Moonlight {Moonlit Trilogy Reboot}

Chapter Twenty Eight: Shattered Minds

"So, this is your base?" A Voltaris, whose markings were speckled with slight yellow tones at the bottom, asked as they eyed up the mountain. They looked back at Ataraxia, whose islands could be seen vaguely in the distance and shuddered. Ria didn't want to know the thoughts that crossed their mind. She could only imagine a fraction of the horrors they were seeing.

She led them inside and hoped for the best. A heavy weight settled in her chest, a fear of what they would suffer through if the war did not go in their favor. How did it come to this? She wondered almost aloud as she leaned onto the table in the center of the room. It seemed almost absurd now, a single man on a power trip could set the world into a pit of despair.

And now, she was shoving that responsibility onto more people. Sure, she had noble intentions, she wanted the world to be safe again, but she was still marching people into injury, maybe even death. She gritted her teeth, attempting to bare them at the cruelty, as if it could be frightened to the point of running. As if it would set the world right. But all it did was make her jaw ache.

"Are you alright?" she heard a Voltaris ask. Relax, she commanded herself and felt her jaw relax. With a slight side step, she turned to face them. She noticed this particular Voltaris had a few specks of blue in their eyes and painful memories rushed forth. Before she could realize it, tears were striking down her face, so hot and volatile like they were going to tear up her skin. She inhaled sharply and shoved an apology through her lips.

"Sorry," she looked away from the Voltaris' eyes, "you just--- you look like someone I knew." The Voltaris pursed their lips together and inhaled a heavy sigh.

"Was he your brother?" They asked as calmly as they could while reaching out one hand. Ria did not know if the hand was trying to find its place in hers or on her shoulder. She found it didn't matter. She only feebly nodded, trying to hold back more of the tears that prickled at the corners of her eyes.

"We cannot waste time on the past..." She turned back to the table. "We have much more important things to discuss."

"Your grief is also important, is it not?" She recognized the master's voice immediately. She had gotten to know some parts of their character but not of his past as they traveled. No matter the scenario, he always spoke like they were about to wind into a monologue, yet he never explained how he was crowned the master. What she did know was few and far between. She knew that he had taken up the mantle a few years or so ago and had been the one to order them into hiding. Yet he did not disclose his name as easily as they disclosed their preferences in being called upon.

"Yes... But..." Ria bit at her lip and looked down at her feet. "We came here to plan, not discuss the tragedies of the war." Her voice simmered off slightly, becoming marred with the scratchiness of a throat that had been torn raw from screaming.

She looked back up and noticed the Knights had taken their places around the table. They seemed oddly silent, a strange contrast to their usual disorder. A strange noise forced its way through her throat; it was peculiar grasping the amount of respect she had gained from them.

"Then go on." Hubris said, gesturing slightly with one hand. He pulled out a map and laid it flat on the table. Ria felt her throat dry up slightly and her mind wound back to the plan she had built on their journey. She looked back at the Voltaris and their seemingly nameless master. A slight thought wormed its way into her mind, perhaps the master did not want her to utter his name for the same reasons she did not speak often of personal matters.

Because it was something that, once given to someone, could not be taken back.

A strange courage overtook her. If they all survived through this, maybe she would have an opportunity to learn their name and the names of the others. Now that she thought of it, they all seemed reclusive when it came to their names. That was going to make commanding them hard. A small chuckle threatened to come free but she held it back. It seemed inappropriate.