Chapter 12: Chapter 12. Hints of a Ruin

Thomas surprised himself with how fast he came to terms with the fact they owned a pet penguin now. I suppose the more time I spend with Alexander, the more I get used to his shenanigans. Putting aside his thoughts, he sat up on his seat. “Alright, you got your damn penguin. Now, I’m gonna need you to focus on the task at hand. The only reason we came here was for this troupe, and I do not intend for this to be a waste of time.” Thomas clasped his hands as he made a quick prayer to Sobek, the founding dragon of the Tlaloc clan, for success in finding a clue to the ruins within the musical.

Alexander suppressed his desire to correct his friend in calling buying a penguin a waste of time. “Thomas, I am not even going to pray. There is no doubt in my mind we are about to find a clue, and even if there’s nothing in the musical, we can still talk with the troupe about the inspiration for the musical. The title sounds too much like what you’re looking for to be nothing. We have already found a clue. All we are doing now is following up on it.”

The rational words brought peace to Thomas’ heart as he settled down. “Thank you for that, bro. It’s just we’ve been stuck at Kalas for almost two weeks now. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve enjoyed discovering the city, helping the people in the outskirts and finding a friend, but the hope of finally finding a clue brought with it a deep anxiety for what would happen if this was a dead-end.”

“It won’t be.”

 

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During the time it took for the troupe to set up the stage, Alexander tried to receive his penguin multiple times but was rejected each time. The attendants apologized and ensured him he was not being ripped off, but he would have to wait to retrieve his penguin as its squawking would ruin the performance. Turning his attention to the troupe, they had now succeeded in recreating a beachside environment in the venue.

It appeared most of the members of the troupe were Elementalists as evidenced by Alexander’s scan. The past few days as Alexander gathered a large enough sample size to test the effects of his scan ability while healing everyone, he had realized he could interpret the color of people’s aura as their tier. On the stage, he could see several orange and a few red auras indicating Apprentice tiered Elementalists and non-Elementalists- his own yellow aura was at the Senior Apprentice stage, and Thomas’ green aura was Grandmaster tier.

The earth Elementalists had filled the stage with sand, while the non-Elementalists had positioned various props to simulate the coastline. After 30 minutes of set up, a mature woman with streaks of gray hair lining her still voluminous black hair wearing a black dress with a gray blazer began to speak. “Thank you to everyone who has decided to stay and watch our performance. My name is Rebecca, the director of the play and a longtime member of ‘Chimes of Sand.’ It is my utmost pleasure to present the band, the actors and all the stage artists who have made this play a possibility. Please enjoy!” Rebecca smoothly moved to a front row seat while showered in a polite clap from the audience.

The band who had settled off to the side began playing a melodious piece with only wind instruments. A young man with white hair and covered in dirt entered the stage as the narrator, hidden behind a black curtain the troupe had placed to denote the end of the stage, started off the play.

Thomas and Alexander were mesmerized from beginning to end as the musical told a story of rags to riches. A young man living in Port Talan had set off into the ocean on his fishing boat with the hopes of bringing in more money for his family. His father was a widow who had recently suffered a life-altering injury to his spine. Bereft of any outside help, the family, consisting of 4 younger siblings and the injured father, had turned to the young man as a pillar of support. Unwilling to let his family down, he had journeyed further and further from the safe fishing spots in an attempt to bring home a big catch to provide his family with stability and his father with a chance at healing. Overworked, malnourished, and alone, the young man had misread the weather and found himself trapped in the middle of the raging storm. The anger of the ocean shattered his boat, but it seemed the gods had not given up on him yet.

He washed unto the shores of an island under the onslaught of an ocean storm turned blizzard, and unwittingly entered an inheritance site as he sought shelter from the cold. The ruins had been laid by an ancient king who left an imprint of his will to test any potential inheritors of his techniques. When the king’s will sifted through the young man’s soul, the benevolent king decided to directly impart the young man with his inheritance due his pure heart. Awash with power, the young man profusely thanked the disappearing strand of the expert’s will and left the island an incredible Emperor tier powerhouse with an affinity for the water element. He summoned a tidal wave to carry him to Kedra island and turned to bow once more to the mysterious island in recognition of his half-master, but he was stunned to find the island had disappeared. Unfettered, the young man returned to Port Talan where he helped his family and established a dynasty ruling over the entirety of Kedra.

