Destiny Unbonded

Chapter 13 - Part 2

[Cyril]

That evening after leaving the Ark, Selene took us to a bathhouse and provided clean clothes, a comfortable tan shirt and brown trousers for me, and long beige tunic dresses for Kit and Ophelia. I felt refreshed and more hopeful than ever now as destiny unfolded. Dash munched hay in a nearby corral, seemingly unimpressed with all that had gone on. Kit grinned as I relayed Selene's earlier description of Dash as 'cursed'.

The open-air stacked-rock bathhouse sat on the edge of a village behind a small ridge, hidden from view. Had Selene not led us here, we might not have known of this town.

"How many live here?" I asked her as we walked into the village.

"We are over a hundred strong." She continued, anticipating my follow-up questions. "We all fled the Gods' control, seeking our own destinies. Most arrived by boat across the southern sea, only a few survived crossing the Piso Dráckos Mountains like you did. Nyx protects us here." Selene paused, scanning me with her eyes. "I see the resemblance. Be you really her son?"

"I believe so."

A morose expression came over Selene, and she gazed off toward the setting sun, casting reds and oranges across the high clouds. "The southern straits were treacherous, and I was the only one of my family that survived the sea voyage. Nyx took me in as a young girl. She is like a mother to me."

"Then I suppose you are my sister, like Kit, bound not by blood, but by compassion."

"I suppose so." Selene's face brightened with a smile. "Here we are."

We stood before a stone and adobe house with a flat roof, typical of the surrounding dwellings. On one end, a twisted vine grasped the house like a giant hand. We walked along smooth stone steps to a weathered wooden door. Selene opened it without knocking and beckoned us within. Hesitating, Ophelia grasped my hand and bit her lip, and I realized she felt most like an outsider here. I nodded with a smile and squeezed her hand, silently affirming that she belonged with me.

The inside had a comfortable feeling, like a home. Small flames danced in a rock fireplace at one end of the main room, chasing away the chill of early evening. Three long padded benches lined one wall, each beneath a hinged window. Gentle light illuminated the room from strange panels mounted on the timber ceiling, like those on the Ark.

Mother walked into the room carrying a bowl from a kitchen area. A bright smile warmed her face. "Welcome to my home! Please sit." A man with a long gray beard followed her, carrying another bowl. "This is Tamir, the senior magistrate of our village. I invited him to join us." The man bowed graciously.

We gathered around a low circular wooden table in the center of the room, sitting on cushions placed on the smooth stone floor. Ophelia sat on one side of me and Kit on the other. A selection of foods adorned the table top in colorful ceramic bowls: breads, meats, cheeses, fruits, and jugs of wine or water. My stomach growled, reminding me of my hunger.

As we passed around the bowls and ate, I told the tale of our journey to a rapt audience, periodically signing with Kit so she might take part. The tale ended as we arrived at the Ark.

"What is the Ark Hope?" I finally asked.

"The origin of men on this world and the change of everything," Mother replied. "I have my own tale to tell. Let me start at the beginning.

"For eons, long before the Ark, Chaos and Order existed on this world in balance and harmony, each consisting of many beings, separate individuals among the whole, like people in a village, but without physical form." Black tendrils rose from her raised hand and swirled around the room as if in a choreographed dance. Ophelia jerked with a faint gasp, grabbing my arm. Seeing the reaction, Mother recalled the tendrils. She continued. "To human eyes, those of Chaos appeared like amorphous black smoke. I was such. Those of the Order appeared like white smoke and light, similar to the Moirai today."