Yla

Chapter 8: The Two Sides of The Coin

When his mother opened the door it was not a surprise that she was in shock to see him dripping wet chest down, and in spite of her request that he should get changed Ogami only wanted to say goodbye to them and thank them for the dinner, they may be his parents but Fadia isn’t his home, but before leaving his mother told him something that confused him, “Please don't mention to your brother that you met Yla...I beg of you”, not sure of why his mother would ask him of that he just nodded. He walked towards the edge of the village again, he whispered an incantation and from the sky a string of light appeared before him, it was as thin as a thread but as bright as a lamp, Ogami grabbed onto the string and the light engulfed him, and when he opened his eyes he was just at the courtyard of Fiber Manor. He didn't see his brother when he arrived, only the guards were around as they were patrolling, he went straight to his room and had the first decent sleep he had in days.

The next day, Ogami was sitting in his study, his mind still going back to last night’s event, he smiled to himself, he forgot to leave the towel at his parents, he now has another excuse to visit Fadia sooner than he thought. As he was daydreaming, he was oblivious of the commotion that has been happening around him, until he heard the deep voice of his brother calling his name. He blinked three times before he snapped awake from his cloud nine. It turns out his brother and his wielders were having problems and his brother was listing tasks for him to complete.

“Weren’t you listening?” he said to him when he asked him to repeat some parts of his tasks

“I thought I was”, he replied, still trying to get Yla and her smile out of his head

“Ogami, what’s gotten into you? Did anything happen in Fadia?” Agima asked him somehow, looking worried.

Agima had aged, lines were beginning to show on his once smooth slate, but with his age his drive to collect the gems were stronger than ever, Agima never explained what his plans for the gems were but Ogami would still do it, as his brother had never done anything without a justifiable reason, plus he respects and loves his brother, so he was willing to do anything for him. With his brother raising him Ogami was the only person who he thinks that can help him with the sudden emotions that made his heart pound like a drum and make him lose focus. 

“Brother”, he began, “have you ever met a person that was able to render you to not  think straight when you think about them, or maybe they derail your train of thought?” he asked him with confusion and curiosity.

Agima’s eyes widened, he knew his brother was of marrying age but he never expected it regardless, a small feeling of  concern grew within him, with Ogami like this he may be distracted from his tasks and may cause his plans to fail, to add to that, if his plan do come to fruition that girl might be a casualty. This is why he was wary to allow him to travel to Fadia in the first place, his parents must have done this on purpose. Ogami wasn't one to pay attention to women, he had always stuck to his books and his practice of his magic. As much as he wanted to defer the question Ogami was waiting for his response. 

“Yes... a very long time ago,” he started, Agima didn't want to bring this up but here it is, “but she is gone now, and I brought about her death.”

Ogami immediately knew who he was speaking of, it was Lady Adda, there were nights that he would catch him staring at her portrait, “this is why falling in love is such a dangerous thing Ogami”, continued Agima, “in our line of work, people we care about might be hurt because of our actions, and you do understand that Fadia is a place that is central to our goal.” 

Our goal, he said, Ogami looked down, again that goal his brother had always spoke of, but he had the faintest idea what it was, his brother only reveals what is necessary for him to get his tasks done, but he always said that when they achieved it everything will be put right, everything will be just as it should be. 

“Brother, before pushing forward with these emotions you need to remember that our plans will take precedence over everything else, for the future.” Agima stood up and patted his brother on the shoulders, this was him telling him to set his priorities. 

“Forgive me brother if I came off as unfocused, rest assured that I will remain your loyal apprentice”, said Ogami as if swearing his fealty towards his brother all over again.

“Its okay Ogami, emotions are normal, we are mortals”, said Agima, his eyes had a pained look in them as if he just witnessed the death of Lady Adda just the day before, and for a moment he thought that Yla had the same sad look in her eyes, he shooed away the thought of her, he must not disappoint his brother.

“She must have been really beautiful to capture your attention the way she did”, Agima said walking towards the shelves searching for a book, Ogami merely nodded, then he mentioned the invitation of his parents for the festival, Ogami told his brother that he should join him.

“As much as I would love to see Fadia once more that place is no longer my home and I am not welcome there. But you should enjoy the festivities, it's a rare opportunity for you to mingle with normal people.” Agima smiled at him, took a book from the shelves and tucked under his arm, and told him to rest for the remainder of the day, he wanted him focused before he could give him his tasks. 

Instead of resting, Ogami felt guilty he decided to study about the properties of the Nymph tears, he went straight to the library and when the library’s heavy mahogany doors swung open he was welcomed by the familiar sight of shelves from floor to ceiling and stacks of books wherever his eyes would lay.  He had always found solace in this place, but as he was browsing he found an old book with silver letters on it's spine written, “Ogami”, it was the first time that he had noticed this one in a long time, he pulled out the book and settled to one of his most comfortable arm chairs and thumbed through the book which turned out to be a photo album, his photo album. It was his pictures from he was very young, her remembered that his brother had took care of him since he was around two or three years old, he never thought that he had one of these, “that’s my private collection you know”, he froze hearing his brother’s voice from behind him. His brother soon walked to face him and all Ogami could do was stare at him, he was afraid that he will be furious about it, but instead his brother laughed, it was rare for him to laugh but he did, and pulled a stool to sit beside him. Together they thumbed through the album and talking about how Ogami was when he was little. Ogami was never told why his brother took him away from their parents and for the first time he had the courage to ask.

