Chapter 11 - The Sage Is *Very* Informative

Chapter 11 The Sage Is *Very* Informative

Sydney had never felt her heart beat so fast. She was in the presence of a God. A literal God.

What the heck?

She fumbled for her backpack. “Then you…all this time you’ve…” She couldn’t find the words. Instead, she brought the maraca out and set it on the table. The sage nodded slowly.

“Yes, I’ve known all this time,” he confirmed her thoughts. “That godly weapon’s aura is too strong for any deity---even a retired one like me---to not notice.”

Sydney stared, gaping at the old man. A small sprig of hope grew in her chest, and her face brightened.

Maybe she would get to see her family after all.

And maybe that would be really really soon, too.

She couldn't keep the smile off her face now as she leaned on the table, staring intently into Sage Aedesh’s stormy grey eyes as she asked, bubbly excitement in her voice, “Then could you return this to her? You’re a God, surely you---”

Sage Aedesh nodded his head regrettably. Sydney stopped breathing. The smile on her face died along with that sprig of hope.

“What? But why? You’re a---”

“Retired deity, child,” the sage answered. “I cut off all connections to the higher beings the moment I stepped down. I can no longer contact Goddess Volkra, and for that I am sorry, Sydney.”

Sydney stared at him, then shook her head in disbelief. “No, that’s not possible.” Her mind spun as she slowly lowered herself back down onto the green cushion. It seemed to deflate and Sydney felt like she was sitting on hard ground. “What about that lady? Isn't she your sister? She turned into a raindrop. How can you still talk to her if she’s also a Goddess?”

Sage Aedesh looked at her pityingly, and it made Sydney want to punch something into the ground. She wasn’t someone to pity. She didn’t want to be pitied.

“They made an exception for my twin sister, Sage Eulalia. Afterall, family is the most important bond of all,” he said. Sydney bit back a sob. She lifted her gaze up to the old sage and she could feel it burn through the air. Her body was shaking and she could do nothing to stop it.

“My family,” she said. “She took my family. All of them.” When she started telling the old sage what had happened, she couldn’t stop herself. Her voice trembled and a rush of coldness washed over her skin but she couldn’t stop. She told him about how she accidentally teleported the maraca, how she heard the Goddess’s taunts before bed, how the Goddess had kidnapped her whole family in the blink of an eye, and how she only had seven days to return it or the universe would end. How hopeless she felt amidst it all. Because maybe she’d never get to see her mum’s bright smile, hear her grandpa’s literary analyses, or taste her grandma’s warm meals ever again.

Ever again.

Sydney looked down at her lap. Her hands clenched into fists on the table and she tried her hardest not to cry. When she calmed down, she looked up and saw Sage Aedesh’s kind face, but it was the face behind him that startled her.

Evan Green was as pale as a sheet of paper. He stared off into space like he’d just seen a ghost. He was frozen on the spot and Sydney could see him start to breathe a little harder, his breaths coming out in short, panicked puffs. Sage Aedesh immediately turned around to face him.

“Evy…Evy, look at me,” the old sage said. It took a while for Evan to finally realise he was being spoken to. He looked down at the old sage. “You’re here with me and Sydney right now. You’re here, Evan.”

Evan nodded, his eyes wild and disoriented. “I’m here. I’m here with you and…” When he saw Sydney, his eyes widened. His face paled once more and he quickly looked away. Then, he looked at Aedesh and said, “I’m going to get maple cookies from the kitchen.”

Aedesh nodded. Quickly, Evan rushed across the room, stumbled over his own foot, and disappeared into the kitchen. When he was completely out of sight, Sage Aedesh let out a concerned sigh.

“Is he…is he okay?” Sydney asked.

Aedesh shook his head. “He’ll be fine. Evy’s strong.” Then, he lifted his eyes to meet hers. “What’s really concerning is your situation, Sydney. Knowing Volkra, she’d play it out of context. She often takes it too far when she’s mad.” Sage Aedesh stopped to shake his head. “And right now, she’s really mad.”

“Like, bubbling-hot-lava-exploding-volcanoes mad?” Sydney asked.

Aedesh nodded grimly. “Precisely.”

Sydney swallowed hard.

“She has a right to be, though,” Aedesh continued to say. “A God’s immortality relies solely on their two godly weapons. In Volkra’s case it’s her two maracas. When you took one from her, she lost a part of her life force, and the realm’s been tipped off balance.” Sage Aedesh swirled the tea in his cup around and around. “I don’t think she’s threatening you when she said the realm will melt in seven days. The consequences of misplacing a godly weapon is severe, and I fear the seven days she has given you is actually Volkra trying her best to hold off the destruction.”

Sydney didn’t know what to say. At first she thought the Goddess was just threatening to end the world if she didn’t return her maraca, since most books she’d read before had deities that couldn’t care less for smaller beings such as herself, but the problem was much bigger than that. So many things were at stake, just because of her little mistake.

“But, why did she have to rope my family into this mess? They didn’t do anything wrong!” Sydney was angry and confused. “If she could take someone, why didn’t she just take me? I’m the one with the maraca.”

To that, Aedesh only shook his head. “I’m afraid that, even though Volkra does want her maraca back, she is too much of a daredevil to turn down the opportunity to turn it into a game. Besides being the Goddess of Fire, she’s also the Goddess of Risks and Destruction, and she’s betting on the very risky gamble that you’d be able to return her maraca in time. I think she wanted to raise the stakes for you, that’s why she took your family.”

“But that’s unfair!” Sydney said. And, frankly, it all sounded so stupid to her. How bored could a God be to bet on other people’s lives and treat it like a game?

“What’s unfair?” Krale asked, walking into the room. Ruthantasis was behind him, and Sydney couldn’t describe how relieved she felt to see them both. With everything going on, the only thing that seemed relatively ‘normal’ to her now was Ruth and Krale, even if they were both talking Foods.

