Memoirs of A Second Life

The Oracle

After a long, arduous journey of riding through grasslands, thicket of forests, and a valley, we had finally reached our destination. It took almost four days, but we were finally standing just above a cliff where the warrior tribes of Filipinas resided, the eastern city of Mactan.

It was a lot less impressive than Freiheit, but it was indeed beautiful. There was a sea of grass just outside the town, and there were creatures of all shapes and sizes grazing upon their fields. There were even black bison-like animals with no fur helping the farmers on the fields.

Without further ado, Beatrix led us around the cliff and straight into the city. There were fierce-looking sentries everywhere I looked. It seemed that their reputation as warriors precedes them. Even the women and children looked incredibly capable, though I shouldn't be that impressed, considering Marius and I are both kids.

At the gates, we were met by tall, tanned guards laden with tribal tattoos of varying colors. I had no idea what those tattoos meant, but I thought they were quite cool. Marius approached them and declared who we were and for what purpose we were visiting Mactan.

He told them that he was the fourth prince of Liberio, here to immerse himself in the culture of Filipinas and learn about Mactan's history.

The guardsmen didn't seem that fazed, nor honored to be in the presence of a prince. One of them, stood face to face with Marius, towering over him as if to impose that Marius' status was of no consequence in this city.

"Why does a prince of this country want to engage himself with the likes of us? Are we not supposed to be pagan savages?" said one of the guards.

Beatrix could no longer stand the sight of Marius being disrespected, so she placed a hand on her rapier, ready to cut the man's throat. However, Marius put his arm sideward to stop her and said, "Peace, Bea. I'll handle this."

Because of that, Bea had to stand down. This time, Marius beckoned me to stand beside him, so I obliged. I was confused as to why he would want me to stand toe to toe with that hulk of a man, but I felt compelled to trust him.

Is this how Lancelot and Beatrix feel about Marius as well?

Suddenly, Marius leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "Warriors like them only acknowledge one thing: strength. If you understand my meaning, do what you must."

Fuck! Does he really want me to fight this man? This beast is at least a foot taller than I am!

Marius then cleared his throat to capture the other party's attention, gestured a hand at me, and said, "This is my mentor, Altair Van Astrea. My father, King Zeldris Liberio XII has sent him to supervise and train me, so his word is as good as my father's."

The guardsman had to almost bow while leaning over just to get a good look on my face. He then turned to his companion and then they both broke into a hearty laughter. "This scrawny thing? Boy, get out of here. If you really are who you say you are, then you wouldn't mind proving it, would you?"

Truthfully, I was insulted by how they both mocked me. It felt as though I was back at my company's conference room, and all of the board members were making a fool out of me. They had a devilish grin on their faces, and from their eyes, I could see just how little they thought of me.

I could sense the same kind of mockery from these men, only the situation was largely different. I was just about ready to burst with anger, when all of a sudden, a woman even smaller than I was interrupted the merriment of the guardsmen.

"Crispin, Basilio, is this how you want outsiders to perceive the proud warriors of Mactan?" she stated. "Behave like warriors if you want to be branded as one!"

The way she spoke and carried herself showed her commanding presence. The mere sight of her was enough to straighten the guardsmen up, and even sent chills down my spine. I could sense the same intimidation I felt when I dueled with Beatrix.

Crispin and Basilio were the names of the guardsmen. They were twins from the looks of it, and they were both muscularly built. But in spite of how much they dwarfed the presence of the raven-haired short woman who had just arrived, they seemed to fear her down to their bones.

The moment she was standing before Marius face to face, Crispin and Basilio both got on one knee and said, "As you command, Babaylan!" They both bowed their heads, and dared not look at her directly.

Afterwards, the raven-haired woman glanced at me and smirked. "You," she said, "come closer. I need to get a good look at you."

I felt compelled to oblige with her command even though I had only seen her. Something about her voice and her deep gaze pulled me in. Her almond-shaped eyes were just as dark as her hair, and her face was perfectly proportioned. I would not stray far from the truth if I were to say that she was an exotic beauty.

