To Look for History Where It's Been Erased, Part 2
To Look for History Where It's Been Erased
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Gus
“Hunter?” Gus asked, tapping his shoulder. “Can I talk to you?”
Hunter turned to look at Gus and crossed his arms, looking annoyed. Gus had also been paying attention to Eda, Song, Willow, and Amity discussing, but he had an idea of his own. He just wanted to ask Hunter privately about it first. He and Hunter walked aside, and Gus pulled him down to whisper in his ear.
“Have you found anything… anything of Calebs that could help?”
Hunter went stiff as a board, and Gus couldn’t help but feel guilty. His best friend had only spoken of Caleb Wittebane on a few occasions, but Gus wondered if that man had anything that could help.
“Gus-” Hunter paused, looking at the ground, “why would that matter?”
“Well,” Gus rubbed his neck,” Well, I mean- didn’t he build the original portal, or was that Belos? I mean, I was just wondering!”
Hunter looked at Gus quizzically, and Gus couldn’t help but feel a bit put off by it. Hunter no longer seemed nervous but more curious at this proposition. Hunter took a deep breath and put his hand on Gus’s shoulder.
“I have something to tell the group,” He said quietly, turning back to the group. Gus followed him to the circle and went silent as Hunter began to speak.
“Gus reminded me of something,” Hunter started.
“Spit it out, kid,” Eda said impatiently.
Hunter sighed, “In Belos' writings, he said that Caleb kept his own journal, but- well, he could never find it!”
“What?!” Everyone except Song and Willow cried.
“Why didn’t you say anything,” Amity growled.
“Well, it wasn’t important,” Hunter defended, looking hurt, “I mean, why would it matter? We had a portal and everything! And it would’ve just brought back bad memories. ”
“Hunter, but I mean- it could’ve helped!” Amity said
“Helped what?” Hunter asked.
“Kid, what she means is that it might’ve been able to explain some stuff about the past,” Eda mediated. Gus nodded and looked at Song. She was just staring at them all, puzzled. Gus couldn’t help but feel like it was a cruel illusion to see Luz like this.
“Who is this, Caleb? Another friend of yours?” Song asked.
“Not exactly,” Hunter said. “But I think he can help us.”
“How so?” Willow asked calmly. Hunter smiled and looked at the group.
“Well, I don’t think Belos built the original portal door. He might have seen it and tried recreating it, but I don’t think it built it,” Hunter sighed and grabbed at the scars on his arms. “I think Caleb had a hand in building it, which means if we can find his journal-”
“There might be something in there that could lead us to Old Titans Blood,” Amity finished for him. Hunter nodded, and Gus was glad he followed his intuition. They might have a direction now!
“Where should we go?” Gus asked. “To look for the book- I mean, you said that even Belos couldn’t find it.”
“Yeah,” Hunter chuckled. “I figured the reason was that the journal wasn’t even in this realm, to begin with.”
“Are you saying what I think you are?” Amity asked.
“Yeah, I am,” Hunter confirmed.
“Well then, Kiddos,” Eda said, bringing them all together. She gave them all a fanged grin, and snapped her fingers. Gus watched the portal light up the brightness of stars.
“Now, let’s go on a treasure hunt."
To Look for History Where It's Been Erased
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Song
Song watched Ame and Eda fight off to the corner. The others were all getting some sort of travel bag, but Song didn’t understand why. From what Gus told her, the portal was consistent and made travel between the two extremely convenient. Gus had just said the trip might be long, and since it was starting to get late anyways, they might just crash in the Human Realm for tonight.
“Get up bright and early!” He said cheerfully before going to catch up with Willow and Hunter.
Song didn’t know what that meant, but it made Gus happy, so it made her happy. That was when she noticed the fight that Eda and Amity were having. The two were arguing pretty thoroughly, which made Song's heart (well, hearts) ache.
“Oye! Cut it out, please!” Song said, stranding inbetween the middle of them. Eda got mad and tried pushing Song away.
“Not now, Luz! I’m trying to talk sense in this idiot!”
The room went silent as everyone realized what Eda had said.
“Sorry k-Song,” Eda said firmly. “I forgot for a second, but I swear I’ll remember your name from now on.”
Song gave Eda a nod and then looked back at Amity. She wondered why it was hardest for these two to remember a simple name.
“What are you two fighting about?” Song grumbled, not wanting to play mediator anymore.
The two of them instantly clammed up and started looking nervous. Song was already annoyed at them and gave a stamp of her foot.
“Aye, come on. I’m causing all these problems,” Song complained. “At least tell me if I can help.”
Eda and Amity looked at each other and sighed. “Song, we need to see a basilisk named Vee, but the issue is,” Amity said, turning to Eda.
“The issue, kid, is that Vee lives with y-Luz’s mom,” Eda started, but Song interrupted, getting the idea.
“So, which one of you vetoed the idea of me seeing her mom?”
“It’s not like that,” Amity said. “You just look very-.”
“Ya look really Titan-y,” Eda said. "We didn't know if you should come at all. You'd freak some of the humans out,.
Song’s wings drooped. She hadn’t considered that fact, even though she probably should have. The others didn’t even recognize her as Luz when they first met. She probably would freak out Luz’s mom and the other humans. But she wanted to go. Even though going would hasten Song’s… but she still felt obligated to help. She needed to be a part of this.
“I want to go. I want to see her,” Song said. Amity looked surprised.
“Why, though?” Amity asked.
“Because I feel, well, I feel as if I need to explain something,” Song said.
“You don’t need to explain anything, kid,” Eda told her. Song wasn’t totally listening, though, as an idea sprung into her head.
