Tomak and Sio had waited for hours while the others worked to save Algodon's life. Tomak had taken to pacing around the room while Sio sat. The sound had subsided to a low hum. Sio found a strange comfort in the presence of the melody whereas Tomak, who couldn't hear it, seemed anxious. Sio somehow felt both peace and unease, if that were possible. She watched as time passed them by, the shades of the day changing as she observed the outside. It was strange how townspeople carried on their day, blissfully unaware of a being's life hanging in the balance.
Tomak moved to the door at the other side of the room, perhaps making to leave, when Laura greeted him at the door. He must have heard her footsteps and moved to meet her. About to speak, Tomak was cut off by Laura, who made a strange request.
"Sio, he wishes to see you." Sio stood and shifted her weight from foot to foot, fighting off the prickling numbness in her toes after such a long time sitting still. Sio did not question the request, somehow she expected it, though she could not tell why. Everything somehow felt like it was falling into place.
"May I come as well?" asked Tomak. Laura nodded and led them both to the other room. It was quite the mess. Dried magma clumped on the tungsten floor, and the table was all but melted down to its studs. Auburn and Otheyo were spared from being human roasts, it seems, due to the shielding the doctor provided them earlier. There on the operating cart was a melted metal pickaxe that, remarkably, still possessed the formations Sio saw earlier.
Algodon did not look like Algodon.
What used to be silver and gold colored gem-like flesh was completely replaced by triangular prismatic crystals. A light pulsing could be seen from his core through the roughly transparent mineral. When he spoke, Algodon's voice carried a different quality to it. He still sounded like Algodon but the way he sounded was…different.
"Dunstrider," he began. "The Path has come to fruition."
"Algodon?" Sio tentatively asked.
"This one is no longer Algodon, but Kivtius."
Otheyo and Auburn looked at one another, then addressed Tomak behind Sio.
"He's been like this ever since he regained consciousness." Then they continued to mutter in the background. Sio did not care to listen in, she was far too focused on this new being, this Kivtius.
She knew the word in an instant. The Messenger.
And she knew that whatever he was going to say would bring forth an endless possibility of futures.
–
Kivtius stood in the resonance chamber after being carried there by Otheyo and Auburn. Dr. Tausidi and Laura ran a multitude of scans but none showed that the geminidi that they once knew was present. The mineral which made up Algodon's flesh was completely taken over by this new substance. What the substance was, none could identify. Dr. Tausidi said the process was altogether irreversible, like a metamorphosis. Laura came to the same conclusion, but without further testing both were unsure of what happened to the geminidi. Dr. Tausidi secured the pickaxe in a sample bay for further study. Sio took note of which one. Something told her it was going to be useful in the future.
The adults spoke to one another in hushed tones while Sio watched Kivtius in the chamber. All of them were tense. From the damage caused to Algodon, it seemed a high possibility that he was attacked. By whom, they did not know. Otheyo assured everyone that it could not have been any of his miners as all of them were accounted for this morning, and Auburn was clearly in the med bay with Dr. Tausidi. The pickaxe too, was something none of them ever encountered before.
It must have been infected with the same substance which turned Algodon into something– someone– entirely different. Without a point of reference, however, it was unclear where such a thing could come from.
Sio looked around at the adults talking. Tomak did not look pleased. That was two dangerous instances seemingly caused by someone with ill intentions.
The village felt unsafe, and yet Sio did not feel any fear. It was strange. Lots of strange things kept happening, but Sio persistently felt it was all leading towards a conclusion; one that would lift the growing cloud of dread fairly soon.
Auburn was well enough to be discharged that day and so took Sio to Laura's house to gather her things. The children were not eager to let their 'supervisor' out of their grasp but did relent when Laura gave them her word that Sio would surely visit often. It would be simple enough seeing as they lived in the same town, but Sio was unsure of how much free time she would have as her apprenticeship would take up most of her time once Auburn was able enough to return to work. For now he was to have plenty of rest, which meant Sio still had some time to herself before really becoming a Dunestrider.
They made their trek homeward and Sio was surprised to see the house intact, that is not covered with litter. Lurio was nowhere to be seen. They entered and found everything soundly in place. It seems Sio got the wrong impression of Lurio when she first moved in. She was afraid he would be unruly, unkempt, but slowly she realized that Lurio was a lot more complicated than she presumed.
Once Auburn was settled, Sio made her way to the guest room and found it ready for her. Toiletries were waiting for her on the bed, and even a note scrawled neatly with her name on it. She picked up the note but found nothing of interest except her name. Underneath was a gift. It was bone whittled down into a flute. She went to Auburn to see if it was his doing, but he simply shook his head with a small smile.
"Not I, little Sio." He said. Sio returned to her room. She readied for bed. It was strange to think that Lurio had anything to do with making her a place more welcoming, especially with how he treated her grandmother in all the years she knew him. She laid on the bed and went to sleep, the flute left on her nightstand next to her photo.
–
Sio stood in a dark place. Music was playing. It was one of her favorites. She smelled something cooking. She moved toward the scent. It was familiar. There was a round table in front of her and the table was set for four. She took her usual seat, the second right, next to the doorway. It must have been her grandmother's turn to cook. She waited. Whistling, her grandmother placed a meal before each plate.
"Breaded Scampi with Soup!" She said as she winked at Sio. It was another one of her favorites.
"What do we owe the occasion?" Sio's father said as he took the seat across from Sio, and her mother took the seat to her left.
"I've decided to take Sio with me this time around, to The Mirror. It's a special enough occasion, I believe." The sounds of dining ceased, save for Sio's mother moving a shrimp around with her fork.
"Anaana," said Sio's mother. "We've talked about this."
"And I believe we've made it clear that Sio deserves to choose her Path." Said her grandmother. "I'm not doing this to force her choice, Atka."
"Will the journey be long?" asked Sio's father as he took a bite from the soup. He didn't bother cooling it down, he liked it when it burned.
"Not at all, four days at the most. I promise." Sio's grandmother looked at her daughter. "It would mean much to me if we did not leave in a fight, panik."
"Fine." Sio's mother said, quietly as though distracted. "But the village will talk."
"They always talk," sighed her grandmother as she joined the table, taking the last seat.
"You're never around when they do, anaana." Sio's mother was right. People never talked when she was around, but they talked behind their backs.
"Let them," her grandmother scoffed. "Talk only ever hurts the one who listens."
"What will we be seeing at The Mirror?" Asked Sio.
"The Comet of the North." She said in an enchanted tone. Her eyes sparked when she mentioned it. "It comes around every ten years. Some say it's coming now is a good omen."
"Anaana." Sio's mother said once more, this time in a milder tone.
"She deserves to know the traditions of our place here, just as we know the traditions of our people of long ago." Grandmother always knew how to make a point. "Besides, it makes for a good story."
"What's the story?" Sio asked.
"That I will tell you on the way there. For now, eat up, little one. We'll need strength for the journey."