Chapter Six: Neil's Uncle/The Prophecy Revealed

It is suggested that Neil's uncle is a powerful wizard, and the prophecy is explained.

“What?” Neil looked behind him, but saw only nothing. “You guys look like I’m about to get my throat slit.”

Sentesyl seemed very surprised; her hand remained inside her backpack gripping the case of eggs. “The Marksthar?”

“The?” Neil looked puzzled. “Well, he's the only one that I know of.” He looked at the others, their faces manipulated by disbelief. “Why…do you know him or something?”

Sentesyl continued, keeping her previous tone. “Marksthar…was one of this world's most skilled warriors! He disappeared over three hundred years ago!”

“What? How is that possible? I saw my uncle just last week. It must be a coincidence.”

She seemed to calm down a bit, finally letting go of the eggs. “Maybe.”

“Maybe? What are the odds of someone of such importance to be in both our worlds with such a massive gap in time? There are already so many similarities between our homes I’ve noticed so far. Besides, it was a made-up name; a persona.”

Sentesyl smiled before turning to the others. “I think it’s time to eat.”

Neil looked up at the suns; to him it looked like it was just before noon. “You know,” he said, “Where I come from, if you have breakfast during lunchtime, it’s called brunch.”

The girls looked at him (Maurtt seemed to have dozed off) and Tentesyl scoffed. “No way, that’s so silly”

Neil shrugged his shoulders. “Huh…surprised that’s one thing that didn’t catch on here.”

Sentesyl looked back down at the hot plate over the fire, cracking the eggs. “That’s…interesting.”

###

Later that evening, as the large yellow sun and small orange sun set in the sky, Neil lies on a hill overlooking a meadow with a small brook running through it. His hands are behind his head, propping it up slightly. Lying parallel to the edge of the hill, he could see all of the nocturnal animals coming out to hunt, gather, play, and wash. “Prophecy,” he said aloud. All day, try as he might, he couldn’t get this word out of his mind. “Prophecy,” he said again. This word had an untold significance that he felt obligated to know. “Prophecy?” This time it was a question. He thought to himself that he might be trying, or rather, hoping to be more important than he really was. After all, this could all still be a dream. His mind had been hazy since he arrived and he was not sure how he had arrived in the first place.

He heard faint footsteps come from behind him on the dewy grass, but pretended to ignore them. Sentesyl stood over him, casting a shadow behind her.

“Do you want to know the prophecy?”

Neil moved over, leaving room on his coat for her to sit down next to him. “I feel like I need to.”

She walked over, and on the coat sat cross-legged next to the boy who remained in deep thought.

“It is written on the walls of the oldest cave on the tallest mountain that a stranger, trained by a great wizard, shall find his way here from a new world...” She looked into the sky, now inhabited by the bright, blue moon.

“Then a great monster, whose home is this world, shall come with him and shake the earth. This monster shall pass judgment on this world, and if it is deemed not pure...this world will be destroyed.” She looked down at Neil, her face stricken with sorrow before looking back up at the moon in the sky.

“Like hundreds before it.”

Neil just kept staring into the distance and furrowed his brow. He formed a hundred questions to ask in that one moment, and before he could choose one, she continued.

“And…” She paused and looked off to the side. “And part of it seems to have come true.”

Neil sat up and looked at her. “But we don’t even know if my uncle is the same Marksthar that you were talking about...”

“Well, he did disappear over a hundred years ago.”

“And I didn't bring any monsters with me, just some people who were chasing me, but they all ran away. They all got out and only left me behind; I’m pretty sure my being here is just a coincidence. I mean, a lot of the animal and plant life seem pretty similar, if not identical.” He placed his hand on hers, which lay on her knee. “Even we seem the same.” Neil looked back down and studied his new bracelet, then paused. “But what would my bracelet have to do with it?”

Sentesyl looked over at him. “That thing?” She raised an eyebrow. “Nothing, it's just a piece of junk.”

Neil looked back at her. “But that old lady�"”

“She's crazy,” she said cutting him off.

She had no way of knowing of Neil’s logical vulnerability; interrupting was one thing that everyone did to him. It made him feel that the speaker did not intend to listen. As she spoke, he calmed himself; his heart slowed and his face cooled.

“I know her. She is very old, and is delusional.”

Neil thought for a second. “But how did she disappear? Magic?”

She replied as she got up and walked away. “She moves very quickly for her age.”

Neil lied back down and resumed his thought. He was sure there was something left out. “Prophecy,” he said in an accepting voice, as he stared into the night sky.

Neil sat alone on that hill for what felt like several minutes, contemplating all he had gone through in these few days alone; the friends he had made... in his own world, it had taken him more than half his life to make one friend... and he had moved far away with his parents. As he sat there, he looked at the light of the waning blue moon reflecting off his sapphire bracelet. Why had Sentesyl's mood changed so suddenly?

“I'm sure this thing has something to do with the prophecy,” he muttered to himself. He looked back up at the sky. “I just wonder if I have anything to do with it.” He was starting to get tired of trying to figure things out, so he decided to go and talk to his newly acquired friend.

Neil walked around the dancing embers of the campfire and over to Maurtt, who was sitting comfortably in front of the flames on a log made from a fallen tree. He smiled and nodded his head to the injured boy.

