Chapter thirty four: the village
In the wide clearing that opened up before caelum, there were no structures except the cluster of homes and the large fire in the center.
The fire had shrunk since he first spotted it. Though it still lit up half the village, casting long shadows behind the mudbrick huts, but the rest of the place had already slipped back into night.
'Three... four... seven..four men, three women.' Caelum counted the people gathered near the fire silently, as he walked closer and closer.
The soft grass under his feet didn't make a single noice, even in the silence of the night. It was a result of being excluded from the rules of the world, including the vibrations in the air.
Caelum took his steps slowly, looking at the campfire that was casting enough light to reach most of the center.
'The edges of the village are still buried in thick shadows.' Caelum moved twords the area untouched by the campfire light, but as he drew closer his eyes narrowed, 'a wall?'
Covering the entire settlement, there was mud packed and hardened wall, forming a circular boundary
'Its not that tall, but..' Caelum glanced at the people sitting around the fire, spoting a few tools beside them.
'Hah. They are more than a clueless settlement at this point, to think they'd turn this place into an actual village so soon.' He stopped just outside the reach of the light.
----
Caelum pressed his back against the mud-brick wall. Tucking in the deep shadow of the nearest hut from the wall, just beyond the reach of the firelight.
From his distance, he could clearly see the seven people that gathered around the large campfire.
'All of them look between twenty and thirty,' he noted, not letting even their slightest movements go unnoticed.
Four men sat with their backs to him, while the three women faced them from across the fire. Even if one of them turned to look his way, the darkness cloaking the side of the house would still keep him hidden.
"Zal'vh~haf, zall'hu ah'v," one of the men spoke out in a low tone.
Another lifted his head, replying with a strange cadence, "Hazah'b luuu, va'l?"
Caelum squinted his eyes slightly. 'Oh? Their language has improved.' hearing a single sentence was enough for caelum to make that judgment. Because back when he first heard them speak, it was nothing more than a painful noice to his ears.
'It still makes no sense though, but at least now it was more coherent.' He listened, not understanding a single word, but the change in their tone was obvious.
'Their way of communicating feels like a mix of early germen,' caelum suddenly felt a funny sensation building up in his body. 'Reminds me of a certain nazi dictator..'
'Nevertheless, i need to understand what they're saying.'
Caelum's grip on the quill tightened. He poured a stream of willpower into it, and made a short stroke in the dark. A faint shimmer appeared in the air before something small materlized and dropped onto his hand.
'This should work.' he looked at the dull, golden ring sitting on his palm, it was ring defined with a single purpose: to passively decode and interpret any unknown language for caelum.
It was nothing less than a translation artifact, willed into existence by the quill.
Caelum quickly slipped it onto his index finger, and turned his gaze back to the group near the campfire.
"But seriously, how long do you think he'll last?" said the same man as before, his voice was suddenly clear. The indiscernible tongue from earlier was replaced by perfect comprehension.
"Its hard to say," a woman sitting opposite him replied casually. "But not more than a day or two. He's pretty old anyway."
Caelum frowned, 'Who? Who are they talking about? 'How long he'll last? Old?''
Caelum leaned forward slightly, confident enough in the darkness to keep him hidden.
"You should at least feel something. He's still an elder," said one of the men, his lips quivered as he spoke.
"So what?" the first man snapped back. "Everyone from our parents' time is already dead. Why is he the only one still alive?"
"I get it. We all know why you hate him," another girl said calmly. "But that doesn't change the fact, he's the last elder we have have left."
"When he's gone, the village will have nothing but us, the young one's." She added, the subtle sadness that her voice carried was noticable.
While he listened to their conversation, caelum started piecing things together silence, already having a vague guess if who the elder was.
"It doesn't matter!" the first man shouted. "You know what he says right?He says he met the creator. We all know it's a lie." The man's jaws clenched tight.
"We all know this, the only ones who have met the creator are my parents." His voice cracked with anger.
The flames cast wild shadows as the tension around the fire thickened.
"You say that," the girl snapped, rising her voice for the first time, "but even your own parents acknowledged that the elder met the Creator. The elder stood by their side when the creator descended from the sky."
"They only said that out of pity!" the man yelled back. "They didn't mean it back then. They just didn't want to shame him in front of the village!"
While all of this was unfolding, caelum was flabbergasted hearing them talk.
'Creator? Are they… talking about me?'
"Fine." The man exhaled sharply and stood from the log they were sitting on. The others looked up at him, startled by the sudden movement.
