Paradigm: Seekers, Chapter 3: Another Version of the Truth

Paradigm: Seekers, Chapter 3: Another Version of the Truth

Chapter 3

Linos walked through the rooftop courtyard pondering his thoughts. Somehow it had been two days and he hadn't seen any sign of the Nyph City officials, not since their close encounter outside the classroom. He was positive that she'd be confronted for sure, but now he didn't know what to think. This made him a bit calmer, but he wasn't sure what to think, now.

He still kept an eye out for them, but he hadn't seen one in the Guild since that day. This was both a good, and a bad thing. Perhaps the officials had found the true culprit in time and Reva was innocent? Or maybe with now that the officials weren't around, she'd attempt to take the box from Cloy. Linos sighed, waiting games were his least favourite of all things.

He perked up at the sound of the gate doors opening, but turned back away when it wasn't who he was looking for. Linos and Reva's history class had been canceled, due to the teacher being ill, which was great news to Linos. It wasn't that he disliked history, he enjoyed it quite a bit, it was just that particular teacher's method of teaching it that made it so unenjoyable. Her lectures were bland, the way she explained was so matter of fact. He just hated having to listen to her.

Reva had spent her lunch break in the library, preparing for a test later on in the day. Linos would have joined her, but he was really hungry and Grey needed his help with some homework. She knew the rooftop courtyard was his favourite place in the Guild, so he was positive she'd figure out that's where he was. Sure, he could have gone off to find her, but he felt it was just too nice out today.

The sun shone down brightly in the blue sky, surrounded by a few towering clouds. The early autumn breeze was cool, but the light was warm. It would get colder soon, he didn't want to miss a nice day outside. Linos always enjoyed being up here, taking in the scene around him, watching the clouds drift through Miria's open skies.

Miria had always been a beautiful place to him, though also very strange as well. Miria had a rich history politically, technologically, and culturally. However, the history that was the most odd was it's geographical history. Miria was a relatively small world, filled with floating islands and a seemingly infinite sky, filled with towering clouds.

The sky, however, was not so infinite, or so they say. Of course, if you flew high enough you'd reach the Edge, and air would become too thin to breath the higher you got, this was normal. The abnormal parts of Miria's skies existed in all other directions. If you travelled far enough you'd reach the Walls, where Miria seems to just dissipate and become space, and a faint, aurora like curtain separates the boundary between them. If you traveled far enough down you'd reach the Dim, where cloud cover is thick and not much light reaches. There are a good number of islands in the Dim, but you can't grow food, so not many people live so far below.

If you traveled even further, you'd reach the Under Dark. Linos hated the Under Dark. No one dared to travel that far down, because in the Under Dark there existed a strange aura and a heavy mist, where they say nightmares become reality. The thought of that seemed preposterous to him, but he knew the danger of it all too well. Something strange, and possibly magical, did reside in the Under Dark.

Linos had a sister once, her name was Luna. She was an adventurous girl, only two years older than he was. He never liked to talk about her to anyone, and besides his family, only Grey knew her story.  She, like Linos, shared an interest in learning, but went about it in a different way than he did. While Linos buried his face in books all day, she was out with her friends exploring anything that caught her interests. This often got her into a lot of trouble, as she wasn't one to follow the rules.

She was always a risk taker, and that turned out to be her downfall when she was offered a position on a research team to explore the lower levels of Miria. It was well known at this point that the Under Dark was dangerous, but no one really knew why, and it was a taboo subject. This didn't stop researchers from wanting to understand it further, so they put together parties to take experimental devices into the depths and explore. These expeditions were almost always a disaster, but this didn't stop Luna.

Despite her determination, and in Linos' opinion, arrogance, she went down into the Under Dark and never came back up again. They didn't know what happened to her team, but when they retrieved the device, it had been apparently destroyed. Some say this only contributed to Linos' reclusiveness. Linos loved Miria, but he could also never forgive it for taking his sister away from him.

