Her Reflection, His World

Chapter 2: Kyle

Kyle sat under the tree to take cover, wondering what to do next.

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*CROAK*

*CROAK*

Kyle opened his eyes looking right into those of a toad. 

“TOM! What the hell!” 

“Good morning brother! Hope they didn’t bother you.” Tom responds from the doorway

“Why do you always do this s**t? Honestly can you not think of other ways to spend your morning?” Kyle asks frustrated sitting up in his bed. Some of the toads move off of him, jumping to the floor and on the other side of his bed. He continues to get out of bed pushing the knot of toads.

*CROAK*

Kyle picks up a toad and stares at it.

“Tom, you waste so much energy on stuff like this honestly…” He says exasperated.

Tom just stares at his brother from the doorway.  He is leaning against the doorframe arms crossed dressed in a long black linen shirt, with flowy pants smirking.  His hair falling to the side of his face, about ear length. Kyle grabs his shirt from a chair next to him and turns to the doorway.

“Why did you need to wake me up anyway? We have nothing planned today, it is the weekend.” He asks his brother, running his hand through his hair.

“Mother wants you.  She is in the dining room waiting to speak with you” Tom turns and walks down the hallway into another room.

Kyle makes his way down the hall, the opposite direction from his brother, and turns into the bathroom. To awaken himself a little bit more he splashes water on his face, places his hands on the counter-top and stares in the mirror. The mirror is a big squared mirror with half a border.  The bottom has a forest floor design, and the sides are 2 trees. As he looks at his reflection, he starts to feel like something isn’t right with the reflection. He takes a deep breath and moves on, ignoring his feelings.  He continues down the hall, and arrives at a grand staircase. Making his way down the stairs he is hit by a smell of fresh fruit and toast. Picking up the pace as he notices his hunger, he arrives at the dining room.

“Good morning Mother. How are you this wonderfully grey Saturday morning?” Kyle asks, while grabbing a piece of toast.

“Good morning son, I hope you feel well rested” 

“Yea, I could have slept some more… Tom said you had something you wished to speak about?” Kyle says with food in his mouth, and walking around the table not looking at his mother. He grabs a bunch of grapes and starts to pop them in his mouth as he takes a seat.

“Yes, today is a special day,” His mother says in a somber tone, getting up from the table, making her way to the window “I fear there is something coming...” 

“What? Did you say there is something coming?” He asks confusedly, putting the grapes on the table.

His mother keeps looking out the window with her hands behind her back.  She is wearing a long burgundy dress, her hair in a big braid falling to the middle of her back.  Looking seriously out the window, she takes a deep breath and turns to face her son.

“Kyle, I sense a disturbance in the atmosphere.” She turns back to the window “I sense a source of energy in the Tiwales forest.  There is a group of volunteers who will be venturing into the forest and I want you to accompany them.” 

“Why must I go? Why are you unable to?” He says looking at her.  When strange things happen, his mother is the first out the door, the first to take action. She turns around and walks towards him.

“Kyle, I am no longer as young as I used to be, I am tired and need to rest.  I trust that you are able to address this situation. Don’t worry, Yaztro will be there to help lead the search. Eventually you will need to take my place as a high mage. This will be a good opportunity to show you are able to lead. I know you are young and it is a lot of responsibility, but as the oldest, it is your duty.” She kneels in front of him and grabs his face in her hands. 

“Do not worry. You won’t be alone, and you are only investigating, but if something does arise, remember what you have learnt.” She smiles at him. “Time for you to go get ready.  Yaztro will arrive in 1hour”

His mother stands back up and walks away into another room.  Kyle, feeling nervous, grabs some green liquid and drinks it before making his way back to the bathroom to get ready for his day. He undresses to take his shower while feeling nervous about what is to come. He has so much to learn still, he can’t possibly be ready to lead a group. Once cleaned, he puts on a khaki green loose t-shirt and some black pants. He runs his hands through his hair and let’s it fall naturally around his face.  He has medium length hair, with a middle part and loose curls. He looks back at the mirror, and what he sensed earlier in the morning is gone. The reflection appears to be normal, he goes to his room to pack his satchel for the search.

“Where are you off too brother?” Tom asks through the doorway.

“Mother asked me to accompany Yaztro to lead a group of volunteers to investigate some energy source in the Tiwales forest. She fears something is coming” he grabs his bag and walks past his brother. “The Yaztro should be arriving soon.”

