit better about myself and the situation I am in. If they can complain, I could too right?

The only reason I am here right now is because the Moon God tore me from the sky and chopped into a form that was to resemble Raiyo. If it were not for that, I would be...doing star things. Whatever that may be.

“You are awfully quiet,” Tobias calls ahead of me.

Looking up at him, I see he is watching me while walking backwards.

I shrug. “Just thinking about everything I have learned in the last few days. It is quite a lot.”

He grunts and nods. “Yeah it must be a nice change to finally realize you were living a lie. Well, not exactly a lie, but a fake world.”

“I knew it was not real,” I say. “I was just shielded from everything that was going on out here. That does not mean I was living a lie.”

He hums and turns back around. I jog to catch up with him.

“Would you not be so confused if you were to find out you are not what you thought you were?” I ask.

He nods. “Of course I would. Just what exactly did you think you were?”

Biting my lips, I look up at Enfi flying above us.

“I thought I was the Gatekeeper’s son,” I say, my voice shaking a bit. “That she was my actual birth mother.”

I can tell Tobias is getting a bit uncomfortable, but I have to tell someone these thoughts! It is bad to keep too many thoughts to yourself.

Viktor told me that. He said piling it into the brain will eventually cause everything to come crashing down.

“Sure, I have never seen her physical body,” I frown, “but I still thought she was my Mother. She was always there for me, you know?”

He turns to me with a look of confusion.

“I find it really hard to believe she could care for someone who looked like Raiyo,” He says. “Also, you have never seen her before? How the hell did you develop a bond like that?”

Maybe it is because of the way he said it, but that makes me giggle.

Shrugging to myself, I pull my hood on tighter. “It just happened. She was the only person I had to talk to. Maybe it was bound to happen. I know she was very mean to me at first, however.”

He raises an eyebrow at me.

“She never really talked to me in the beginning. Mother would keep herself quiet, never thinking out loud. She was trying to hide from me, but she also wanted to keep watch. I always knew she was there though. I could always feel it.”

I smile at the memories.

Mother was a good mother in a way. She kept me safe, brought me food and water when needed. She always watched my back. Not once has she abandoned me or done anything that would make me think she would try and hurt me.

Sure, she can be mean sometimes, but she has her own way of loving.

Knowing now that I am supposed to look like Raiyo, I can see why she was the way she is. Why would she want to raise someone that looked like the God who slept with her husband?

Actually the better questions would be, how did she find me, and why did she decide to raise me?

I do hope she comes back soon to tell me these things. She said she would tell me the next time she saw me and I took that as a promise.

“Must be a miracle that you grew attached to her,” Tobias grumbles, looking down at his map again.

I grin. “Yeah I guess it was. I am glad for it.”

“I know someone who would not be so enthusiastic as you are,” He says offhandedly.

Frowning, I tilt my head in confusion.

“Why would someone be mad about that?” I ask. “You would think that everyone would be happy that others can find happiness in other people!”

He chuckles and shakes his head.

“Yeah, yeah,” He waves his hand. “Whatever you say.”

Hmm...Now I am going to make it a goal to make Tobias like me. He needs a friend to turn to. Something tell me that no such thing exists for him and that is not right. Everyone deserves a friend!

I walk a little closer to him and look down at the map. I can’t exactly read it, but it is interesting to look at. I just do not see why Tobias is so interested in staring at all the black dots.

“Why do you stare at the map for so long,” I ask. “It is not like the dots will be going anywhere.”

He shrugs but keeps walking.

“It is comforting to see the places you brought back have not died since we’ve left,” He says.

I nod and see that we should be reaching a new village fairly soon. I can tell that it will work, but I do have the fear that maybe my magic will all of a sudden be unable to bring the humans back.

That is not the best thing to think about when you are about to arrive there…

~~~
~~~

Tobias

We arrive at a small village; though I doubt it can barely even be called that.

The village sits on the edge of the lake. About three cabins circle along the shore while six other cabins curve around behind the first three.

At first the humans appear to be missing.

The map shows black so I assume that everyone here should be dead, but where are the bodies?

Luno pushes his way through the snow. It is rather deep here. Almost touching his knees.

I follow behind him, staring at all the houses in confusion.

All their doors are open so obviously none of them are in there. There are by the doors that tell me that the humans were hauled out of their homes. Unfortunately, the trails end rather quickly. The snow piled back on top.

“Where are they?” Luno asks, his face scrunched up in worry.

I shrug and look towards the lake. It is completely covered in ice. No life can be seen on top of it.

“No idea,” I frown.

Luno decides to start searching house to house. He walks in through the doors, trying to find any sign of life.

Enfi flies above us under Luno’s directions. She is to find where any of the humans could have gone.

I keep walking around the village, peeking into a house every now and then.

I find a house with dog bowls sitting just by the door. Some snow has managed to fall in, but there isn’t even a sign of any animals around here.

This is so strange. Is this what happens if we are too late? Raiyo never said that the bodies could go missing! Does he even know that such a thing is possible?

Something tells me he wouldn’t. Perhaps I should call for the Spirit Sailor and travel back to Enfierna with this news. This could change everything.

If the bodies can disappear without the map knowing, then how are we supposed to save everyone else?

“Tobias?” I hear Luno call out from the other side of the village. “Where are you?”

“Over here,” I shout. “I’m on my way!”

Since nothing seems to be on the left side of the village, I make my way back to Luno.

I see he is jogging through the snow to get to me.

Rolling my eyes at how he is wasting his stamina, I glance up at the bird. She is still circling above us so no signs of the humans.

A yelp comes from Luno’s direction. When I look back at him, I see he has disappeared.

My eyes widen and I pull my sword and pistol out.

“Luno?” I call out.

Hesitantly, I step to where he was supposed to be while keeping an eye on my surroundings. He was there just a moment ago! Where could he have gone?

“I’m down here!” I hear his voice yell from below me.

Frowning, I walk over to where I last saw him standing.

A hole has formed in the middle of the “road”. It is not a big hole, though it opens up as it goes deeper into the earth. Maybe at most, that Yeti from the sanctuary could have fallen through. Somehow the snow had covered it up.

Luno is standing near the edge of the hole. In front of him are twenty humans piled up with snow resting on top of their bodies.

“I found them,” Luno shivers and hugs himself. “Or maybe they found me.”

Oh gods he fell on top of them. That must have been disgusting.

I sprained my hand so that took a toll on me typing. The next few chapters might come a bit later than I'd like because of it