Music filled the room as the band played an upbeat piece with violins to finalize the musical. The crowd erupted with cheering for a long minute before Rebecca took the stage once more. “Thank you all so much from me and the team, and to the Partina Caravan, we extend to you our fondest thanks for allowing us to partake in this wonderful event.” This wrapped up the biannual auction as those who remained began to exit the premises.

Thomas quickly headed towards the side of the stage where the troupe was currently packing up their things. Spotting Rebecca, he promptly asked, “Where did you get the story for the play?”

“The story is our own, and I am offended you would accuse us of taking the story from someone else.” Rebecca responded coldly to the aggressive, almost accusatory tone of voice Thomas had used.

Lagging a little behind, Alexander belatedly joined the conversation. “I am so, so sorry for my friend here. He meant no disrespect. We were just both so overwhelmed with emotion throughout the musical that we felt behooved to come speak to the creators of such a wonderful act. My friend misspoke in his excitement.” Shooting Thomas a glance, he gestured with his head.

“Yes, I apologize for my earlier aggression. I only wanted to pick your brain and listen to the inspirations that led to this spectacular performance.”

Accepting the apology, Rebecca took a more friendly smile. “Ahh, your praise falls on the wrong person. All I did was give out an idea. It was the actors and the musicians who really brought it to life. I was but a muse.”

Alexander continued the flattery. “Why of course. The actors and musicians indeed are the body of the art, but it is only the director that is the mind. You are like a painter using fine brushes to create a masterpiece. Don’t sell yourself short.”

Taken aback by the bootlicking, Rebecca began to turn back. “Thank you both for the kind comments. I really must get back to packing, though. We are hoping to finish quickly so that we may have a good night’s rest.”

Realizing Rebecca might leave, Thomas also joined in on the fawning. “We don’t intend to take too much of your time. We were just wanting to hear what experiences led to your creation of this magnificent play. It is already cemented as the greatest play we have ever seen, and to hear the director’s comments would only propel it further.”

Still not convinced, Rebecca had already begun to pack again. “It was really just an idea that came to me in our travels. As a troupe, we have had the freedom to visit many cities around Kedra, and it is through these travels that I came up with the concept. Now, please excuse me as I return to packing with the rest of the group.”

In a last-ditch effort, Alexander blurted out, “We are budding playwrights! The, umm, the reason we are so adamant about finding out how you created your story is because we are currently attempting to write our own.”

Suddenly much more intrigued, Rebecca paused her packing and walked towards the two. “You’re budding playwrights, you say? And could I inquire what your play is about?”

Alexander looked to Thomas for help. Improvising, he answered. “We- we came to Kalas searching for inspiration, and we heard a folktale about a legendary warrior who had visited the city.”

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Playing off Thomas, Alexander continued. “Yes, that’s right. We heard the tale of the Cactus Warrior and knew it would make for a stupendous play. But as of late, we have become stumped in the story, and were hoping by talking to you our path forward could become clearer.”

A joyous laugh escaped Rebecca. “I had no clue I was speaking to brothers of the craft. There’s no need to be so formal at all. Creating a good play is as much luck as it is skill. Take ‘The Frozen Ruins’ for example. I met an old man living in a solitary fishing hut south of Port Talan almost two decades ago who told me a myth he himself had heard only in his youth. With no family and living as a recluse, the old fisherman was happy to finally spread his tale. This story has probably been dead to the world for more than a hundred years. It basically wrote itself, but I still needed years before I came up with the final product you saw today. My beginnings were very similar to yours, so don’t lose hope!” She continued rambling about prose, character development, and world building, but Thomas was only absentmindedly nodding along.

He uncurled the fists he had unconsciously clenched and exhaled as he felt a huge weight leave his body. I finally found it, Grandma. I’m gonna get that inheritance and show everyone I don’t have to be protected anymore.

 

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Waiting in an office, Gabriel Antoine was pissed. His father, a Lord under the Empress of the Jupiter Clan, had assigned him to the mission to retrieve the escaped Tlaloc prince while Prince Magnus and Pietro led the expedition into Pacifico. “Agh!” He shattered a pillar within the palace to let off some steam. “Why couldn’t I be chosen to go kill some monks?”

Beside him, a slim elderly man with a head of snow-white hair and dressed in a butler’s suit calmly responded. “Young master, you know you were chosen because Kedra is already partly owned by the Jupiter clan. Your mother is expecting you to complete the mission with tremendous success as the king of Agni’s son and the Gravity General’s son have both already accumulated many war accolades.”