Miria's so-called infinite sky was a result of a catastrophe that occurred nearly three hundred years ago. It had once been a full world, with none of its strange boundaries. Yet an unknown event, that scholars now say took place on the other side of what was the planet, caused roughly eighty-five percent of it to vanish. Nearly all historical records from prior to this event were lost, and little was known about what Miria was like before it happened, except that it always had floating islands and it apparently had an ocean that would have started somewhere in the Dim.

Somehow Miria's ecosystem was more or less completely unaffected, even with most of the planet missing, the world's natural processes still went on as if it wasn't missing. Clouds still formed without any large body of water, gravity remained normal, everything. This completely boggled geologists of Miria, but to this day no explanation has come forward. Regardless, the remaining population of Miria continued on.

This was nearly three hundred years ago, and the strangeness of Miria's current nature wasn't all that strange to people like Linos, it had become simply history's course to them. In their eyes, this is how it always had been, how it was a very long time ago didn't matter anymore. All Linos knew was that the view from where he stood was incredible, and that he wished he had a cup of tea to enjoy with it.

Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder, and quickly spun around to see Reva standing behind him, giggling at the surprised look on his face. She had managed to find him after all, as he expected. He shook his head and scowled at her for making him jump like that, but the two of them ended up laughed about it.

"I see you managed to find me." Linos said.

"Yeah, it wasn't that hard." Reva shrugged, "I mean, I did have to ask Grey for help, but let's pretend I didn't."

"I should have guessed." Linos laughed.

"I'm starving, can we go get something to eat?" Reva asked.

"I just ate, but sure, let's go." Linos nodded.

The two of them turned to head towards the doors, then Linos saw them, standing in an already open door way. The same two Nyph City officials he'd seen the other days. He froze in mid step, but Reva kept walking towards them, it was as if time had slowed down for him as he watched her walk into her trap. The two officials stepped forwards, moving towards her. He tried to speak, but could not, nor should he try. He had to wait and see, this was what he waiting for.

Reva turned back to look at Linos with a concerned look, not sure why he had stopped looking, or why the officials were walking their way. As she turned back she saw one had drawn their sword and the other had a hand raised, ready to cast a spell. Linos' stomach knotted as he bit his tongue, anxiety taking full grasp on him. There was nothing he could do now but watch.

"Reva Capella." Said the female official.

"Pardon...?" Reva choked.

"Where is it?" The man demanded.

"Where is the box?!" Shouted the girl.

The box? Linos cocked his head.

"The what...?" Reva stumbled backwards.

"You have taken the box, you will return it to us." Said the man, pointing his blade at her.

"I don't understand, what are you talking about?" Reva said, her voice quivering, she looked back to Linos for help, but he did nothing.

"You came from Nyph City, you took the box from Nyph City. Give it to us." The girl demanded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about! I don't have anything!" Reva screamed, "Linos, please, tell them I don't have this... this box!"

"She..." Linos hesitated.

He wanted to defend her, to prove her innocence, but he wasn't sure of anything right now. She could be lying, if he defended her and she was indeed the culprit, he could go to jail, too. But if she wasn't, and the officials had the wrong person, then he couldn't just stand by. He didn't know what to do.

"Give it to us." Said the man.

"She doesn't have it." Linos said, sternly.

All three of them turned to look at him, the officials with perplexed looks, and Reva with a look of gratitude. Had he done the right thing?

"She doesn't have what you're looking for," Linos explained, "I've been with her since she got here and I can tell you that she does not have this... box."

"And how would you know what box we're looking for?" Asked the girl.

"I don't. I just know Reva's not a criminal." Linos said, glancing up at Cloy's office window.

The two officials looked at each other, and without saying a work, walked off. The silence hung in the air for a few moments before Linos tuned into the sound of Reva's soft crying. He remained frozen in place, frustrated and confused. None of his questions were answered, only new one's raised. It definitely seemed to him like Reva was innocent, so what was really going on here? Anger filled him and adrenaline shot through his veins as he walked towards the door.

