It had taken Lesser ten minutes before he gave up, he didn't know how to weave. Adam and Lee were done with the meats, five minutes ago. Mary had joined them at the fire, having re–summoned her armor, It was cut in many places, leading it to show some how her skin. Sadly, Adam and Lee weren't better than Lesser when it came to the strings. So they eat in silence. After eating, Lesser, still sitting down, picked up the string and the wood tools he and Adam had painfully made, and tried again to weave the strings. The voice of Annalee sounded behind him, like she was looking over his shoulder, and she was, only no one could see her.
"You need to spin it over the second circle and then into the first, then repeat more five times, then maybe you can begin to try weaving."
Lesser stop, only to see that the strings were again loosen. He sighs again, if only Annalee could show herself, she could guide him batter, but he wasn't strong enough for the armor to show her off. Lesser froze, he wasn't wearing [Annalee Wish], so how did he hear her. Was this an effect the memory didn't say about? Lesser look up, confusion showing, but Adam, Lee and Mary were looking around the pond and on the Moth, that Mary had figured out to be an Ascended Demon, but its spasticity was illusion and camouflage. But it was weak, and it didn't move from the pond if no dead creature was around for it to eat. It was eating a dead spider that had entered its illusion area and died, and all that happened when Mary was cleaning herself off. It was stuped of them to tac of their armor around an Ascended Demon, but Mary had looked at its attributes and laughed, and so it was decided that Dreamsoul would watch it, as it was immune to its effect and could heal itself by standing in the pond.
Lesser spoke to the voice Annalee.
"So how is it that I can still hear you?"
"It's easy, in the memory strings it adds an effect for me to stay even if it's not on you."
Silence stood there, and Lesser summoned the [Stalwart Chisel] and [Hard Mallet]. Then look at their runes.
Name: [Hard Mallet]
Runes:
Memory Rank: Dorman
Memory Tier: I
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [Hard, but broken he made them.]
Enchantment: [Hard].
Enchantment Description: [Is hard to break]
Name: [Stalwart Chisel]
Runes:
Memory Rank: Awakened
Memory Tier: II
Memory Type: Tool.
Memory Description: [The last child made them Stalwart, but he couldn't love them as his. As their making was for peace, but only to know war. Left and abandoned, it cared for its creators' tools, one day to hope to be fixed]
Memory Enchantments: [Stalwart], [Abandont Tool].
Enchantment: [Stalwart].
Enchantment Description: [This tool provides low protection against physical attacks, low protection against elemental attacks, and a moderate amount of protection against mind and soul attacks]
Enchantment: [Abandont Tool].
Enchantment Description: [Abandon to never be used by its creator, but never had it reach its breakthrough.]
Utilization: 700/1000
Both was the same as the last time he look at them, then his eyes landed on the counter of his [Stalwart Chisel], it had increased by one, Lesser thought for a some seconds and then connected it to when he made Dreamsoul, it didn't make sense, but then to how many time he use it, still didn't match, but then it click, it grow how many time he use it on wood, and maybe on stone to. But it wasn't what he was looking at that had made him summoned them, it was the strings he had seen. It didn't click at the times he had inspected the memories of his or his cohorts. But from Annalee's way of speaking, the strings could give more info to the memories. But he didn't like how she was mocking him and at the same time guiding him to look at the right thing.
Name: [Hard Mallet]
Runes:
Memory Rank: Dorman
Memory Tier: I
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [Hard, but broken he made them.]
Enchantment: [Hard].
Enchantment Description: [Is hard to break]
Lesser look closely at it, not at its runes, but the strings. but he didn't know where to look, the strings in their ethereal, silver light, were hard to separate, so he turned to the next memory. And first thing he noticed was, it had diamond colored string, and it didn't make sense to him also, so he summoned some other memories, [Blessing of Avenli] and [Annalee Wish]. [Blessing of Avenli]'s strings were ethereal, silver light, like the [Hard Mallet], but [Annalee Wish]' strings were like a strom, changing form blue, white and gold in color.
Lesser then dismissed the [Annalee Wish] and [Stalwart Chisel]. To only look at the same color string memories, he didn't know why, only the [Annalee Wish] and [Stalwart Chisel] were different, but it didn't matter for this. It would take some time for him to understand this, after all.
When Lesser was looking at his memories, the rest of the cohort was done looking around. Mary was lying on the ground, She was tired, and she wasn't alone with that, Adam and Lee had fallen asleep from exhaustion beside her, and that led her to stand watch, because Lesser didn't count to the night/day watch. It was hard to see what time it was in the web forest. But a day has almost passed by now.
***
Lesser opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep sometime ago, more accurately past out from exhaustion. Looking around and seeing Adam standing guard. Lesser walked up to him, still tirade, and partly had his eyes open. So when he got to Adam, he had missed that Lee was lying beside Adam, and trip. Adam turns to see Lesser lying on the ground one foot over Lee's stomach.
"What are you doing, Lesser?"
"Nothing much, only… how long we would stay here."
Adam looks at him, and sighs.
"Tills all the armors are restored, so one more day, I think."
Adam's armor was gone, so Lesser didn't look up to meet his eyes.
"This may be a weird question, but what is your family like?"
Adam's face was calm, but it wasn't for Lesser, because when Adam spoke the tone wasn't calm, it was that of respect and sadness in one.
"It is a weird question, but I will answer it anyway. My father is the head, but my mom has the control over it. Not because my father couldn't, but he couldn't. His flaw made him sick and the more he ascended in life the more stronger the sickness became. So he lies in bed most of the time, leading my mother to that control over the clan.
I will be the next head, if I get back, but… anyway, I have a sister, seven years younger, she is kind and smart.