“You don’t have to remind me how much better Magnus and Pietro are than me, Jacques, but if I was sent to Pacifico I could really fuck shit up. That’s the best way for me to gain honor for the clan. I’m a warrior not some strategic leader.”

“I believe, young master, your mother wants you to be both. She fought hard to wrestle this opportunity away from the other leaders back in the clan.”

“Pah, we’ll see what happens. When’s that pirate Celia supposed to be here? The faster we can start the hunt, the faster I can get back home. Maybe there’s a chance I’ll be return in time to be sent to Pacifico.”

“Of course. Depending on your performance, I do not believe joining the expedition to Pacifico is impossible, but remember to be respectful, young master. Lady Celia may now be a pirate, but she is still the younger sister of the Empress and a princess by title. She should be here any minute now. She mentioned she would be attending an auction one of her caravans held to ensure they are still operating at maximum efficiency.”

Near the beginning of the war, the Empress of the Jupiter clan had sent a large force into Derapen in an effort to gain some extra territory for Propizio. Wresting away land from the Sabians or the Aboriginals residing in the only continent of Derapen would have taken too many resources, especially when her main forces were focused in Anima, the Frigg clan’s home planet, and Esente, the Kukulkan clan’s home planet. Therefore, Kedra was chosen as the target. Celia the younger and much less talented sister of the Empress was selected as the leader of the mission so that she would be away from the war. Within Kedra, she was considered to be the voice of the Empress herself.

Following the war meeting, the Jupiter clan was tasked with choosing one of their younger Elementalists to lead the mission to abduct the second son of the king of Tlaloc who they had traced to Tecon Desert. Because the Jupiter clan already owned this land, they were the obvious choice to be in charge. The two men were currently seated in a grand office in the white palace found at the center of Kalas. A white palace identical to the one here was built in every major city in the southern half of Kedra island. Unknown to the people of the land, these palaces were set aside for visiting ambassadors from the Jupiter clan along with Celia herself, although she was not often here since she had chosen a much different lifestyle.

Hearing the front door open, both men raised their heads to see a striking middle-aged woman with violet eyes, long black hair, and an almond skin tone wearing a lavender button-down shirt tucked into black pants. A jagged scar ran from her left eye to her top lip. “So you’re the kiddo sent over by Eloise.”

Shocked at hearing the Empress’ first name, Gabriel was stumped for a second. “Uhh, yes, Princess. The glorious Empress sent me here to capture the escaped prince of Tlaloc.”

“Do not refer to me as a princess. This is Kedra, the pirate island, and standing before you is the Pirate Empress herself. That is the only title I will accept.”

Her eyes bore down on Gabriel before he assented. “Yes, Pirate Empress.”

“Good, now hand me an image of this prince, and I’ll have my crew hunt him down.” Celia had now sat herself on a couch, legs open and playing with a knife.

Gabriel was surprised at how unruly the princess of his clan was acting. Her aura was barbaric and filled with blood lust. “Pirate Empress, if you provide me with a small force of some of your men, I can hunt the prince down myself.”

“Don’t be stupid, boy. Why work so hard on your own when you can just have somebody else do it and take the credit. We will put out a bounty, and my men will find the prince: dead or alive.” There was no room for questioning the Pirate Empress’ decision.

“Okay,” muttered Gabriel weakly.

“That’s a good boy. Now, I’m getting the hell out of this stuffy city and heading back to my base in the mountains. I left one of the members of my main crew out in the lobby so that you can give him the image of the prince. He’ll make wanted posters and then take you to my base. While you’re there, I’ll be showing you two why it’s much more fun to be a pirate.” With that, Celia got up and walked out of the office, not even waiting to see if Gabriel or Jacques had anything to add.

Jacques cleared his throat. “Young master, forgive my insolence, but perhaps we should travel to one of the cities with a gateway to contact the clan. It appears the Princess has no interest in even keeping the prince of Tlaloc alive.”

“She’s the Pirate Empress, Jacques, not a Princess, and I don’t think that will be necessary at all. Did you feel how bloodthirsty her aura was? This mission might not be so boring after all. Let’s finish up here before we go see what the pirate life is all about.” Gabriel laughed menacingly before walking towards the lobby.

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