The Second Moonrise Part 11: Ashvine Cometh

A stinging cold prickled my scalp. I shook my horned head and pushed myself up and off the log. The Salamander's spell began to wear off. I had questions, and I was going to get answers. I had the power to threaten the Salamander now, and I finally had some of the answers I'd been seeking. But not the ones that mattered. Who was I? Why did I have these powers? What was that other entity that I still felt stirring in my chest?   My horns were almost permanently frozen now. I could feel the new power that had awakened after my brief fight with the Ashvine. I could feel the tendrils of strength, and I'd realized their source. I stretched and looked up.   The moon shimmered in the sky above the Campgrounds, its light competing with the occult glow from the Salamander's own fire.   I lowered my gaze and almost tripped over the log behind me in surprise. The Salamander was still there of course, but a new figure had joined it during the story. Heavily cloaked and hidden by a mask, it was still impossible to mistake the rattling of chains, pots and various chests as they gently knocked together.   "Cicero! It's been so long!" I ran to him and hugged him tight. He was shorter than I was, but I could feel the power in his bird-like arms as he returned the hug.   "I had missed you child. I have been searching many lands for my prey, but it's so hard to find something fit for a beauty such as you." Cicero was the only one who called me beautiful. I still wasn't sure how to feel about it. On one hand, Cicero wasn't human. I had no idea what owlkin beauty standards were. On the other hand, I still felt a slight stutter in my heart every time he remarked on it, which made me hesitant to stop him.   I wonder how I'd react if Bjorn --   I could almost hear the brakes in the train of thought squealing as I aborted it. I didn't even want to think about that.   We released each other and he reached up and removed the mask. This time it had been three eyed fox. A new one. He stared at me, his orange eyes huge in his aquiline face. Tiny jerky head movements told me he was studying me. He reached up and touched my shorter horn. "When did this start happening?" He pulled away his talons, and I could see the frost that had shed onto them.   I grinned. "Really recently. That's why I'm here now." Shooting a look over to the Salamander, I continued. "I think someone's been hiding something from me." The Salamander met my gaze uncertainly. It didn't look happy, but what was more apparent is how confused it was.   "There's a lot you don't know, Cow." Bjorn had climbed out of hiding again.   "Call me that again Bjorn. I'm not in the best mood." Flashing a smile at him, I said, "This time I might kill you on purpose." I kicked the bow that had been left by the fireside across the ground. It twirled through the air, passed over the Salamander's fire, and landed in Bjorn's outstretched hand.   He stowed it and sat down on a log. Bjorn pulled up a stick and started whittling bits of it into the bonfire. Silence fell. For about a minute, we all just sat there. It was the first time in a while, the only sound in the Campgrounds was the crackle of the fire. Out in the Flooded Forest, I could hear the various fish and water monsters surfacing with a sploosh. I looked out at Place 119, perched precariously above the miniature ocean that gave this section of the Dark Forest its name.   "Have I ever told you the story of the Sword of Damocles?" The Salamander wriggled uneasily in its fire.   "No. No more stories. The last one nearly put me to sleep, and that's not going to work again. Those humans may have fallen for that trap, but I know better now." I stamped my foot on the ground.   "You should let him tell this one." Cicero placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's important for you to understand why threatening it won't get you anywhere." I met Cicero's gaze. It was hard what the owlkin was thinking. He lacked the frequent eye movements that allowed people to read emotions, and without lips it was impossible to tell a facial tick. I paused, confused. Why was I so angry? What did threatening the Salamander accomplish?   I nodded at the creator deity. "Fine. But if this is some excuse to put me to sleep, I'll have you know that won't work."   "Damocles was once a king's servant who swapped places with his king. The King, Dionysius II, arranged to have a sword hung above the throne by the pommel. It was held by only a single strand of hair. Damocles sat underneath it for only a day before he begged Dionysius to take back his throne. He couldn't handle the stress of having imminent death above him at all times. The King agreed, but told him what the sword represented: The danger of being in power. At any point, those in power could lose their life. With great fortune and strength comes great danger."   "OK, and?" I didn't understand any of this. "You're stalling and hoping I'll calm down."   Bjorn's knife sheered off a particularly long curl from the stick he was whittling. Cicero simply watched me. The Salamander met my gaze.   "That moon is a Sword of Damocles for you, Soil. Not for the Salamander." Cicero's voice was calm. "It's used to being threatened, and has been threatening ever since it was born. You on the other hand are very close to doing something you'll regret."   "Oh, so you're on it's side now?" I stared back into Cicero's eyes, appalled at this betrayal. He was my friend! My only friend is the stupid forest! I had assumed he would at least have my back. "So you're not going to help me get the answers here?"   Cicero considered his words before he next spoke. "You deserve answers... but not from the Salamander." He fidgeted fro a few seconds. He broke eye contact, looking around the Campgrounds.   I was done with this. "And what the fuck does that mean?" I stamped my foot again, and Moonflowers began to grow out from the point of impact. Around Campgrounds thick squat trees began to surround us. "Someone here is going to give me the answers I want, or I'm going to make sure none of you ever see the rest of the Forest again."   "Then ask!" There was a note of panic in Cicero's voice now. Even the Salamander looked nervous. I mean, more nervous. Despite Cicero's talk of the Sword of Damocles and the Salamander being used to it, it was definitely scared now. That at least made me feel a little better.   "What am I? Why do I have all of these memories? What are these powers? Why can't I leave this place? Why do I sometimes feel like I'm more than just one person? Why is Zephnos still trying to catch me?" The questions all burst out in a rush.   "I can answer some of those, but first I need to ask what you mean by memories? What memories?"   "I woke up with complete knowledge of everything that Zephnos had done since he was born." I noticed the Salamander recoiling at this. It didn't like that I knew about its role in Zephnos' creation. "Oh fuck off Flamey. Everyone knows you made Zephnos. I'd be less concerned about him and more concerned about me."   "Especially now," Bjorn grumbled.   "What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped back at him.   "Haven't you noticed? Zephnos has been dead for weeks." He didn't look at me. Just kept whittling his stick.   I stalked over to him and grabbed the knife out of his hands. "You don't get to just offhandedly mention my father's death and leave it at that. How do YOU know he's dead? You barely leave the Campgrounds!" The two bear twins that had been crouched around Bjorn snarled at me, but thought better of it when I leveled my eyes on them. At least they had the good sense not to piss me off today.   "Because I led him to Zephnos, and together we killed him." Cicero's confession caught me off guard. I threw Bjorn's knife to the ground and stalked back to Cicero. I was doing a lot of stalking today. It felt good, like a little more of my rage was being pressed into the ground with each step.   "And why did you kill him? He was mine to kill."   "I couldn't take the risk that he would hurt you." Cicero drew himself up to his maximum 4 foot height. He still only came up to my neck. "I had to break my Time God's Heart to escape. Don't sound so ungrateful." There was a mourning in his voice that eclipsed the rebuke. "I'm starting to re-evaluate if it was worth it."   The Time God's Heart. He'd told me about that artifact. It continued to keep ticking, long after its owner had died (Cicero had said it was of old age, ironically) and could be stopped temporarily to stop time. It was also Cicero's most prized possession, and the only artifact he hadn't tried to sell.   "You did that for me? Why?"   Cicero looked down that the ground sheepishly. "Because I care about..." He stopped himself, looking confused. Finally, he finished with, "You." He sat down on the log I'd nearly fallen asleep on. It still had a soft layer of moss. "I think it's time we started answering those questions you have. Don't you think so, Salamander?"   The Salamander still had a baffled look in its eyes, but it nodded. "I will do my best."   I parked my ass next to Cicero looked him in the eye. If what he said was true, then he'd made one hell of a sacrifice for my sake. I wasn't sure what to think about that. He wouldn't meet my gaze anymore. I let out a sigh. "Alright. Let's start with the first question. What am I?"   "That's the hardest one to answer. In all my time using the Forest as a passage, I've never seen anything like you. But I think I know who you are. I dare not speak her name out loud, for your own sake."   "What do you mean? Who's her?"   Cicero STILL wouldn't meet my eyes. He fidgeted on the log. "You deserve to know. That moon is a representation of her power. If she ever woke up, I don't know what would happen to you. Especially this close to that." He gestured towards the Salamander. "Something here has a vested interest in waking her up, but she's determined to go on sleeping." I looked up at my horns, carefully avoiding eye contact. "I think that's what the frost on your horns is Soil. She's sleeping still, but lightly. You shouldn't use the moon like you have tonight. There's a chance it will wake her up fully, and I don't know what would happen to you if she did."   "So what you're saying is that I have some sort of entity inside me?" A thought connected in my mind. "Wait... Zephnos ate the moon. And then he birthed me... Did this entity create me to save itself?"   "HERself. And yes, I believe so." Something in the way Cicero corrected m bothered me. And Cicero hadn't been there when I was born. How did he know about that? I hadn't told him.   "There's something you're not telling me."   Cicero looked at me like I was dragging a thorny vine through this skin. "I don't want to tell you more. There's too much of a risk."   "Well then you'll just have to take that risk."   Cicero was silent for a long time. He kept his gaze leveled at one of the Moonflowers that I had spawned with all of my stalking. Finally, he spoke.   "I have seen you die before. And the Salamander."   A thrill of excitement ran through me. "What killed me?"   "That moon. The one you're treating like a toy now."   I looked up at the moon. Was it really so dangerous?   "Soil. Cicero. The Ashvine is coming." Bjorn finally spoke.   I looked away from Cicero. At the time I barely noticed that Bjorn had used my actual name. It was that important to him that we pay attention. And I could see why. It was slow, but I saw the red-leafed vines of the Ashvine slowly progressing through the Flooded Forest. It was making new bridges out of itself, stretched between the roots of the giant mangroves. And on those bridges came the vinebound, like the one I had fought earlier. It was shocking to see so many. I had considered the Ashvine to be a small threat. Something new, sure, but it was still something that could be nipped in the bud.   But this... this was a legion.