But... that is the least of my concerns at this moment.

The woman gazed into my eyes and smiled. She cupped my cheek as if she were my mother, and then, all of a sudden, she pricked my finger with a needle before I even realized that she was holding my hand. I hadn't even recovered from the shock of having my finger pricked and she already did something even weirder; right in front of everyone's eyes, she licked my blood off from the needle.

"You... are Azlan's son, correct?" the woman asked. "Ah, where are my manners. I forgot that it is customary to introduce oneself before asking another of his or her name, is it not?"

I smiled at her and responded, "That's correct, ma'am."

The raven-haired woman made a courtly bow, as if to impress and honor the presence of the prince. "I am called Dalisay. In your language, my name means pure or immaculate. I am the Babaylan of Mactan. It is my pleasure to meet with Azlan's kin again."

Hardly had she finished speaking, Crispin and Basilio raised their heads and chimed in. "This scrawny little kid is Azlan's boy?" asked Crispin, the younger twin.

While waving his hand in denial, Basilio remarked, "No way! Look at him. Azlan is a fierce warrior. This boy looks like he'll break in half if I shake his hand too hard!"

Suddenly, they both began to laugh again, which earned the ire of Dalisay. Her sharp gaze was enough to silence them yet again. "What is your name, son of Azlan?"

"Altair, your grace," I replied, feeling awkward because of how closely she was staring at me. The way she was gazing into my eyes felt as though she knew something about me, and it worried me what it might be.

Feeling as though he had been ignored this whole time, Marius cleared his throat and said, "And I am Marius Liberio, fourth son of..."

Dalisay chuckled before he could finish his sentence. "Ah, yes... the infamous wayward prince of Freiheit. It is a pleasure to meet you as well."

Something about Dalisay made me feel as though I was speaking to an old woman, and even her gesture of placing both her hands behind her back was very much akin to an old woman's habits. However, she looked as though she was not even older than Beatrix.

"Crispin, Basilio, if you are so unconvinced of the boy's consanguinity, test him," Dalisay suggested while glancing at me from the side.

She then placed a hand on Basilio's shoulder and said, "You're the older one, so you fight Altair first." Afterwards, she glanced at Beatrix before turning her gaze to Marius. "Is this not what you wanted to happen, your highness?"

Marius grinned at her question. It appeared as though he was impressed by Dalisay's ability to read him. "I know not what you mean, but I will not object to a duel between my mentor and one of your finest warriors."

Just as I was quaking in my boots, Beatrix dabbed her fist over my shoulder as if to comfort me. "Use your height," she whispered. After that, she said nothing else. I was confused of what she meant by that, but I figured she wanted me to take advantage of my short stature to defeat this goliath of a man.

This time, Basilio didn't look like he was messing around. I could tell from his gaze that he wasn't going to pull any punches just because I was a child. Crispin went to the gate to retrieve a large bladed weapon and handed it to Basilio. "Here's your kampilan, kuya. Try not to kill the boy. If he really is Azlan's son, that man will kill us."

Basilio snorted before taking the kampilan from Crispin. The weapon was large enough to bisect me in half, and its length was half as my height. No normal warrior would be able to use it in a battle effectively, but Basilio looked competent and confident enough to handle the beastly weapon.

"Are you sure about this, Babaylan?" he asked.

Dalisay nodded as she stood in the sidelines with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. It was as if she already knew how this battle would turn out.

I took out Lionheart from its scabbard and approached Basilio. Crispin was standing right between us and told us to lock arms before the fight.

"After I cast this stone upwards and it lands, that will signal the beginning of the fight," Crispin declared. "Take up your arms."

Right after he said that, I readied Lionheart and steeled myself for the battle. I knew that this would be a difficult one, but I had a lot to prove. Now that I had been thrust into this situation, the only choice I had left was to fight.

"Ready when you are," I said under my breath.

Crispin tossed the stone upwards, but neither I, nor Basilio looked up. We both waited for the stone to reach the ground and listened to the sound it would soon make.