Chapter 6: The Next Page

The sun was showing off its full glory within the afternoon sky as it blasted its heat directly above the village. Accompanying the giant ball of fire were fine white clouds dappled across the vast blue sky.

Polius had left Reynold’s house and walked towards the centre of the village, headed back to his home. On his way there he could see the scene of bustling villagers hard at work. 

Around twenty villagers were sitting together, washing clothes and talking with each other. Another group of villagers were fixing their equipment and the weapons that were damaged in the battle. While not everyone’s spirit was at their highest, they all tried their very best to go on with their daily lives. 

After walking for ten minutes Polius arrived before his mahogany duskwood house. Only two houses in the village were built with duskwood, and his was one. The rest of the houses were made of birch wood gathered from the surrounding forest, giving them a much lighter colour in comparison. 

Polius remained still for a few seconds, staring at his home. He then pushed the door open and walked inside. 

“Oh, look at who’s finally here,” a raucous voice called out. 

Inside Polius’ home Empedocles sat on a chair, sipping tea without a care as if he owned the place. 

Polius simply stared at the old man’s grinning face. Of course you’re here. He closed the door behind him and walked towards the table.

He turned his head to stare at the door behind Empedcoles. His eyes lingered on the door for a while before he sat down opposite of the old man.

They sat in silence as Empedocles continued to sip his tea. Polius tapped his finger against the table’s surface while staring at the teapot. 

“So,” Empedocles began.

Polius’ eyebrow arched up. “So?” 

Empedocles sighed and put down his teacup. “You brat. What are you going to do with the infant?”

Polius’ eyes couldn’t help but wander over to the door behind Empedocles once more. The old man’s question had sparked a barrage of thoughts within Polius’ mind. As if reflecting his inner conflict, his keen green eyes dulled and his eyelids dropped ever so slightly. 

“Heh, I don’t remember raising such an indecisive child.”

Polius’ sight snapped back to Empedocles. 

“... You heard what the Exiled said. The prophecy that foretold about the infant,” Polius stated.

“I did. And so did everyone in the village.” Empedocles poured more tea into his cup, filling it to the brim. “Yet not a single one has said anything. Why do you think they haven’t? Even though they have lost someone significant in their life, they haven’t mentioned a word about the child.”

The tapping noise ceased as Polius curled up his fingers into a fist. “Because—”

“Because they are waiting for their Chief,” Empedocles interrupted. 

“But—”

“But you are still unsure. To ignore the sins of the baby’s ‘parent’ or to appease the sadness and anger of the victims and those lost.”

Polius shut his eyes and lifted his clenched fist while grinding his teeth. The volcano that was his heart bubbled as he listened to Empedocles. His eyes opened up and glared at the nonchalant old man in front of him.

Empedocles lifted his cup. “You see, if my hands are wobbly then the tea would spill. But it remained still.” 

Empedocles moved his hands horizontally, vertically and diagonally, yet not a single drop spilt out of his cup.

“You must stay composed. Both inside and out. The you right now may appear to be calm but your mind is a chaotic mess. Easily rattled by the simplest of things.”

The strength in Polius’ fist slowly dissipated as his hand slowly lowered onto the table. The weight in his eyelid grew heavier, making it hard for him to look directly at Empedocles any longer.  

“Why aren’t you the chief?” He finally mustered out the thought that was plaguing his psyche. 

After the words rang out, silence permeated the room. Empedocles didn’t answer the question but rather downed his tea like a shot. Then he stared at the teacup in his hand, admiring the blue exquisite pattern on it. 

“How many times are you going to ask that question? Kiddo, do you even know how old I am?” 

“...No. There isn’t a single person in the village that knows how old you are.”

Empedocles shook his head, “There’s one single person, and that’s Theo.”

Polius stood up in shock, his mind blank from surprise. “How? He hasn't been here for long.”

