The Scribe

Chari could tell that the strange being was about to introduce himself but as he mentioned his name words seemed to go missing at some point only to reappear later in a jumbled mess. It was as though he wasn't actually speaking with actual words, at least not the words they were familiar with.

Knowing they would not be able to grasp the true nature of his name he gave them a simpler alternative.

"But you can call me Genthos. Now I know you have a lot of questions but it isn't in my place to answer any questions. Today I am simply a guide."

He then rubbed his barren chin, resting his fingertips on them before speaking.

"Normally you should be in the soul sea, moving to your next life but I singled you out for a reason, one which I cannot reveal."

'That's a lot of things, you can't reveal.'

The being raised an eyebrow.

'Umm… I think he can hear our thoughts.' Came his alter's voice for the first time since they entered this state.

Hearing his voice brought some sort of relief to Chari, even though he could feel his presence it was nice to confirm without a doubt that he was still with him.

It was either the being could not hear their thoughts or he just chose to ignore them because shortly after, he continued speaking.

"When you came to us there was a crease in your soul, a fracture of sorts. It took many years to repair it and even now the healing is not complete, but we have done all we can."

He rubbed his chin as if unsure of what to reveal and what to keep secret before deciding and then speaking next in a more serious tone, he said:

"You will be reborn into a new world, in truth this world is in no way more peaceful than the world you left behind, some might even say it's far worse."

The shelves in the room began to stir and hundreds of books flew out of the shelves and begun circulating around him. The fire in his eyes burned brightly and his voice took a more daunting tone.

"If it were up to me, I would keep you here for eons. But not all decisions fall to the scribes."

He paused and a pained expression flashed on his face, for some reason Chari felt like the individual in front of him had taken another peek into his past.

"In this world you will have many troubles but you have it in you to persevere, we hope that in this new life you will have some semblance of peace."

"May the Lord be with you, both of you."

The books then began to spin forcefully and then they all opened at once, a sea of stars flooded the room and Chari felt the area around him quake and then he felt as if his soul was ripped apart. Two clandestine flames then slowly drifted into one of the books.

Then he heard a faint whisper as if it was never meant for his ears.

"Celestial is in need of an intercessor."

***

The moon shone valiantly over a beautiful estate bathing everything with a heavenly glow that chased away the darkness. There was an oddity about this light, although when it first appeared people had celebrated it, now fear had begun to creep into their hearts.

The reason for this was simple, number 1; the full moon was a spectacle reserved for the later parts of the month, and number 2; the moon had been up for 1 week now. Even when the sun was out, its silhouette could still be seen in the sky. But even that was not the main event of the day.

Although it was about the time that most people would be asleep, every adult in the moon clan remained awake. Why? It was simple, the mistress of the clan was in labour.

In the main residence of the clan laboured breathing could be heard with occasional screams. A beautiful woman laid on a wide bed taking deep breaths as instructed by one of the midwives.

Her raven black hair was a tangled mess. Multiple attempts at changing her posture had left the hair sprawled over on the bed with some stray strands sticking to the sides of her face.

But even in this state anyone that saw her could still tell that she was indeed a beauty.

Tens of midwives hurried about attending to the woman's every need, the fear of losing her strongly gripping their hearts. Some prayed, some worked with extra caution while a few had already given up, their quiet sobs could be heard in the corners of the estate. After all, their mistress had been in Labour for one week now without a moment of rest. Who could she possibly survive?

All sorts of medical procedures had been tried from postural changes to drugs to healing songs, all to no avail. Even surgery was out of the option, for whatever reason the belly of the mistress had become coated with an eerie aura that was impossible to cut through.

The doctor in charge of her delivery paced around the room in a frenzy. He was in no way an unlearned doctor, in fact he had performed many deliveries including difficult ones in the past!

He worried about the state of the babies, the mother but even more about himself! What would happen if the mistress were to die?! The clan leader was known to be a ruthless man, there was no way he would let him simply walk out.

He had recommended saving the mother many times but both the clan head and the ailing mother had refused valiantly. He was now out of options, he had exhausted every medical procedure he knew.

'Should I run away? I have enough money to move far away. Maybe move to the Scarlett clan's region?' He wondered, considering his options.

'No fool! That would only make you look suspicious! But then again looking suspicious is far better than being dead.' He firmly gripped his briefcase in his hand and was about to take the first step when a loud scream could be heard all over the estate.

The mistress had delivered.

Shortly after, there was a thunderous roar of lightning and then came the rain, pouring down heavily on the earth. No one really knew what it meant, after all, rain could either mean bountiful blessings or it could signify the heavens weeping for the sake of the earth.

The next time they looked up to the sky the moon was gone, covering the land in an unshakable darkness.