“Brother, I have always wondered why you decided to take me under your wing”, he asked to him, Agima scratched his head and replied, “to be honest, I didn't know either, I just saw you and I knew you were special and talented, so I chanced it and brought you here. Our parents were not happy of course but I knew that it was the best thing for you.”

His brother said it so nonchalantly that Ogami was a bit stunned and confused, he wanted to ask why but he felt that his brother wouldn’t answer it. Knowing that his brother spirited him away wasn’t much of a shock to Ogami considering the other things he had done, but now he fully understood why his parents wouldn’t want to see his brother. 

“You know that I have done a lot of foolish things in my life, but in all of those things, taking care of you brother was the one thing I didn't consider as a mistake, I am proud of the person you have become, because you are not me.”

He felt that sense of pride his brother said, it's true, he had done too may foolish things in the past but never in his life did he do any harm towards Ogami, he never made him feel less or beneath him, he was able to raise him as a fine wielder and despite with him taking him away, Ogami had always felt complete.

In Fadia, Mionette and Archeos were over the moon as they have heard about Yla’s partner, Yla on the other hand wasn't too keen to talk about it as she still didn't want to admit that for once she was excited to join the festival that year, and her friends had already been teasing her the whole day about it, especially Mionette. When they finished the chores around the farm, Yla made her way to village cemetery, it has been a few days since she last visited and she wanted to tell her parents about it. She brought flowers to their graves, it was three horse past noon when she went there, and Yla sat in front of their headstones.

“You know a boy was able to defeat me in a challenge”, she said.

“He was really strong and talented, he’s a wielder mama. I couldn't believe it either but because of that I won't be dancing alone during the festival. He’s really good-looking too, I never really knew when I started noticing the looks of boys, if you were here Papa I don't think I would be meeting any of them though.” Yla laughed, her father was indeed a very protective man.

“But you know, it was really nice to feel like a girl”, Yla couldn’t help but sigh, she had been acting like a tomboy her whole life that being a sweet and gentle girl was new to her.

“DOn’t worry though, I can still take care of myself, and I’m still going to uphold my promise, that I will avenge you... soon as I am allowed to travel I find that man, and make him sorry.”

Yla was about to leave when Sivelle saw her, she was coming out of the forest and was on her way to the graveyard. The healer walked up to Yla, she paid her respects to her parents and they walked home together.

“Why were you at the graveyard”, Yla asked seville

“I was collecting grave dirt, it's very useful for potion-making”, she responded showing Yla a small pouch with dirt

“Potion-making?” Yla stopped in confusion, “aren’t potions only made by witches?” 

Witches and warlocks are not allowed in the country of Clest, unlike wielders witches and warlocks are different they have what people call a Magical Core, it is a crystal that is embedded into their bodies that increases their magic. It was usually made from condensing the life-force of another being into a crystal, and it witches and warlocks needed to kill many people or animals to be able create the smallest Magical Core.

“Yla, in general potions are created by many people, it's not just witches, potions are useful for medicine as well.”

Oh, yla nodded, she didn't know that, “But yes, mostly witches make potions, it's a shame they use it for evil things”. Sivelle had a sad look in her eyes, when she was younger Yla had heard rumors that Sivelle was once a witch and that Cleon was the one who had removed her magical core to save her from her own self. When she was fourteen Yla learned that it was all true, and it was only because of the village elders’ kindness that Sivelle was allowed to live within Fadia as a healer and it was taboo to speak of her past. 

“You know, the person that killed your parents might be a warlock”, Sivelle said as they walked

“I kind of thought so too, I mean that was too much magic for a mortal”, replied Yla, she remembered how the man stood over her parents and how he was able to remove all the monsters from their village with a wave of his hand, “his eyes were all crazy-looking too, like he wa possessed.”

“Yes, people with magical cores do tend to lose their minds, they are ones who are driven with a single goal, it consumes them and they forget their humanity. They are the extremes, love becomes obsession, want becomes greed, anger becomes wrath, they are driven by these emotions and they lose themselves because of it. So if one day you find him be very careful”

In her heart Yla knew that if she was powerful enough she would not be able to defeat that person, and she didn't know if she would be powerful enough, but she would still try. It would be nice if she could speak of these things with someone else, and an image of Ogami popped in her head, she felt herself smile, it would be nice if she could tell Ogami about all of this. Then she decided that after the festival she will bring Ogami to her parents' graves so he may be able to know tham, and she will be able to tell him more about herself, because to her, ogami was special and she wanted to be able to get to know him better.