"He's going to die anyway," the man continued. "But if he proves that he really met the Creator, if he can show us that his words were true, I'll crawl on the ground and address him as elder until the day I die."
The others eyes widened, as they started at him with only one question in mind. "How? How is he going to do that?" someone asked.
A slow grin crept across the man's face. He looked each of them in the eye before answering.
"Simple," his voice was louder and clear than before. "Tell him to show us the Creator's blessing."
As the last word left his mouth, his eyes changed. His black pupils gleamed gold, the shape of his gaze sharpened, and in the glow of the firelight, his eyes seem to glow faintly with an unnatural glint.
----
Caelum nearly leapt out from the shadows to ask out loud, 'What the F**k? My blessings?'
But before he could mutter a word, the conversation continued.
"You! You know that's impossible." One of the girls stood from the log, "According to the elder, that day the Creator only gave your parents His blessings. He returned them their youth and gave them the golden eyes to protect the village."
"Exactly," the man taunted. "He didn't receive the golden eyes, my parents did. And now I have them."
'Ah.' Caelum's head started turning it's gears faster, as the fog in his head cleared. 'that's what they meant by -blessing-'
The memory of that day flashed by caelum, when he used the quill to redraw the old couple's frail forms into their prime. Along with redefining their eyes, so they can protect themselves from the lions.
'Then... this guy is their son?'
Before Caelum could think further, another sharp and furious voice rang out.
"You?" the same girl shouted, venom laced in her tone. "You dare compare yourself to the elder?"
"I'm more worthy than he is!" the man shot back, stepping into the firelight. "I have the golden eyes given by the Creator."
But the girl didn't back down. Her voice rising with each word.
"You only have those eyes because you inherited them. Because your parents were blessed and gave birth to you after! That blessing wasn't given to you."
She clenched her fists, her face flushed red with anger. The circle around the fire fell silent, as the two kept arguing.
Caelum exhaled through his nose, finally understanding the whole thing.
------
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In the outside world, a cold wind crawled through the streets. Clouds hung heavy over the city, painting everything in a dull gray.
The weather made most people reluctant to step out, but avoiding work wasn't a option for most people, because being reluctance didn't pay their bills.
The same was true for famous the boka Coda Hotel, the only true luxury establishment in the city where Caelum lives. Inside, the lobby was warm and polished. The gentle scent of cologne and soft instrumental music filled the air.
"Thank you, sir. Have a good stay," said the receptionist at the main front desk, a young woman dressed in a sharp red uniform.
Tap, tap, tap.
Hearing the footsteps echo lightly from the marble staircase, the receptionist glanced up.
A woman descended from the second floor, catching the receptionist's eye. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders, framing a face too elegant to forget. She wore a sleek black outfit, high-waisted pants, a cropped top, and a long cardigan that swayed slightly as she walked.
The receptionist found herself staring directly, she quickly snapped out of her daze just as the woman stopped in front of the desk.
"Hey?" the woman waved a hand in front of her face, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Oh! Sorry," the receptionist was clearly flustered,"How can I help you?"
"It's fine," the woman said. "I'd like to extend my stay."
"Of course. For how many days, Miss Aruey?" the receptionist asked in a polite tone.
"A month, please," Aruey replied, flashing a calm smile.
The receptionist nodded quickly, her fingers already flying over the keyboard.
"One moment while I update your booking."
After extending her booking, Aruey stepped out of the Boka Coda Hotel, tugging her black cardigan tighter as a cold breeze brushed past. She raised a hand and flagged down a taxi just pulling up to the curb.
"To Sixth Street," she said, sliding into the back seat.
The driver gave a curt nod and pulled into the lane. Aruey leaned back, gazing at the cityscape beyond the window. Old concrete buildings stood beside glass-fronted stores, trees stripped bare for the winter lining the sidewalks like skeletons.
'This place hasn't changed a bit in the last twenty years,' she thought.
She unlocked her phone and started scrolling through news articles and city updates. And roughly thirty minutes later, the taxi rolled to a stop.
"We're here, ma'am," the older driver said, glancing at her in the mirror.
"Thanks. Keep the change," Aruey replied, handing him a four-dollar bill before stepping out onto the street.
Cold air greeted her again. She pocketed her hands and began walking, her heels tapped softly against the sidewalk as she passed a strange blend of aging brick buildings and newer renovations.
The contrast made her feel oddly disconnected.
After another ten minutes, she stopped in front of an three-story house. Aruey squinted at it. "Let me see... If my memory serves me right, it should be here."
She pressed the doorbell, exhaling a soft breath into the frosty air as she waited.