“How you feelin'?” Neil asked as he sat down next to him.

Maurtt ejected a heavy sigh. “Better...but my leg still hurts.” He smiled at Neil. “The girls are out collecting herbs for a healing potion.”

“Wow, so there really is magic here.”

“Yes, all it comes down to is using spiritual energy to do things you need it to. Using the earth's energy, like from herbs and stuff, is easier than using your own, as there is an overabundance of it. To use your own energy, you need to either be descended from a family with magical abilities, or spend your entire life practicing. For some, like the sisters, it just comes naturally. With me...heh, it's something that I lack.” His face turned stone once more, showing a familiar trace of pain with which Neil was too familiar. The injured boy let out a sigh before saying, “There's not much that I seem to do right.”

Neil moved closer to Maurtt and placed his hand on his shoulder. Maurtt looked up at him, eyes filled with pain, but producing no tears.

“It's okay; I used to feel the same way. You just have to look inside yourself for your strength and happiness.”

Maurtt smiled. It was an action he was getting used to, and starting to like. “But friends help also, Neil.” Maurtt placed his hand on his. “Thank you.”

“No prob, Maurtt. Friends don't come by too easy for me.” Neil got up and smiled at him. “That's why I always look after my friends.”

Maurtt gave a bigger smile before Neil walked away into the surrounding woods. He then looked back down at the campfire and let out a sigh totally devoid of sadness.

Neil decided to go out in search of the girls, figuring that it was light out enough to find his way. The woods had become eerily silent, leaving an aura of peace through the land. He could hear the sisters in the distance as he walked. Neil always liked going through the woods at night though he never knew why...Whenever someone told him to “get lost” figuratively, he would go out and attempt quite literally.

Making his way through the forest, he noticed the vegetation (among other things) had a much greater variety in this world than his own. Occasionally, he would see insects or small animals closely resembling what he was used to, yet there was usually something different about them. The plant life either looked just like what he was used to at home or ranged from looking exotic to just plain alien. He curiously observed the nightlife as he walked. After some time, a curtain of vines hanging from overhead branches stood in his way. Parting the vines, he stepped through to the other side, and sure enough, there was�"

�"A dagger. A dagger was pressing against his throat. How could he be so careless? He hadn't even been walking with his hand near his sword; his mind flashed back to his uncle. He would always say, “Stay alert, especially in unfamiliar surroundings; you never know what to expect.” Tentesyl was just standing there, maybe ten feet away in front of him, watching. Neil felt ashamed that he let his recklessness get the better of him. Suddenly, the little girl's stare turned to a wide smile. A smile? she didn't hate him enough to smile seeing him so close to death...When she started laughing, the fear was lifted like a weight; he knew what had happened. Sentesyl stepped in front of Neil and sheathed her dagger.

“We heard something coming, so I had positioned to ambush.”

“Jeez.” He wiped the sweat off his forehead. “You almost scared me to death!”

Sentesyl's smile grew wider, and Tentesyl continued laughing. “I saw it was you when you walked through, but I wanted to give you a good scare.”

“Ha! Good scare? That was probably the best scare I've ever had!”

He rubbed his neck, and checked his hand for blood. The younger sister was now doubled over with laughter. Neil took a few steps forward and turned around. Keeping his shocked face, he looked at the sisters and opened his mouth.

“So what have we got here?”

“Well,” Sentesyl said, “We’ve collected some hemweed; the oil of which will numb the pain of Maurtt's wounds.” She showed him the multi-leaved plant, looking almost like an exaggerated clover. “And we were lucky enough to find some ginja herb, which will actually help with the healing. The hemweed is important, because when ginja is exposed to open wounds and such, it is incredibly painful.” She held up a plant with a stem branching into four, each with a cluster of long leaves fanning out. “Ginjas don't grow near each other, so they’re hard to find.” She puts the plant back into a leather pouch and looks at Neil. “Come on, we were just about to look for a few more. They're scattered every few yards or so, so we can cover more ground now that you're here.”

They continued into the forest, scanning their eyes as they spoke. The sisters (mostly Tentesyl) pointed out various berries, nuts, herbs, and animals while describing what parts they play in the world.

“Those are falcner berries,” Tentesyl said, pointing to a bush. “You eat enough of those, and they’ll put you in a pretty deep sleep, but you’ll wake up with a wicked stomachache” To Neil, they looked almost like flamingo heads with long bushy leaves at the top. Sentesyl plucked a leaf from a small plant and handed it to Neil. It was about the size of his palm, and was stiff to the touch. It looked like a broad heart with thick veins branching out down the middle.

“That's a leaf from a sweetea plant. It's very sweet, and makes excellent tea.”

“Hence the name,” Neil said.

Sentesyl giggled and told him to take a bite.

“Take a bite? You don’t have to wash it first?”

“Nope, just take a taste.”

Neil bit into it. It was minty, sweet and had a slightly herbal taste as well. The consistency was that of eating a gelatin candy.

“Wow, that's good.” He placed it in a pocket inside his trench coat.

“Found one!” The little girl called.

“Great!” Sentesyl turned around and started walking over. “Now all we need is one or two more. Let's keep going!”