“That’s exactly how and why. The first day he came here he told me that he’d heard my tales from someone in a faraway land.” 

“Tales from a faraway land…” Polius mumbled underneath his breath as he sat back down on his chair. 

His mind started to wander toward the mist and mazes of possibilities. What tales did Empedocles conceive and how far has he travelled? What has he experienced? The questions controlled Polius’ thoughts. 

“I’m too old.”

Empedocles' words threw Polius back to reality. 

“You have to make the decisions. Not me. I’ve watched many chiefs grow up. You aren’t the first one I’ve raised either. But you have your own path. And this is the village that decided that you are the chief.”

“No. You were the one that decided that I would be chief. You were the one that raised me up like one. I never had a say in any of this.”

“Are you going to say you want to give up now? After all this time?”

Polius’ nails dug into his palms. “You know I can’t. Not when everyone is relying on me.”

“So why do you keep on asking such pointless questions?”

Polius' eyes stared daggers at Empedocles. The fire in his heart was blazing up like a sun, ready to burst out. 

“Until the day you die you’ll always be their chief. That’s what it means to be a chief. And now they are waiting for your decision. So what will it be? How will you deal with the baby that has a prophecy attached to it?”

The question presented to him quelled the fire within Polius, causing him to calm down and organise his thoughts.

The Astral Spirit told us to take care of him. But if he didn’t exist would the beast tide have occurred? It would just have been another normal day. Daedalus wouldn’t have died. Reynold wouldn’t have suffered. 

A wisp of darkness gathered in Polius’ heart as the questions brewed on. 

Empedocles poured more tea into his teacup while he waited.

They… are dead. They will never come back. Nothing will ever change that.

Polius’ heart steadied down. He exhaled the dark wisp that had leached into his heart and spoke, “He’s an infant… born into this world without a choice of his own. And like all infants, he was born without the sin of his parents. I- We can not push all the blame onto a child.”

Empedocles sipped his tea. “Is that your decision? How will you deal with the people that think otherwise?”

“I will find a way.”

“Hahaha, you will?” Empedocles chuckled. 

“Yes. Because I’m their chief.” Polius’ sharp eyes stared at Empedocles like a blade. 

There wasn't a speck of dust or doubt within his clear verdant eyes.

The edges of Empedocles’ lips curled up.  

“Alright. How was Daedalus’ kid?” 

“Reynold… he’s facing reality now. Even though the Banquet of Mourning is over, not everyone has moved on yet. He’s one of the few that are still stuck in the past.” 

“He’ll be fine then.” 

“Yes,” Polius nodded. 

The door behind Empedocles creaked open. 

“Ah!”

Behind the door was a maiden with long braided hair that laid over her right shoulder. She was dressed in a simple wool dress that reached down to her ankles. Her verdant eyes enlarged at the sight of Polius. 

“Chief!” Her heartbeat subtly quickened. 

“Oh Lydia, I didn’t realise you were here,” Polius said with his eyebrows raised. 

“Heh, if she wasn’t here then who would have taken care of the infant? It’s not like you’ve been around much,” Empedocles sneered. 

Empedocles’ words took a bite out of Polius’ heart, leaving behind a mark of shame.

“Thank you Lydia,” Polius coughed. 

His words caused her to snap back to reality. Lydia looked down, attempting to cover her blushing face. 

“How is the child?” Polius asked.   

“Ah yes! Elder!” Lydia's eyes darted towards Empedocles. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. Uhm… the boy’s weird. Not once have I seen him cry or even wake up. He just lies on the bed without moving at all. And his heartbeat is really slow, I checked it myself but I could barely find it.”

Empedocles smoothed out his white beard. “Hmmmm... a very peculiar baby. As should be expected when he has a prophecy attached to him, I suppose.” He then stared at Polius. “Well Chief, what are you going to do?”

“Me?” 

“Well you are in charge, aren’t you?” Empedocles grinned.

