Scary Cerulens

The Isoma

As soon as I felt the tiny pinch, my eyes sprang open. My hand clasped the back of my neck as I sat up scoping the scene in a mixture of fear and confusion. I plucked the needle from its resting place and chuckled at my previous thoughts. I got up from the pallet and crept to the tent exit managing to slide out unnoticed.

When I reached the main entrance I walked through the engraved tangerine colored gate I'd grown familiar with. It read "Rys Irys." I shook my head, pushed through the crystalline doors and preceded down the pathway. If not for the forest providing its natural light, I would surely get lost. My brother and I had made it a habit for our meeting place to be under the third Lumnus. Those trees provide the perfect inebriant. A few bites of Lumnus flowers, and you'll feel as if you can take over the world.

Nonetheless, as I neared the third tree, I could see Aerind perched upon a black rock, chewing.

"You Lardlax! You were supposed to wait for me! And that shot actually hurt this time!" I said jokingly.

"Quiet boy, you know the damn 'Cals' can hear everything!" he whispered. "Eat up Zae, we need to talk."

He handed me three velvety, purple petals. I never did like the taste, but of course I ate them.

"Can you pass three more?" He answered with a nod. His face held a look of concentration. Something was troubling him. His eyes weren't the intense gold they usually are. Now that I think about it, he looks a lot older than he really is. He almost looked...mortal.

I shook the thought from my head and followed up with another question.

"So uhh, any trouble getting in this time?"

"Are you kidding? I've been doing this ever since you came here! Why would I have trouble now?" He scoffed and his mouth upturned into a smirk.

"Just wondering, you know, that 'top-notch' security gate has kept everyone else away but you."

"You know I'm a stealth master. How ya feeling bro? Are you prepared for the Isoma? You know how important it is."

"Ohhh the Isoma. Zytra forbid I become a Euphor!"

Somehow he managed to get out between laughs. "I hear being a Euphor isn't so bad. The best of them could probably beat out Cal-Kevri."

"Let's be serious, he's...well...I don't know what he is. But no Euphor could hold their own against him."

"Yea...look, we should get down to business now, because I'm starting to feel the Lumnus."

"There is a reason I'm not the Cerulen I'm supposed to be. Father will pit us against each other, after your Isoma. I've been trying to find a way around it for a long time...Zae, you're going to have to silate me." My jaw dropped as his words registered. "I threw my Isoma just in case this day came. Now, we have a solution. You complete the Isoma, and destroy me. Live up to your potential Zae. One of us has to."

He was already walking away by the time he got the last sentence out. And after he left, it hit me. He had sacrificed his life long before he even had to.

I sat there under the Lumnus tree to ponder my dilemma. No plausible solution could come to mind. To make things worse, there was nothing anyone could do about it. Maybe it's best to not think about it. Forgetting that I was off the Lumnus, I hadn't realized just how much time had passed. The Isoma was about to begin.

I sprang from under the tree, and began sprinting back to the tent! How could I have been so stupid!? I completely left my--wait. I didn't need anything. I stopped abruptly, and while turning around, I caught a glimpse of an Urroot in the corner of my eye. Normally this wouldn't matter. But the Isoma is the only day we actually believe in omens. I'm never getting close to one of those. Father hasn't been the same ever since he touched one. They tend to block tyndra flow.