Chronicles of the Wolf: Of Wolves & Spiders

Chapter 20

I looked over this sliver that was the map that Walker had. It was a very intricate map, it somehow knew how to do things before I could do them. As we reached the outer edges of the Ruins of Ancient Rhodesia, I looked down at the map thinking that I should try to see if I could see our path better. When I grabbed it from Walker, it had zeroed into exactly where we were on the map and it showed different paths to take to the city.

“This map seems to know what I want to do with it,” I said.

“I noticed that too,” Walker said.

“Have you seen something similar?” I asked.

“Not this sophisticated,” Walker shook his head. “I have seen things like it, but not like this. What I have seen usually requires someone to touch the map to cause it to do something like this. This seems to work on a level of a thought of whoever is trying to use it. At least it seems that way.”

I looked back at the map and saw this arc on the outer edge of the ruins. I looked up and saw these two spires that were about a whole forest acre apart from each other. They looked similarly built. I wondered if this was the arc that was on this very map.

“I wonder if those spires, are this arc?” Walker said looking at the map.

“It was also my thought,” I said. “Come, we are still a few hours away.”

Walker and I started heading towards the ruins. My mind was racing. I was hoping that I would find some answers here. If this city was hit by the same creatures that had hit my home world, I hoped that there would be some evidence. Something linking the ruins to the creatures. I was perhaps being folly by hoping that there was some sort of surviving descendants.

I still knew not of what had happened to my people. It was not clear to me if they were alive, or if they were dead or if I was the last Beghrest in the entire universe. The fact that there was, some people on this moon at least gave me hope. I of course knew that, there was a way that my kind could have survived, we were Beghrest after all we were a resilient bunch.

“Who is Lacia?” Walker suddenly said, and I turned and glared at him.

“How do you know that name?” I growled.

“Last night, you were yelling her name out as you slept,” Walker said holding his hands up. “It terrified me, it woke me up, I tried to wake you up but, you were having a night terror.”

“I was having a night terror of when those creatures attacked my people.” I said sighing heavily after Walker explained what had happened. I did not realize that I would scream in my sleep, I cursed myself, a Beghrest screaming in their sleep? It was unheard of.

“And Lacia?” Walker said.

“I would tread lightly when you ask me about that, pup.” I said.

“Was she your mate?” Walker asked.

“She was my betrothed,” I sighed.

“What does that mean?” Walker said, and I snorted. “What’s so funny?”

“I was about your age when I learned of my apparent arrangement with her.” I said, and he looked confused. “My father and her father had arranged for us to get married.”

“Oh, it’s like with Uriel and Victor,” Walker said.

“I see my kind is not the only one who has such customs.” I said.

“You were my age when your father told you, you had to marry someone that you never met?” Walker said.

“It was the same day that I met Lacia, that I learned I was supposed to wed her.” I said, and Walker looked shocked.

“That’s rough,” Walker said. “Was she at least pretty.”

“I didn’t think so at the time that I met her,” I said. “If I met her when I was a bit older, I think I would have been very attracted to her, she was a very beautiful female.”

“Did you not like females yet?” Walker asked.

“Let me ask you that,” I said, and he thought about it for a moment.

“No, I suppose I don’t like them yet either.” Walker said

“You will in time,” I said.

“I suppose so,” Walker nodded. “But that would be rough having to get married off like that, I wonder if Uriel and Victor every really loved each other.”

“In my world it was never really about loving,” I said.

“It might be the same in my world,” Walker said. “Xavier also had a female that he was arranged with, I think her name was Therese or something like this, she was miserable from what my mother told me. I never met her, she and my brother were long gone before I was born.”

“It was those sorts of customs that I wanted to do away with,” I said. “I thought it was trivial to follow such silly things as that. After all marriages should be based on love and carrying for each other not some arrangement of people who were from before you, who do not know how you would fit with the other person.”

“I wonder if I am arranged with someone,” Walker suddenly said.

“I doubt it, from what I knew it is usually the eldest who would be in this sort of situation.” I said. “Well at least in my world.”

“So, what happened to Lacia?” Walker asked after a brief pause.

“It’s a long story.” I said.

“We still have some ways to go,” Walker said.

“She’s dead pup,” I said.

“Oh…” Walker said looking as if he wanted to pry some more but he was thinking otherwise. “I’m sorry, I should have known something like that could have happened. Was it the Eltanin?”

“It was specifically that leader of theirs,” I said with hatred in my voice.

“I hope we find something in these ruins,” Walker said. “You know, something that would give us a clue to know what they are about.”

“I feel the same way,” I said. “Let us hope our adventure to these ruins is not for naught.”

I was beginning to wonder about there being anything significant in these ruins as we grew closer. The only thing that we could see was these two spires spaced across each other in a span of at least a forest acre. But then as we drew closer, we started to notice that there was a massive spire off beyond what we thought was the arc. 

“That is a massive spire,” Walker said.

“Why did we not see it before?” I asked.

“I don’t know…” Walker said he looked out and started walking when he did, he pointed. “It’s gone,”

“What are you talking about pup?” I said. I could still see the spire through behind the arc. “I can see it clearly off in the distance, behind the arc.”

“Why can’t I see it over here?” Walker said.

I walked over to where the boy was standing and looked out. I did not see the spire. I scratched my head and walked back towards where I had been standing. I looked towards the spire and I could see it. It was then I realized something.

“It can only be seen if you look through the arc,” I said.

“No way!” Walker said he ran over and looked from where I was standing. “You’re right! How the hell is that possible?”

“I have no idea, perhaps there is more to this arc than what we think.” I said looking at the arc. “Come pup, now this arc really has me intrigued.”

We started heading down a long road, it ran right to the right of the Arc, everything on the right of this arc looked like a dead wasteland, yet through the center of the arc we could see the spire and other figments we could not quite place.

“Have you heard of something like this before pup?” I asked.

“I’ve heard of some races cloaking entire cities before,” Walker said.

“Is that what could be happening here?” I asked.

“It’s possible,” Walker said. “My question is, how come we can see it now and possibly nobody else has?”

“Do you think it could do something with this sliver?” I asked holding the sliver up. Walker suddenly went over and grabbed it from my hands and looked at it.

“Maybe,” Walker said. “This thing is supposed to be some sort of star builder technology.”

“Do you think that the map is causing an interaction with the arc that is causing it to suddenly reveal its secrets?” I asked.

“It’s possible,” Walker said. “We are going to go over and find out.”

As we got to the middle of the arc, we both didn’t know what we were looking at. There was a ripple, I had seen something like this before, when it was hot outside, a layer would be created above the ground that reflected whatever you were looking at. In my world it was called a mirage. This hazy reflection looked exactly what we were looking at. But this was different. It looked like we were staring at a giant ocean of water that was flipped on its side and stood up in between this arc.

“Its almost like a mirage,” Walker said, and I nodded.

“This is getting more and more interesting pup,” I said. We nodded and headed towards the center of the arc.