My mother is a master, but her appearance would make you think she wasn't a mother of two. She was working too much, so I didn't see her that often growing up, so my father raised me and my sister. He was the one who gave me my armor after becoming a sleeper."
"I see."
"Why do you ask?"
Lesser was silent for a second, then stood up looking at Adam.
"Nothing much, I wanted to learn what a legacy family was like."
Adam looked at him, it was clear what Lesser wanted. The silence was clear in the air. Lesser sigh, and spoke.
"My family life wasn't good, or bad, more forgotten. My father works with the government and my mother runs a restaurant in Antarctica. My brother was their favorite, my younger sister too.
My brother is strong and smart, so when he became a sleeper and then awakened, he joined Valor, then later became a knight of valor, my parents were so proud, and still are. My sister is five years younger, but not as smart as the oldest, but she was the second light in my parents life."
A silence landed, but it didn't last. Lesser tone change, Adam felt the shift.
"It wasn't planned, and it was clear where early on. I was born with gray hair and eyes, not the black like my father that my sister has, and not the yellow of my mother that my brother has, I had gray.
I was weaker than most children, I was smart, but not on the same level as my brother, so I was mostly forgotten, and the time they were talking about me, they reminded me that I wasn't planned. They didn't hide it from neighbors or coworkers, but they didn't hurt me.
And the only person that bothered teaching me was an old man, he taught me to see and hear the lie in every thing, and I still follow that meaning, but with a flaw that reveals the truths in others words."
"So… wait, your brother is part of valor?"
"And that's what you ask."
"So what, as someone from valor, and should work for, isn't good to know your superiors."
They look at each other. And both turned their head away and sigh.
"Anyway, how old are you?"
"16, you?."
"17, about two months to 18."
"And the others?"
"17."
The voice came under both of them, turning to Lee, who had been awake from the time Lesser trip on him. It was awkward and then a voice sounded from the left of them. Mary was sitting on the ground looking at them.
"18, turning 19 in about two months."
Lesser felt the awkwardness of this situversion. Lesser wanted to run away from embarrassment, but didn't. He didn't know where to run. So he sat down, covering his face. And this time Adam and Lee turn away from Lesser, to avoid his face. Mary didn't, but Mary wasn't done yet.
"Anyway, so you look like a girl from birth, that must have been confusing for everyone."
"True, So if we challenge the second nightmare some day, do you guys think he enter as as girl body or–"
"NO, don't make me think about it!
Lesser's voice sounded of fear, but Lee and Mary were having fun playing with Lesser. Adam knew that it wasn't to have fun, but it felt like it, it was about getting home. From the way Lesser talked, it didn't feel like he wanted to return, Mary and himself wanted to return home to help their clans. Lee was getting nervous if they could return. Adam turned to the moth that had returned to the pond stone, it was staring at them. For some reason it didn't or hasn't attacked them yet, but it was clear it didn't want them there.
***
It was born under a doom war, abandoned by its parent, it devoured its kin. Leaving it annoyed and corrupted. It was small and weak, even for its rank and tier, but it was born in nothingness and the strings of doubt. So it led its power to tackle the form of illusion and doubt. And that was how it survived in this forest and realm, its food to doubt their mind and think they were hit by the illusions and die.
Many years of lying there eating the spiders, it felt something new. Looking up, it saw the Flame, It shone brightly in the dark forest. The Flame split to three flames, slowly they entered its area. It couldn't tell what it was, but it wanted to destroy it, but it wasn't coming from it, but the corruption within it. Slowly one of the flames walked up to it, but it stopped when the other flame spoke, it didn't understand what they spoke, but it began to walk forward, it attacked, but the illusion didn't land. Then one more walked up to it, it was different from the rest of them, it didn't feel the flame, it sensed something similar with itself. Attacking again, still not landing, it felt fear. One more of the flames walked up to it, it attacked again, this time it sent it flying.
'Finally!'
But the Flame stood up again, and it happened again, it sent him flying away, not killing it. After some time, six of the creatures were standing in front of it. One was a walking tree, the other was a small spider, and the three and half Flames creature. It seemed like they were using its power to rest there. It didn't have a means to force them to leave, as it wasn't strong, and its power didn't work on them.
Their Flame was strong, and one of them, expectantly, the one who smells like divinity. It may just be a mark, but it was making its mind go blur, the corruption wanted to destroy them.
So it lies there waiting. It waited for all of them to sleep, but well they did fall asleep, the tree and spider was looking at it, so it didn't move closer to the sleeping bodies of the Flames. So instead it spread its power closer to the one similar to itself. But it didn't feel right for some reason, like it was getting closer to the sun.
It was slow, but it did connect to that one, then its mind was dropping.
Its power of doubt was its gift from birth, but it didn't stop there, it ate the creature it was born in, giving it nothingness, and now it enters the nothingness of the half flame. Hoping to place doubt in it. making it doubt life, but it didn't end what it wanted. And so it mind saw the Flame shine, It began to doubt itself, nothingness was its power, but it wasn't his power come from.
"No it wasn't, now was it."
It didn't burn, it didn't run, but it did feel fear, fear of what that flame was, it wasn't warm to the sight, it felt cold to look at, like the flame wasn't lit yet, but it still burned and shone to all to see.
"The flame burns on desire and hope. But what did, you feel when his flame burns?"
It was born from nothingness and now, it lies there, fearing the nothingness. And so it lies there waiting for death.
"Weak, huh, how sad."
It didn't know why it felt fear from that flame, but it did know why it feared that voice.
It wasn't nothingness, it was the madness of that flame.
It was a flame that had lost its desire, but flame could just lose its desire.
So.
Where did that desire go then?