Even though he was taken by surprise at being pulled into the conversation, the gears in Polius’ mind quickly started working. He had to find a way to handle this enigmatic baby wrapped up in a mist of mysteries.  

“Under no means shall he die…” Polius muttered.

“Under no means shall he die,” Empedocles repeated. “Yes, that was said in the prophecy that was bestowed onto us by the Exiled being.”

Lydia squeezed her hands together. “Then does it mean the boy will be fine?” 

“Not exactly,” Empedocles answered. “Prophecies are obscure, my child. They aren’t straight forward like you would think.”  

Empedocles lifted his tea cup again. “If a prophecy stated that this cup wouldn’t break then normally it wouldn’t. But if I”—he exerted pressure and the cup shattered—“do this then it breaks. I did it because I knew of the ‘prophecy.’ Just like that cup, if we stab the infant with a knife then he would die, regardless of the prophecy.”

“Empo! That was my cup!” Polius growled. 

“Do you understand now, child?” Empedocles asked, disregarding Polius’ anger. 

“But then…”

“But then why would the prophecy state that the infant won’t die? Do you remember why the infant is here in the first place?” Empedocles questioned.

“Ah!” Lydia gasped. 

“Because the Exiled being came to us after their so-called trial. It found a place that could protect the child. Hence, it wants us to play the part in the prophecy.”

Lydia’s heart trembled upon realising the truth. 

“Elder, what should we do with the child then?”

“Hmmm... what should we do, Chief?” Empedocles inquired as he stared at Polius.

Polius scratched his chin, seemingly mimicking Empedocles without knowing. He looked up and stared Empedocles in the eyes. 

“I’ll take care of him.”

Empedocles’ eyes opened wide, staring back at Polius. “You? Hahahahaha. Kiddo, you haven’t even had a relationship, let alone taken care of a kid. What do you know?”

Polius glared at Empdocles’ words. But there was a stinging feeling in his heart as the comment had struck a low point. He was right. It was already tough being chief, let alone focusing on finding a girlfriend or a wife. 

“He’ll be my neph— no. He’ll be my son,” Polius declared. 

The resolve in his heart strengthened into a raging flame that would burn down any obstructions in his way. 

Empedocles stroked his beard while sorting out his thoughts. “Hmmmm....” He turned around and looked behind him. “Lydia.”

Lydia’s shoulders jumped, “Yes, Elder?”

“This child is in no way ready to be a parent, and certainly not ready for such a mysterious infant. Would you help him?”

Lydia’s heart fluttered and she nodded with a rosy face. “It would be my honour, Elder.”

Polius’ eyebrows furrowed but he couldn’t dispute Empedocles’ claims. “I’ll be relying on you then, Lydia.”

“A-ah. Chief. You can count on me,” Lydia declared with a soft voice. Her rose-coloured face stared down on the floor, unable to look up. 

Empedocles snickered at the sight. He waved his hands over the shards of his broken teacup, leaving behind a trail of green energy. Then the shards shook and flew back together, forming a cup with not a single crack upon it, as if it was brand new. 

Polius’ mind went blank at the sight. 

“Just a simple party trick, no need to be shocked. And yet you still want to raise a kid, heh.” 

The lava in Polius’ heart started to overflow from Empedocles’ words as his blood rushed to his head. But the volcano quickly crumbled down from Polius’ lack of energy. 

The old man stood up from his seat. “I’ll leave this fool to you, Lydia.” 

“Ah?” Lydia’s mouth dropped. 

Empedocles left without delay, leaving Polius and Lydia alone in the room. 

Polius stood up from his seat and walked towards Lydia. As he was a head taller than her, he looked down to meet her eyes while she looked up. Her eyes seemed to sparkle when her Chief moved so close to her.   

“Well... let’s go?” Polius suggested.

“Ah!” 

“Hmmm?” 

“Ah, yes. Let’s go.” Lydia turned around and walked away.

Polius followed behind.