"W-where are you going?" Reva asked through her sobs.

"I've got to go pay someone an important visit." Linos said.

Linos threw open Cloy's office door, walking straight in. He was apparently in the middle of doing some paperwork, but his focus was smashed by Linos' abrupt entrance. He slammed the door behind him, causing Cloy to jump again, then walked up to his desk. He stared down at the Guild Leader, who looked back up at him with a combination of confusion, and the desire to tell Linos' his place, written on his face.

"Who taught you your manners, Linos?" Cloy asked, bitterly.

"Who taught you how to lie to someone?" Linos asked, mirroring his bitterness.

"Excuse me?" Cloy cocked his head.

"Reva didn't steal anything from Nyph, those officials are looking for a box." Linos said, "The box you've been hiding."

Cloy bit his lip and said nothing.

"They confronted Reva," Linos continued, "they asked her for the box. She doesn't have the box they're looking for, you do. Isn't that right?"

"There are two." Cloy said.

"Pardon?" Linos scoffed.

"There are two boxes." Cloy said, looking Linos dead in the eyes, "One was stolen from Nyph City, and this one I was holding on to."

"That's ridiculous." Linos said.

"It's the truth, Linos!" Cloy shouted, losing his temper.

"If it's the truth, then why does nothing about this make sense?!" Linos shouted back.

"Because it's complicated!" Cloy yelled, rising up from his chair.

"Clearly, but that doesn't mean I don't understand what's really going on here." Linos said, narrowing his eyes.

Cloy stared back at him for a moment, anger raging through both of them. They knew this could not be settled with a shouting match. Then, Cloy knelt down behind his desk, and moments later stood back up with the wrapped up box in his hands. He set it on the desk, but said nothing, folding his arms. Linos eyed the box and Cloy, he was clearly thinking about what to tell him. Cloy let out a long sigh.

"Take the box, Linos." Cloy said.

"What...?" Linos hesitated.

"If you don't believe me, then you hold on to it." Cloy said, "If you want to show it to her and see if she tries to steal it, then do so. You will be held responsible, though."

"If the officials find this on me, I could be considered an accomplice. I don't think so." Linos said.

"I will tell them you're holding on to it, don't worry, you wont go to jail or anything." Cloy said.

Linos tried to clear his head and think about it. Nothing was making sense to him, except that there was definitely going on behind his back, behind everyone's backs. Whether it was exactly what Cloy had said it was, or something even more secretive, this box was clearly at the centre of it all. He found himself swallowed up by his curiosity once more, realizing all the answers he could potentially acquire with the box. Linos reached forward, slowly, towards the box.

"Don't be foolish with this, Linos." Cloy said.

"I know." Linos said.

He picked up the box and tucked it away in his book bag. The two of them stared at each other for another minute, wondering what the other was thinking, but Linos turned towards the door. He had class soon, and he wanted to make sure Reva was alright. As Linos left the room, Cloy dropped back into his chair and took a few deep breaths. That should work, for now. Cloy thought.

As he walked down the hallway towards his class, Linos tried to slow his breathing, and calm down. He didn't like to lose his temper, and rarely did, but Cloy had driven him further than he wanted to go without giving any answers. Now he had the box, though, which meant that this was in his hands now. However, he wasn't sure how to go about it. He found himself at the mental crossroads of who to trust, once more.

He looked up to see Reva and Grey standing outside his classroom, she didn't look like she was crying anymore, which was good. He felt bad for leaving her alone on the rooftop courtyard, but he needed to go talk to Cloy immediately. Thankfully it seemed like Grey had tried to comfort her.

"Are you alright?" Linos asked as he approached them.

"Yeah, I'm alright now." Reva nodded, her eyes still red.

"Sorry for leaving you alone like that." Linos said.

"Grey found me, it's alright." Reva said.

"What happened?" Grey asked.

