Chapter IV

The valley became incandescent. It was noon, and they had been traveling for three moons. The plants kept blooming, and the puddles from past storms began to boil. The luggage became more suffocating, and decisions had to be made.

--Okay, Vaf, this is the point of the journey where we need to let go of things, just like at the beginning of our journey. He said, perhaps guided by the good vibes the sun in all its splendor provided.

In the end, they reached a small peak and had a better view of the path. Then they unloaded the bags and looked for shelter. The browners are compulsive hoarders; all those bags contained the strangest things, from potions and maps to paintings apparently of important figures in the region and many scrolls. The object that most fascinated the boy was an imposing short sword, with artistic engravings made of metal and primarily crafted from a purple crystal, almost like a mirror.

--What is this, sir?

--Oh, it's my weapon. It was a gift from the Valcan Utuitas. They carved it for me after I helped them.

--Sir, is that the tribe that was going to be exterminated by Guiral? I've seen my father put metals in the furnace, but he never sculpted or touched them.

The boy continued asking questions despite how laborious it was to select what was useful and what was not.

--Well, they are a tribe that can manipulate incandescent materials. They have their settlements near the craters. They are very kind people.

--And how did you help them if they live in those places?

-- I helped them from the foothills of their village. They needed a channel to transport the molten steel. You know, it's a really fascinating story. You wonder why there is so much power in the earth, but we see more villages and human cities.

-- You didn't finish explaining that point, but I won't listen anymore until a roasted frog enters my mouth.

-- Haha, alright, do you want to see how it's done?

Angir had a question since he picked up the boy from the jaws of death. He knew very well that his house burned in that sword crossing. He knew that his brothers and mother weren't there. He didn't understand and didn't want to indiscreetly bring up the topic when the boy finally seemed interested in the browners' work.

--Hey, why do you have so many fibers and skins? I feel like I'm asking you too many questions, but I've never seen anyone like you.

--You see, the skins are to withstand the cold climates that come every year, and the fibers are for the pages of the books. Do you want to see how it's done?

--Of course, sir. Someday I'll need it. The tomatoes turned black.

The night was still young, and these miserable ones continued with their work, sewing coats and preparing pages for more trips.

--The last lesson of the night, boy, is diplomacy. Regarding your question about why there are so many humans, it's precisely because of their ability to associate, to coexist with other races and exchange benefits.

--That's why you know so much, to offer it to others and get something in return.

--That's the practical idea, yes, but we focus more on helping, as I've repeated these days. Everyone in the world is our brother.

--And the men who invaded my house? Are they my brothers? I only remember three people I called brothers.

The memories finally returned to him, and they crystallized in his eyes, and his face transformed into one darkened by sadness. His eyes shrank, his eyebrows furrowed, his strength couldn't hold anymore, and he finally broke down in tears, although incredibly, this only lasted two seconds, and soon Vaf fainted.

His master no longer knew or understood what to do. What would become of his friend the next day? Would he wake up again? Angir wrapped him in warm leathers and prepared some potions in case he didn't wake up in eight hours. While preparing the infusions, he noticed a rat had sneaked into the cave, its eyes on the boy.

--Wait outside, I don't want him to wake up and see us. Angir knew who it was.

The moonlight was a great lantern over the valley, and there was a freezing breeze just in the direction the brotherhood would descend from.

--The boy is falling victim to the nature of the Orobelo, said a crow, almost imitating the voice of its tamer.

--What do you mean? What nature?

--Surely he has asked you why the boy shows signs of not knowing where his family is. This is a result of the adaptation of the Orobelo. Just like physical damage, the Orobelo takes the most advantageous form for survival, and if that means not being affected by emotions, that will be the path it takes.

--And what can I do? How is a life without emotions and affections possible?

--You must give him a way to digest his emotions without the Orobelo inside him defining his mental behaviors, but instead, his mind controlling the Orobelo.

--Are you saying I should tell him?

--It's the only way if you want to keep your friend. Stop those ridiculous lessons. You know the boy must face it, and you pretend nothing happened. Decide once and for all, he said curtly.

After this, the lunar mantle abandoned westward.

It was another sleepless night for Angir, wondering how he would approach the topic with his apprentice. He was already calling him an apprentice; he was just a boy. It was the tenth morning that Angir received with anguish, and his friend received with ignorance, as if every morning he forgot something painful.

--You woke up. The prey is ready. Which do you prefer, boy?

--The belly. What's that book about? I thought you only carried that black brick, haha.

He had forgotten the recipe book of his mother, one of the few things he had rescued.

--We need to talk about something important, Vaf.

--About what? After eating, hehe.

--You are something more than an ordinary human.

--I don't understand. I have the same as you, only smaller.

--You are a more powerful phenomenon. Inside you, there is something more that I must continue explaining to you, and together we must continue to understand.

--I still don't understand, sir. Am I like a wizard?

--You have the potential to be one of the most powerful, Vaf, but that carries a risk. That something inside you can lead you down a wrong path. You must understand how it works and how to control it.

--I'm not understanding much. Why are you telling me this now?" The boy was starting to get stressed.

--I'm telling you so you know how to react when I say the following: I need you to think about it, to breathe, to cry, but not to stop being present. Do you understand?

--Yes.

The Orobelo was waiting to see what threat this vagabond would throw.

--I couldn't save her. The flames spread very quickly. Everything was black, the ashes were in my eyes. I'm sorry, boy, I regret not being able to save everyone. I hope you forgive me.

Angir was crying; he didn't know where to look. Suddenly, with inhuman speed, the Orobelo showed its claws, materializing an arm from the bowels of the earth. It began to strangle the master. Just as expected, the Orobelo didn't want to hear more. As oxygen left Angir against the wall, Vaf couldn't think. He was hypnotized, back on the day his family was devoured by the flames. He saw nothing but fire, the tiles falling, people running, the swords raining down. All of Argen was burning. So many images circulated in his mind. What was the present? Vaf didn't know. In this flood of information, he saw the only person left to him: a disheveled vagrant he had never seen, but who held up the burning roof for his mother to escape. But she was already gone. The information came and went, he forgot and in two seconds remembered again. Finally, among all those memories, he saw that man. "What would you like to store in a warehouse? Roasted frogs, hundreds of them," he replied.

He came back to himself and freed his master from the fury of the orb that wouldn't stop tearing at Angir's neck. Angir began to approach his student until he saw how he cried, how he dug into the ground to bury his head, bloodying his hands, screaming and calling for the woman who cooked so well and took him to the river to wash the mud off his boots. That woman, who, even when the fire took her entire being, didn't let it take the last words of affection she shouted to her son.