“Oh ho! that should be fun. Maybe I will tag along.  I have no plans, and can’t miss you messing up.” Tom catches up with his brother and places his hand on his shoulder for a short moment.

They both make their way through the hallway, down the stairs and into the entryway. Kyle puts down his bag on the bench and both grab their boots.

“Oh my beautiful boys” she looks at both of them lovingly “I see that you have decided to join your brother on the expedition, Tom. Please make sure you listen to your brother and Yaztro.  I am not sure what is out there, but the energy being emitted is strong.”  

Both sons nod to their mother before Kyle opens the door as he senses Yaztro close by. “Ah! Kyle I see you are ready”. A short stout man appears from the side of their mansion. 

“Hello Yaztro. I trust you are doing well” says Kyle as he walks towards him. Kyle and Yaztro exchange a handshake. Tom follows behind his brother, he exchanges a nod with Yaztro.

“Madame Amon, you look as lovely as ever and will be missed during this expedition.  We will find this energy source and prevent harm from happening.”

Kyle, Tom and Yaztro turn away from the mansion and make their way down a pebble path. The mansion is located on a little hill, surrounded by fields and a forest. It has been part of the family for centuries and has seen many people come and go.  At the end of the path there is a fence with a large black gate. All three go through the gate and arrive at a busy street full of merchants.  The street is cobblestone and lined with a variety of stores, places to eat and pubs. The majority of the town is currently out running errands, or grabbing lunch. Some storm clouds seem to be rolling in from the distance.  Yatzro turns into The Fir, one of the favourite pubs in the town of Andrado. The Fir is a small little pub, usually crowded and loud.  People from all the lands come for the drinks and shaddy activity no one will admit takes place. 

“Hey Barlow, are the others here?” Yaztro asks the bartender.

“Oh they sure are!” Barlow says full of excitement “They are all waiting for you”.  Barlow, a dwarf, left his home to come to Andrado hoping to make it into the entertainment world.  He would love to be on stage and perform, but, unfortunately, he has had no training and it was too competitive, so he became a bartender. He likes his job, and performs at the bar when he can as well as gets drinks at a discounted price, what more could he ask for! Discounted drinks and performing without auditions. The 3 men walk through to a back room where there is a group of 10 people, varying from dwarfs to elves. The 10 are huddled around a table looking at a map showing the town of Andrado which includes part of the Tiwales forest. 

“Yaztro, we have come up with a plan to find the source of energy.” One man says

“The plan is to go into 2 groups of 5, one group exploring the South East part of the forest and the other group to explore the North East part of the forest. Based on what Madame Amon said, it seemed it is coming from the eastern side around the water.” A woman says pointing at the map and the different bodies of water shown on the map.

“What are your thoughts Kyle?” Yaztro looks at Kyle to see a reaction from the plan they have come up with.

“Umm… Yes, this, uh, this sounds good. We can have Yaztro in one group and Tom can come with me together, we are stronger should anything happen.” Kyle looks at Tom who is just leaning against the wall smirking, and Yaztro for approval. Kyle doesn;t feel confident with what he just proposed, but also doesn’t have any better alternatives. 

“Perfect, it sounds like a plan” Yaztro exclaims to everyone “Don’t tell your mother we are separating, she wanted me to keep an eye on you” he whispers to Kyle. 

Everyone makes their way out of The Fir and goes behind to an open space away from the crowded town street where no one is around.  They form 2 circles, the mages in the first group which include Yaztro form a 45 degree angle with their left forefinger and thumb and with their right hand draw a circle in the air “Open, open to the North East side of Tiwales forest” they say in unison. A type of door appears in front the group and the 5 volunteers walk through. Kyle and Tom do the same for the South East side of the forest, and their group walk through the portal.  

Tiwales forest is not known to be a dangerous forest, but does have some inhabitants that can attack if feeling threatened. It borders the northern part of Andrado. And many merchants go through the forest to go to other towns for commerce. Kyle and Tom used to play there all the time when they were younger, they are very familiar and have an affinity with the forest. 

“Kyle, can you hear me? We have made it to the North East part of the forest and are going to start the search. If we find something we will let you know.” Yaztro says telepathically.