“Ruth! Krale! I’m so glad you’re back,” she exclaimed, patting the green cushion next to her. There was a little desperation in her voice when she said it, so Ruth and Krale immediately rushed to her side. Ruthantasis plopped himself down right next to her, and she could feel his jelly arms next to her sweater. It was a subtle action, but Sydney got the message all the same. We’re here, don’t worry. Sydney immediately smiled. She suddenly felt a little more hopeful about the whole situation now.

The sun outside had begun to set, and they were all wrapped in a warm, reddish glow as the sun slowly disappeared behind the thicket of trees. Finally, Evan Green reemerged from the kitchen, now as calm and composed as ever. There wasn’t a trace of the panic he felt earlier on his face, but Sydney knew she hadn’t imagined it. Aedesh patted at the cushion next to him and Evan took a seat, still warily eyeing not only Sydney now, but also Ruthantasis and Krale who was seated beside her.

Great. Sydney rolled her eyes. Baby Severus is back to normal.

“Excellent! I was just about to tell Sydney how to get to the Volcanic Realm. Now that you two are here too, Ruthantasis and Krale, I won’t have to repeat it twice.” Sage Aedesh clapped his hands together and smiled. Ruthantasis flinched at the mention of his name.

“How did you know my name?” Krale demanded. Now it was his turn to be wary.

“Oh, how could I forget the first Food in centuries to ever do wooditch magic?” Aedesh cheerfully chuckled. “You were a legend, dear Krale!”

Krale flinched. A pained look passed over his face and he scrunched up his eyebrows. “Please don’t mention that.”

The sage noticed his gloomy reaction and deflated. “Alright. I won’t talk about it anymore.” Krale nodded appreciatively. Sydney was surprised, though. Krale did magic? That was crazy, even if he didn’t continue it. Sydney wondered why he quit, and she had about a million more questions for him, but considering how wounded Krale looked after Aedesh picked up the subject, Sydney decided to drop it. The old salad bowl had looked so tormented by the memory, and she didn’t want to be the one who dug it all up.

“As I was saying,” Sage Aedesh continued, swiping a hand over the wooden low table. Sparkles of green magic sprouted from thin air, forming the map of what Sydney guessed was Geveodu. She stared at it, bewitched. Geveodu was humongous. “We’re currently here, at Aedesh’s Cabin.” Aedesh pointed at a small spot at the top left corner.

“You have a whole area of Canopy Woods dedicated to you?” Sydney couldn’t help but say. Her eyes glittered like stardust. “That’s awesome.”

Sage Aedesh smiled. “My sister shows her love in odd ways. It’s a retirement present.”

Imagine getting a whole chunk of land for yourself just because you retired. Sydney couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

Then, Sage Aedesh pointed at the right corner of the map, where the words ‘VOLCANIC RING’ was etched around a giant volcanic fortress. “The hard part is getting into the Volcanic Palace, which is where Volkra resides. She has a wall of fire up at all times, called the Volcanic Ring, and the only way to gain access is to make a volcanic offering.”

“Oh, great,” Ruthantasis grumbled, “more work.”

Krale bonked him on the head.

“Ow!”

Sydney only smiled. She was glad they were back to normal.

“I tried opening a portal to that place, but there was a barrier blocking my way. I couldn’t access it no matter how hard I tried,” she said.

“That’s the power of a higher being, child, and that’s not even scratching the surface,” Sage Aedesh warned, making Sydney swallow. “But you’re all in luck since I know what the volcanic offerings are and where to get them!” The old sage’s voice suddenly switched to cheery-mode. He swiped his hand across the table once more and the map disappeared just as the picture of a lantern, a fire lily, and a music box appeared.

“First is the lantern.” Sage Aedesh picked the magical icon up with his fingers and drew up the map again. He placed the lantern on Canopy Market. “It’s located here, in Canopy Market. But where it is exactly, I have no idea.”

Sydney blinked. “Wait, what?”

Too late, the old sage had already moved on to the second object: the fire lily. He placed it on the part of the map that said ‘THE EQUINOX’. “This one might be a little tricky,” he started to say, “because Lord Samira, who rules the land, is an incredibly unpredictable person. All I know is that Volkra had entrusted him with the fire lily, since they’re close friends, but as to where he is, I have no idea, either.”

“Hold up---” Krale started to say, but Aedesh had already picked up the third offering and placed it on the part that read ‘FLAME BAZAAR’. The old sage put a finger on his chin.

“I’m pretty sure the music box is in Flame Bazaar. I remember Volkra losing it once, so it’s probably floating around in the market somewhere, being sold from one shop owner to another,” he said, as if that wasn’t concerning at all. “Worst case is if someone had already broken it, but that shouldn’t be possible. It is a volcanic offering, afterall.”

Sydney swallowed. How reassuring.

“So…we have to go to Canopy Market and find a lantern that you don’t even know who it’s being sold by…” Aedesh nodded and she traced her finger up to the circular, light green land at the top of the map. “Then, we find the fire lily with Lord Samira who you also don’t know where he is…” Sydney traced her map over to the Volcanic Realm, where she passed Lousy Lake and Ardour Harbour, and finally landed on the Flame Bazaar. “And then, we find a music box that even the Goddess doesn’t know who has it?”

Sage Aedesh nodded like she got everything correctly, and that there wasn’t a single mistake or weakness in the plan.

“Yup,” he chirped happily, taking another sip of tea. Even Evan looked baffled.

“Yeah, about that…” Ruthantasis stared at the map timidly. Then, he looked at Sydney dizzily and groaned. “We might as well let the world end.”

Author's Note

written: Dec 2024