Rising Shards

I knew my parents were scheming. Heck, I had been recently embroiled in whatever they were plotting when they lured me to the void and turned me into a monster. I saw Dad in the shadows with the Sharai Daggers. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, they were close by, doing something.

“I saw them recently,” I said. “Caya or Stella probably told you, right?”

Tik nodded. “But if you’d like, I would be interested in hearing it from your own words.”

“I…maybe at some point,” I said. “We only just met and…” I didn’t have the guts to tell someone I just met about one of the worst experiences of my life when the wound was so fresh.

“That’s fair. And I have thrown a great deal your way.” Tik said.

“I’m not ready to talk about it all,” I said. “But if it helps your case…” I looked at the shadowy figures dueling. “They told me they were going to wake up Endora, or bring her back? I think that’s what I remember…” My brief experience with beast tendency was terrifying, and the memory already mushy in my head.

“Unsurprising, for Endorans,” Tik said.

“So…do you know how they’re gonna?” I asked. “If giving me Beast Tendency didn’t work…or maybe it did, and this was all some part of their…whatever they’re doing.” I sighed. “And how does this stop them? I’m sorry, I have so many questions.”

“It’s alright, I hope I can answer them all in time,” Tik said. “I hope finding the missing puzzle pieces can give us a clear view of what they are plotting, and my associates and I can take the proper means to stop it.”

“From your expert opinion on this, how um. Urgent is this?” I asked.

“I can’t say for sure,” Tik said. “But a few discoveries have made me want to be proactive against this threat.”

“Oh,” I said. “Like how they targeted me?”

My stomach dropped as Tik handed me a printer paper sized picture. It was a blurry photo of a busy street in the city. In the crowd a blonde woman was circled, one I could never forget.

“Your mother was spotted in Litus Empirica recently.” Tik said.

I was torn between fear and disappointment as I stared at the photo of my mother, her face in profile as she moved through a crowd. Didn’t my parents shoot themselves into some far away void node where they could never come back? And now I had evidence that my mother was back home. Another lie or half-truth in the seemingly thousands they crammed into my one encounter with them. 

“We haven’t been able to track her down outside of this one photo a friend obtained for us,” Tik said.

“And that photo is for sure real?” I asked.

“Yes,” Tik said. “Rest assured, if she pops up and we do catch her, she will be apprehended.”

“OK…but in the meantime…?”

“I don’t suspect she will actively target you any time soon.” Tik said. “Giving us time to prepare a counter move well in advance.”

“How do you know she won’t?” I asked. “She did once, already.”

“Even through everything, I still know Octa Kathron.” Tik said. She didn’t clarify her answer.

“But what if she wants to take me back?” I asked. “To take me away from Stella?”

“She legally can’t, “Tik said. “She gave up the right to be your guardian when she left to traverse far into the void.”

“I don’t know if she cares about laws anymore…” I said.

"That may be true, but even still," Tik said. “Your teacher Caya told me she’s been working to strengthen security at the school, as well.”

“Have you only met with Caya?” I asked. “From Rising Shards I mean. Well, Stella works there too, but…”

“I have met with your principal to speak about this,” Tik said. “I have a bit more trust in Caya, however.”

“That’s…” I started, thinking of Principal Penteldtam. “Understandable.” I sighed. “I’m asking school-wise I have a lot of stuff on my plate. Finals are coming up. I’m also making a video with my friends. I want to spend time with my girlfriend too.”

“I won’t let this interfere with your daily life.” Tik said. “It’s vitally important that you are in a good headspace for this, and having a stable daily life would benefit greatly in that regard. But if we let this particular mystery go untouched, I fear your daily life won’t be the only thing upended.”

“Hm,” I said. “You’re this big important figure—"

“I’m really not much in the grand scheme of things,” Tik said.

“I guess I’m just surprised you’re not telling me that chasing some big adventure is more important than my boring life. Not that I think my life is boring or anything. Just…” I trailed off. Maybe she’d tell me now that I was neglecting my true destiny or something.

“I think a simpler, quiet life is rather remarkable in its own way.” Tik said. “And it’s something worth fighting for.”

“Oh…” I said.

Tik waved her hand, and the visions in front of us faded away, leaving just the sloshing sounds of the ocean waves on the shore.

“Can we try it?” I asked. “If you’re going to all this trouble for me, we should probably see if I can even do it. Maybe you combine your powers with mine, or your powers with my memories? Or my family’s…hang on.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say,” Tik said. “But only if you really want to. Today, I wanted to present the idea of this mission to you. You don’t have to make any big decisions about this today.”

“I think it would help me if I saw.” I said.

I wanted to see something more than the blurry images of people on boats or fighting.

“Very well,” Tik said. She conjured a sphere of light and pushed it forward. “Reach out and try to hold the light.”

I obliged, and the view of the ocean in front of us shifted.