“Ok, I will let you know if we find anything here.” He responds. “Ok team, you all have a map of this part of the forest. We are going to head toward the water since we were told the energy is coming from around there.” As he speaks, the rain begins.  It is lightly falling, but a feeling of nerves and anxiety hits Kyle.

“Alright brother, let’s go!” Tom says smiling.  They make their way through the forest towards the water. Kyle feels soothed by the lake.The clouds rolling in are bringing stronger rain causing the water to ripple. He takes a big inhale. The rain falling on the dry earth is releasing the musty, barky smell, petrichor, bringing Kyle back to his childhood. A smell that soothes him and that he likes very much.

*BOOM* 

Kyle is snapped back into reality byt the loud rumbling of the thunder over him. The search volunteers keep looking around the lake, but don’t seem to find anything strange.. Kyle searches and tries to sense the energy. He doesn't know what he is looking for, or how he is supposed to feel. 

“Yaz, we are searching around the lake, but what exactly are we searching for? How am I to know if we have found the energy source?”

“You will know Kyle, do not worry, you will know.  Just make sure you keep and eye out.” Yaztro responds. 

Kyle continues to think about how he will know what the energy source is or where it is. He himself isn’t convinced, how is he supposed to motivate the group to continue searching for something they don’t know. Even as volunteers, eventually you're bound to lose hope especially if you do not know what you are looking for. The rain has picked up, and dark gray clouds have rolled in, making it harder to see where they are walking. The tree branches casting even more darkness around them. Kyle notices that he has fallen behind the search party, who somehow keep searching for something.  He wonders why they volunteered to search for an energy source no one seems to know anything about. He feels melancholic, but isn’t sure why and tries to pull himself together.  There is a strange sense pulling him to look into the water and stare at his reflection. He leans over and looks at himself, barely able to make up his reflection from the ripples caused by the rain, but somehow this soothes him.

“Kyle, we found something,” one of the volunteers shouts. Kyle runs to where the volunteers and Tom are. They are standing in a circle around a symbol on the ground. Kyle unsure what to do next takes out his notebook and draws out the symbol in order to reference it later on. 

*FLASH*

The sky is illuminated by the lightning, thunder rumbling in the distance shortly follows. 

“Yaz, we found something.  A symbol, not sure if this is part of a spell or something else caused it. It seems to resist the rain and it is not fading, but getting more detailed.” Kyle says to Yaztro telepathically. 

“Ok, this could be the source of energy your mother is sensing. Is it around the lake? South Western part?” Yaztro asks, sounding a little concerned.

“Yes, it is in the South Western part of the lake” 

“We are going to have a visitor….” Yaztro whispers “Take the volunteers home and stay where you are.  Watch over the symbole, I will meet you” he says strictly.

Kyle, feeling anxious, and nervous looks at his brother. “Tom, you need to bring the volunteers back to town. Thank you everyone, we have found what is causing the disruption in the atmosphere, please go home and enjoy some warm dinner”

Tom creates the portale and the volunteers walk through the door.  He looks back at his brother, and walks through the door.  Kyle not knowing what to do and imagining the worst inspects the symbole closer. He can’t remember ever seeing something similar to it.  Even when he was studying wizardry. The rain falling down is starting to feel like needles on his skin, like it is piercing through him. He goes under a nearby tree to be covered and looks at his arms. The pain felt so real, but there is nothing there. He looks in the direction of the symbole.

*FLASH*

*BOOM*

The storm is right over him. The lightning strikes the lake, Kyle sits under the tree and stares out at the lake to see if anything emerges. “I fear something is coming...” the words his mother had said this morning. What could be coming? Was it something dangerous? Could they protect the town? Was Yaztro able to defend Andrado? So many questions were running in Kyle’s mind.  He didn’t know what to do.  Yaztro had said he would come to him, what is taking him so long, normally he would just be able to travel without any issues. Maybe something happened because of the energy being emitted from this symbol on the ground? Another lightning bolt hits, this time, the ground.  It seems to be moving closer to the symbol. It is right on the border of the lake, next strike and the lightning will hit the spot. Kyle closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to try and calm himself. He opens his eyes and looks at the ground where the symbol appears to be moving. The lightning strikes a fifth time. A blinding light is emitted, Kyle squints to see if anything has happened to the mark. When the light goes away, he sees something growing and  moving. He starts to hear heavy breathing. The thing is shivering and seems to be looking into the lake. He continues to sit against the tree wondering what to do next.