Sons of Mau

The Anima Temple

Miu was finally getting dry again. His negative thoughts about the Seer's hut were diminishing by the minute. He was doing exactly what Sacha had told him: 'Get dry.' He was hoping she'd have more to tell him, as she had been in the other room for at least an hour. That and he was uncomfortable having to sit near Tally.!He didn't know if he should try to talk to her, or just stay quiet. So he wished she'd go away instead.

Sacha finally returned with a furl of paper. She sat by Tally. There was silence for awhile.

"You apparently do not wish to talk about it, but really, if you want help you will have to think really hard about what you remember about your parents."

Miu sighed. "I've told you hundreds of times. I can't remember anything other than what's happened in the past ten years."

"Still nothing? Not a flicker of recollection since the day we found you?"

"My earliest memory is waking up on a mud soaked road and seeing your face. I've tried, Sacha. I've tried so hard to remember, but I just can't."

Sacha smiled sadly. "I understand."

Quiet entered the hut again. Tally gently reminded Sacha of what she was doing.

The older seer cleared her throat. "Well, the bakeneko called you a Son of Mau, meaning he knew something about you that we do not. But he gave us enough information to start with, that is, assuming you are actually a direct descendant of Mau."

"Of a god? Oh, as if."

"That is what we have to assume. And might I remind you, the 'fabled gods' are merely bakeneko. Simply very powerful ones at that."

Miu exhaled through his nose. The idea didn't make any sense to him. He didn't dare believe it. He had assumed he was born from trash, and that's what he'd always believed. But yet he was here...

"So..." Sacha unfurled the piece of parchment. It wasn't what he expected. It was a map, a fairly modern one.

"This will take you to a temple of Psyches. I met a seer there once who knew a lot about the nine gods, and surprisingly, their offspring."

"But Sacha, why a temple of Psyches? Shouldn't he go to a place devoted to Mau-" Tally was cut off.

"It does not matter. This is where this particular seer is stationed. He knows a lot more than I about any of the gods."

The fire flickered between Miu and the two seers. "I've got another question."

Sacha looked up at him.

"What the hell is a Lion's Heart?"

Her eyes seemed to flicker. "A Genesis Stone. The Relic of all Creation. Lion's Heart. It has many names Miu, but it's believed to be what created the bakeneko at the beginning of time. Before the nine gods. Before history was written. It's been stolen from cat to cat, moved from place to place, and disappeared for eons at a time. Mau, the ninth god of time, was the only creature the object allowed to use it. Which is why you were cursed as a 'Son of Mau.' Whether what you have in your chest is the real Heart, I do not know."

Miu shivered, but he didn't doubt her words. Sacha suddenly got up, leaving for the other room with a certain finality.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked the tabby.

Tally frowned. "She doubts her ability. She thinks a proper seer would have recognized the Lion's Heart upon seeing it."

"I still don't really know what it is."

"I don't either. All I know are the horror stories about it. But I can tell you this, Mau was supposed to be the only one who could handle it. All others lost control."