“Aye, puedes mostrarme un fotó de Luz porfa?” she asked Amity.
“Why?” Amity asked cautiously, pulling out a strange blocky device.
“I need a base to perform the spell,” Song said eagerly.
“Spell for what?”
“To look like a human! So I can come!”
Amity looked nervous, but Song just gave her a smile.
“Porfa Morena? I just want to help.”
Amity sighed and began tapping at the strange device. Eda looked at Song with a puzzled look, and King- well, King was just being adorable. Song didn’t know why she wanted to try this, but she still felt responsible. She needed to see Luz’s mom and to help, and if looking human- if looking like Luz helped, then she would do that.
To Look for History Where It's Been Erased
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Amity
Amity watched as Song examined her phone. She got used to using the human device and carried it along with her scroll. She had given Song an album full of pictures of Luz, pictures that Amity couldn’t bring herself to look at often.
“Here, Ames, I think I got the idea,” Song said, handing back the phone. Amity took it with anticipation, watching as Song drew a dark, golden-purple spell circled in the air. She then expanded it and added several glyphs to the side before placing the spell circle on her chest. Amity was astounded. Spell circles combined with glyph magic? She didn’t have much time to comprehend before Song shimmered, stretched, and- Amity choked.
She was Luz, well, kind of. Song was still tall as ever, but she was wearing big baggy pants with various glyphs patched on them and a striped purple and white tank top. She was wearing a leather jacket over the top, with a snake pattern that slithered around like it was alive. Her hair was still deep purple but her eyes, though. That’s how Amity knew she was still looking at Song. Her eyes were still black, with the golden iris looking expectantly at Amity.
“Well? What do you think?” Song asked. Amity choked again, and she felt sadness. Luz could’ve been like this, but she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Luz can be like this. They just have to work for it.
“How’d you do this kid?” Eda asked, pacing around Song.
“I dunno,” Song shrugged. “The idea just came to me. ” She raised her right hand. On the ring finger was a spell circle that was spinning slowly. “The illusion sustains itself and is a lot more convincing,” Song told them before placing her hands in her pockets. That was when Hunter, Willow, and Gus came into the room, immediately dropping all their stuff. Before they could say anything stupid, Amity said-
“Song’s coming with us. She’s just doing a- special illusion to hide her form,” Amity said. The air cleared almost immediately, and everyone got together to go through the door. Gus was interrogating Song about the spell and how it worked, which made Amity chuckle. She realized all the magic she’d seen Song do was pure instinct, nothing more. Too Amity, that told her that perhaps…
Well, perhaps it wasn’t a good thought to have. Amity would shove it down, but as they stepped through the portal door, Eda and King waving goodbye, she wondered for a moment.
She wondered if Song herself was simply pure instinct.
To Look for History Where It's Been Erased
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Raine
Raine stared at the broken tablet that Lilith had brought them and sighed. Of course, it was Limericks, always Limericks, the worst that Bard Magic had to offer. Well, at least Raine could do any magic they wanted since that damned cancer scared their sigil so badly it wasn’t effective anymore.
“So Lilith, why do we need to decipher this?” Raine asked.
“Well, it’s a bit complicated, you see-”
“LUZ CAME BACK TO LIFE, EXCEPT SHE’S NOT LUZ; SHE’S SONG, AND SHE HAS NO SOUL OR BRAIN, AND LULU THINKS THE PIECE OF ROCK CAN HELP”
Raines's mouth fell open. Why hadn’t Eda contacted them? Raine could’ve helped; they could've supported Eda!
“Thank you, Hootsifer,” Lilith cooed before looking back at Raine.
“When did this happen?” they asked.
“Early this morning. Edalyn didn’t even know it had happened until around midday, which is when she called me,” Lilith said.
“But she didn’t ask for me?” Raine asked, feeling a bit selfish.
“You’re very busy, Raine, and I’m sure it just slipped Eda’s mind, ”Lilith said assuringly. “But right now, I’ll catch you up.”
Lilith then launched into an explanation. How Luz, now a half-titan going by the name Song, was stuck in the void between dimensions for the last four years. How apparently Song had managed to tear herself into her three core components, how now they were on a quest to find Luz’s soul and her memories. Lilith then confided in Raine her own theories.
“Alador said that incredibly powerful magic will be needed to rebind each piece which is why I brought you that,” Lilith finished pointing to the tablet.
Raine nodded in agreement, looking back at the shattered tablet. It was one of The Collector's stories, and it looked positively ancient. Raine had seen The Collector's bedtime storybook, and this tablet looked nothing like that. It was old, faded, and smooth beyond any measure. The words were faint and no longer glowed, making it somewhat difficult to read.
“What do you think?” Lilith asked.
“Well-” Raine paused, looking over it. “Is there anything I should know first?”
“Ah, yes!” Lilith said eagerly, “When I spoke to Colin about this specific tale, even they called it a dumb kids tale. ” Lilith then looked deep in thought before she again said, “I think this tale is true, just very old. And I want someone else’s input before I tell Edalyn my theory.”
Raine nodded and began reading out loud.
The Collectors wanted toys from the stars
Alas, the stars had only memories.
They went to find friends,
Who helped Earth and then,
But still, they needed more heart.
The heart needed parts from the spires.
, which needed to be bound by briars,
So Collectors brought from above,
Their friends brought their love,
And forged them together with fires.
When Raine finished, they looked at Lilith, who was staring expectantly at them. Despite its rhyming and childlike, only one type of story came to Raine’s mind, and it didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel right, and it meant something even worse for poor Song if Raine was right.
“Lilith, I’m not sure, but this comes off as-” Raine paused, taking a sip of tea “-Well, it comes off as A Creation Myth.”