"I'll explain later when we get home." Linos said.

"Alright." Grey nodded, "I've got to get to class, see you guys later."

He put a hand on Reva's shoulder, as if to ask if she was alright. She smiled at him, and he nodded, giving a wave to Linos, and walked off down the hallway. The two of them stayed in the hallway a moment more, Linos had a few questions for her that Grey didn't need to hear. Suddenly he felt Reva wrap her arms around him, hugging him. His face flushed, not knowing what to do.

"Thank you for sticking up for me, Linos." Reva said, her voice starting to quiver again.

"Well, you are innocent, right?" Linos asked.

"Of course I am." Reva said, stepping back and letting go of him, "I have no idea what they were talking about. What box? I haven't been to Nyph City in over two years."

"I believe you." Linos smiled.

"Come on, let's go sit down." Reva said, smiling back at him.

He followed her in to the class room and they took their seats, sitting right next to each other. He was nervous, though. The box was in his book bag, it was so close to Reva and she had no idea. This could end terribly. Linos thought. However, he wasn't frustrated anymore, not with the box in his possession. He would find out the truth, one way or another.

Linos made it home only a little bit after Grey. He stayed behind to help Reva study in the library for a bit, and to see her off home. He didn't want to leave her alone, for fear that the officials might corner her again. He didn't want her to get into trouble, nor did he want to miss anything potentially important. He cared for Reva, but he had too many questions about all of this to ignore it.

He shouted out into the house to see where Grey was, but there was no sign of him inside. Linos walked through the den and kitchen to the back patio and found Grey in the back yard. Grey often liked to practice his swordplay, having taken lessons almost all of his life, before moving here for school. He made it look so easy, swinging his blade around with precision and accuracy. Linos knew that the sword had some weight to it, but Grey made it look as though it weighed less than a feather.

He didn't want to interrupt, so he stood on the porch, watching him go through his routines and exercises like he did, three times a week. Grey went through a few motions before realizing Linos was watching him, and sheathed his sword. He gave a wave, and Linos waved back, as Grey walked up the to porch to the rain barrel to get a drink. He hated that Grey would just drink right from the barrel, but Grey never listened.

"You make that look so easy." Linos commented.

"You should really take it up, you need the exercise." Grey said.

"No, thanks, that's not really my thing." Linos shrugged.

"Suit yourself." Grey smiled, splashing his face with water.

Linos went back inside and put his book bag on the counter, the thump of the box on the counter top reminding him about it. He put the kettle on and waited for Grey to come back inside, they needed to have a talk. Grey had asked about Reva, and he owed him an explanation, Linos didn't like keeping secrets from Grey. He was, after all, his best friend. Just then, Grey pulled open the sliding door, and put his sword next to Linos' book bag on the counter, taking a seat across from where Linos stood.

"So," Grey started.

"So," Linos repeated, "You wanted to know about Reva?"

"Tell me what happened today, she didn't look that alright when I found her." Grey said.

"You can't go repeating this to anyone, you understand me?" Linos said, looking him in the eyes.

"Of course, you know you can trust me." Grey nodded.

"Remember the Nyph City officials?" Linos asked.

"Yeah, I keep seeing a few of them around every now and again." Grey said.

"Well apparently, according to Cloy, they're here for a fugitive who stole something from Nyph City." Linos explained, "Cloy thinks Reva could be the culprit."

"Why would he accept her into the program then?" Grey asked.

"I asked the same thing," Linos sighed, "and basically it's bait to see if she's actually the one."

"That makes no sense." Grey said.

"I know." Linos said.

"No, Linos," Grey stood up, "this makes no sense."

"What do you mean...?" Linos asked, turning towards Grey.

"I'm taking law classes, I know how things work." Grey started, "We have inquisitors, we have arresters, we have a hundred and one ways of figuring out who the culprit is, without bait and switch tactics."

Linos' eyes narrowed.

"Something strange is going on here, Linos." Grey said.

