Joukan

chapter 3

Abog had also been covered in burn marks and scratches when he came back into the room. He glanced towards Talodros with a deeply troubled look. He limped to him and sat to his right.

" It-it seems as if we have failed. Rensinar made it out of the castle. "

" You mean, that he left?! What will he do?" Talodros worried.

Abog turned his head to him. His icy blue eyes stared into his soul. Talodros could notice every single cut that had been on his face.

" Please... Talodros, see to it that you leave this place for good. I...I couldn't stand to have a rare breed like you to die so young. That will be my final wish."

" But-"

That was all that he could manage to say. He didn't want another person to die. And did he mean rare breed? He had only been called more a curse than anything else.

" Final wish? I can't... but, this is unfair. Life shouldn't have to be this way, you can't die! No one should!"

" Talodros, life is and will be unfair. People will die and things like this happen all the time. It doesn't matter if they are strangers or loved ones. Please, leave now and save yourself for I'll die and I won't be if much use to keep anyone alive."

" You shouldn't die alone."

" GO!"

Talodros got up immediately and ran. Abog was right; it was time to leave and move somewhere safe. Maybe the Mainlands could be a good home. His Joujan side wouldn't freeze and his Koukan side wouldn't burn. Another two places would be the spring or the fall forest.

Those places could be good spots to go to since nothing but wars broke out there. As he ran out the door, he looked back to Abog.

He could remember when he first met him. He was his ' babysitter and that ended the same ways as always. The story from Talodros's point of view, was that Abog was a big wuss when a spider had been found crawling in his food. Truth was, Talodros had put the spider in. He didn't want company after the "incident", but after that, the two became the best of friends.

The two became best friends when Abog had related to Talodros with what had happened to him. After that, they were like brothers ever since. The only other person who knew about what had happened was Abog himself. The memory stopped when Abog said one last thing.

" Your parents did the best they could before they died. You should be glad you had me to be like the brother you never had."

His voice ended in a coughing fit. Talodros turned away. He couldn't bare to see Abog's final breaths. Hot tears filled his eyes as he ran through the castle corridors. At the end of one of them, he pulled a candle sideways. A wall moved. The entrance wasn't that big, but it was big enough for him to slip through. It could also keep any large Tamorys from reaching in with their obsidian claws and kill him.

The way down the passageway had gotten darker with every step he took. Talodros could hear the sound of scuttling rats and possibly bats. A few times, he ran into a wall as the passageway kept turning in different directions.

When all hope was lost for him, the walls began to move away from him and open up, leaving more space to move. He knew when he had reached the end of the tunnel when light from the moon was gleaming into his eyes. Talodros had to squint to look up at the stars.

Abog had once told him that under the constellation of the Temory, anyone born at that time could have the potential to be one. Another vivid memory came.

" You see that?" Abog asked.

Talodros glanced up, but all he could see in the night sky were just a bunch of stars. Each one of them twinkled their own story.

" No, I just see stars."

" You're not looking hard enough. Right there, see it? Do you see the Temory in the sky?"

Talodros looked at him in udder confusion. Abog had a look that said really? Talodros wondered why he Abog looked so disappointed.

" Didn't your parents tell you?"

Talodros glared down at the grass and thought only too well of his parents. They had tried to save him and their relationship because Joujan and Koukan could not be together for their progeny could become evil. Joujan always believed that Koukan were bad and Koukan thought only as much of Koukan.

" Oh, um, sorry. I forgot what had happened. Say, could you tell me why they died?" Abog asked. He moved his dirty blonde hair out of his tan face.

 He had blue eyes, then again, every Joujan did. They even had tan or fair skin with blonde hair. The only one left out was Talodros. His eyes shown vibrant blue or red in different light and he had white hair. These traits always intreagued everyone.

" Back on track then," Abog said.

He pointed at a small cluster of stars that shaped a giant demon figure and a wolf beast on all fours.

" You see that? That is two types of Temory. That one is a Fire Demon Temory and the other is a a Ice Wolf Temory. It's said anyone born under those signs, can change into one if blessed by the Holiy Ones or cursed by an enemy Temory."

Abog spoke this in a quiet tone to set the mood to scare Talodros.

" Nonsense! No one can change into anything! The town doctors told me that was impossible because anyone who could couldn't sustain themselves."

" Who knows. Rumor, legend or fact, it makes for a good scary story to tell to someone, so make good friends and make no enemies with the wrong people."

The memory faded. Talodros pressed onward to where he might be able to live in peace hidden in the Mainlands.