Guardian(Part II): Soulborne

Chapter 20: Nato

I had awoken from my few hours of sleep to Daisy's violin. She was sitting in her chair in front of the desk with the instrument in her hands. She didn't have her eyes closed as though she was playing a song she knew by heart, though. She carefully looked at the strings as she pressed her fingers against them, and drew her bow against them to make the noises. I looked around the beds and under the desk she sat in front of. There were dozens of pieces of paper crumpled into balls scattered across the floor. Was she up all night working on her song? I wouldn't interrupt her song, for fear of feeling terrible afterward. It wasn't me who would interrupt her, though.

"Uuugh!" Daisy suddenly groaned. She set her violin and its bow on the desk, then picked up a piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it over her head behind her. Whatever she had just written, she wasn't happy with it.

"Busy night, Daisy?" I asked.

"Sort of," Daisy answered, rubbing her eyes. "I need a break."

"Were you up all night?" I wondered.

"What time is it?" asked Daisy.

"Look out the window," I said.

Daisy turned her head towards the glass window to our cabin, and her eyes widened with shock. There was sunlight shining through the glass, lighting the entire room. I sensed a feeling of complete disbelief from Daisy. She had no idea that she had stayed up so late.

"Shit," she cursed. I burst out laughing.

"Just get some sleep, Daisy," I suggested.

"Okay," Daisy sighed, standing from her chair. She held herself up by the back of the chair, then staggered towards her bed and flopped onto the mattress on her face. Her face was squished against her pillow as she started to snore loudly. I stepped off of my own bed, then bent down and picked up one of the crumpled pieces of paper. I unfolded it to see what Daisy had written that she wasn't satisfied with, but I had absolutely no idea what any musical symbols meant, so all I saw on the paper was a bunch of horizontal lines that had vertical lines with small orbs attached to their tops and bottoms on them. I imagined that the ones on the upper lines made the louder noises, and the ones lower made more quiet ones, but I didn't know for sure. It was only gibberish to me. I threw the sheet down. I was sure that Daisy didn't like what was written on it for a good reason, but since I couldn't read music, I had no way of knowing for sure. It must have been worth getting no sleep to correct whatever mistake she made, though. Surely, Daisy played it in public, someone somewhere would like it.

"I'm sure it's good," I whispered.

I went out to the upper deck of the ship for some air. I looked around, and saw absolutely nothing other than ocean for miles around. A few icebergs were sprouting from the water's surface, and the helmsman was thankfully careful enough to sail around them instead of in between them. We were definitely further out on the Sea of Suonan than we were when we left Faudia. We must have been at least two and a half days from Illondas, now. I wasn't so naive as to think that was exactly when we would arrive, though. There were chances that we would run into something that kept us from moving forward eventually, but I couldn't be sure exactly when.

"How did you sleep?" Lyrandrar Valkian suddenly asked.

"Well," I answered. "I would ask you the same, but..."

"It's fine," Lyrandrar excused.

"Did anything happen in the night that I should know about?" I wondered. "Any monsters attack?"

"No," Lyrandrar answered. "Surprisingly. I was sure that something would come out of the water, or from one of those icebergs."

"I'm sure if anything did, it would think twice before attacking a vessel with you on board," I hoped.

"And you, probably," Lyrandrar guessed. "And whoever you're looking for in westward could definitely hope for the same thing."

"Well, I know where I'm going, now," I said. "Turns out, I'm not only going to Illondas, but I'm also going straight to Quorias."

"Is that so?" asked Lyrandrar. "When did you find that out?"

"Last night," I answered. "Right after I spoke to you, actually. I've been wondering something."

"Oh, yes?"

"This person I'm going to Illondas to meet is actually a Guardian like me," I said. "And he's kind of like... me. Whatever that means."

"Well, whatever it is that connects you must be what's pulling you towards each other," Lyrandrar guessed. "Have you found out what that is?"

"Well, supposedly, he's the son of an Ilentia goddess," I answered. Lyrandrar widened his eyes. He wasn't expecting a revelation such as that.

"It would be safe to assume that he is a person of interest to the Seven as well," said Lyrandrar. "Do you believe that is what connects you?"

"I don't even know who my parents are, Lyrandrar," I sighed. "But I can look into it, now."

"I can help," Lyrandrar offered. "An Alear glyph is able to transport its caster to any relationships they have, and family they've never even met, as long as they're related by blood."

"What!?" I gasped. "You can do that!?"

"Yes," Lyrandrar answered, offering his hand. I tightly gripped it with excitement. I felt my heart pounding against the inside of my chest as Lyrandrar closed his eyes. He had his eyes closed for several minutes, and my anticipation grew. What was he seeing while he was looking for anyone who shared my blood? Was it my parents, or a sibling, or a cousin, or someone else? Lyrandrar's eyes opened, then he sighed as he released my hand.

"I'm sorry, Nato," he said. "I couldn't find anyone. They're either dead or hidden."

"Hidden?" I asked. "From you?"

"There are certain ways to hide from the spell," Lyrandrar enlightened. "Albeit dark ways. Ways that aren't known to most others. I'm sorry, Guardian, but it's more likely that everyone who shares your blood is dead."

"Well, thank you," I sighed. I bowed, then walked off, back to the cabin I shared with Daisy. I didn't see the point in wandering on the deck any more today. Daisy was still sleeping, but she was on her back instead of her chest. I closed my door quietly enough to not make any sound, then sat on my bed. I began to think about Finn. I didn't have any family that I shared blood with, and when I spoke to him, he sensed my despair and tried to comfort me. In that moment, nothing else could have warmed my heart. For as long as I could remember, I had always wondered where I came from, who my family is, and why I was raised in Qonghai, by Monks instead of a true family. Hopefully, before I ended up dead, I would have an answer. It would have to wait, though. If what Lyrandrar had said about a darkness growing in Illondas was true, then Illondas would remain my focus.

"Thank you, Finn," I whispered. "I will find you."