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Linos asked.

Grey didn't reply immediately, he was thinking. Grey's words echoed in Linos' mind though. He had taken enough law classes to understand that this was not how officials did things. Linos didn't know much about how the law worked, somehow he'd never given it much thought, though he started to wonder if the strange metal rings had anything to do with it.

"Who do you believe?" Grey asked, "Cloy, or Reva?"

Linos' heart sank. He didn't know who he believed, nothing was clear. However, he knew who he didn't trust right now, and that was Cloy. He'd been hiding things from Linos, and who even knew if any of what he was saying was the truth? All he knew was that there as a box that Cloy had, and a box the officials were looking for, and Reva may or may not have stolen a second box.

"I believe Reva." Linos said.

"Then we have to find out what's really going on." Grey said.

"How do we do that?" Linos asked.

"We find an official, and we find out why they're acting so strange." Grey said.

Linos nodded, thinking over Grey's plan. It wouldn't be easy to do, but it had to be done. Grey took his blade up stairs with him to get changed into clean clothes, and just as he did the water started to boil. Linos poured himself a cup of tea, still pondering. All this trouble over one little box, and he had no idea what was even inside of it. Why was this box so important? What secrets did it contain? Linos's curiosity began to overflow as he stared at his book bag. What does the thing inside the box even do?

They knew now, they know he lied to them about Reva having the box. It would only be a matter of time now until they came for him, but he had no idea when that would be. All Cloy could do now is prepare from the coming storm and hope he makes it out alive, and the box stays hidden. He felt bad for tricking Linos and dragging Reva into it as a scapegoat, but there was too much at stake here for a bit of drama to bother him.

His next moved would have to be carefully chosen, but he knew exactly what he had to do. He'd already begun writing a letter to Daison Lyetka, the Guild Leader of the Vorsin sector, north of Sygna. He was the only other Guild Leader to know of Cloy's plans and position in all of this, and now he needed his help. They would come for the box, and they would stop at nothing until they had it.

"Jyn, come in here for a moment, please." Cloy called out to his assistant in the side office.

His assistant entered through the side office door, to Cloy's right, and awaited further instructions. Cloy finished up his letter, signing off at the bottom, and sealing it in an envelope. The letter needed to reach Cloy by tomorrow so they could organize a meeting. Things had to be done, and fast. He handed the letter off to Jyn, but didn't let go of it immediately.

"This letter must reach Daison by tomorrow morning, do you understand me?" Cloy said, looking Jyn dead in the eyes.

"Yes, sir. This is of the utmost importance." Jyn nodded.

"Thank you," Cloy nodded, letting go of the letter, "and before you go, send Orin in here."

Jyn nodded, and turned back to the side office. Moments later, another assistant entered Cloy's office and stood at the end of his desk awaiting further instructions. This time, Cloy was writing out a personal note for Orin to hand off to someone else inside the Guild. In the meantime, Cloy could still see that all preparations were made on his end.

"Take this to the teachers lounge tomorrow morning," Cloy explained, "make sure that each teacher of the Law programs has their students practicing their magic and weaponry training outside on the front and rooftop courtyards until I say otherwise."

"What for, sir?" Orin asked.

"Just do it." Cloy said, sternly.

Orin hesitated, but nodded, taking the note off to be copied by other assistants. With the law students out at both ends of the Guild, they would be the first to deal with any incoming threats, and the best equipped to do so since the officials had all been compromised. This would not be easy, but so long as the box was not found, everything would be alright in the long run.

Cloy sighed, sitting back from his desk. Had he done the right thing? Everyone was now in danger now, but that would have happened either way. He could at least save the most lives by keeping the box hidden, no danger would come if it remained in Linos' care, whether he knew it or not. This was the best option, the only option. He'd been warned never to hand it over to those who came looking for it when he was given the box, but he never imagined what damage those who sought the box could do. Now it was just a waiting game for, and waiting games were Cloy's least favourite thing.

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