Author's Note: Daybreak's Crest – where I jumble real myths and legends into a big soup of something for our main characters to wade through. A note that the tale of the Deidre of the Sorrows (and the Salmon of Knowledge) is actually a real Irish myth, if anyone's interested in that!
-x-x-x-
Night passed by uneventfully. Dinner was yet another meal of rations; fruit, beef jerky and for a touch of flavour, (harmless) mushroom with spice, prepared by Taurus. Night watch was unremarkable and everything seemed to go too smoothly as they packed up and set out again towards the town of Vesper.
"Hey, Cancer."
"What?" Cancer grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as they continued to walk. Her feet still ached from last night and the various bruises from their tumble down the stairs the night before were finally getting to her.
Sagittarius leaned in towards her, her lips almost brushing the shorter girl's ears. (Cancer found this slightly disconcerting and shuffled a few steps away, muttering something about "personal space".) "You see Leo?"
"Of course I do. Who doesn't?"
"Don't you think he keeps on looking at Libra?"
"What?" Cancer glanced at the blond-haired knight, who was engaged in conversation with Capricorn yet once again. (Capricorn seemed to really like pestering him with questions about knighthood...)
"Yeah, but he never talks to Libra – like, not as much as the rest of us!" Sagittarius whispered back. "You think that... maybe he likes Libra!"
Cancer would've choked on water if she was drinking it, but she wasn't, so all she could do was gasp and choke on air (which still hurt her throat as much as choking on water would). "WHAT?!"
"Are you alright?" Virgo mustered the courage to ask the grumpy girl, giving Cancer a nervous look.
"Yes, I'm fine." Cancer said impatiently, then lowered her voice again. "I mean... what?! They've hardly spoken to each other and Leo literally just joined the Zodiacs yesterday! You're just seeing things!"
"Hey, I'm just trying to theorise!" Sagittarius protested.
"What'cha guys whispering about?" Gemini bounced over; well, as well as a person with a sprained ankle could bounce.
"Nothing."
"Well –"
"Sagittarius, do not tell her."
Gemini looked between them, hurt flickering over her face. "If you didn't want me –"
Cancer sighed. "No, no! It's just... I'm sorry." Cancer took a deep breath, preparing herself for the tirade to follow. "Don't tell anyone else... especially not Libra or Aquarius, because they'll freak. And especially not Leo. But Sagittarius thinks that –"
"– that Leo finds Libra attractive!"
This earned a very similar response from Gemini.
"WHAT?!"
"Are you lovely ladies alright?" Leo asked, turning around from his conversation with Capricorn to give them a worried look. "You've been –"
"NOTHING!" They all yelled at the same time.
"They're always like this..." Aries muttered to Leo as they continued to walk.
"You said..." Gemini choked on her next words. "Sorry, but..."
"Shh!" Sagittarius flapped her arms about. "It's just that Leo keeps on looking at Libra like he wants to say something to him but can't – look, there it is again!"
The other two girls turned.
Indeed, Leo had shot the mint-haired ex-prince (who was chatting quite obliviously away to Aquarius) a furtive glance, his expression surprisingly unreadable for once. They quickly looked away before Leo noticed them staring.
"Yeah, maybe... maybe he's just curious about Libra! He was a prince, after all." Cancer pointed out. "Most people would find an ex-prince interesting."
"I'm sorry, but no way. Libra – pure, cinnamon roll Libra–!" Gemini gasped. "There's absolutely no way – and I'm not –"
"You're not doing a very good job of being quiet."
Gemini muffled her shriek.
Taurus raised an eyebrow at them. "Sagittarius, just because you're not going to spread rumours about Aries' and Scorpio's relationship doesn't mean that you should go around spreading rumours about the other members of the Zodiacs."
"I'm not!" Sagittarius exclaimed. "And I'm not going to stop – it's just – I was theorising! And I was just thinking to myself, not..."
"That Leo..." Gemini growled.
Taurus sighed. "Gemini, please do calm down. It is likely that, because Leo is a new recruit, he wishes to know more about everybody. Not because... of that. We did just meet him yesterday."
"What I said," Cancer added.
"So... please do not go about bothering him."
"Well... you have a point." Gemini said reluctantly.
"Alright, alright!" Sagittarius raised her hands. "I'll drop the topic. But I'll be watching!" Panic flitted across her features. "And please do not tell Libra or Aquarius! They'll –"
"Right... I won't." Gemini shrugged. "But I'll keep an eye on Leo just the same." The pink-haired girl picked up her pace to join Libra and Aquarius in their own conversation.
Taurus frowned and picked up his pace to leave Sagittarius and Cancer be. However, in a few seconds, he turned around and called, "Everyone! We're near the town."
"How do you know?" Leo asked.
"I was born there." Taurus said curtly. "The Well of Wisdom – which is just an ancient well that gets its water from the stream leading from Loch Etive – should be half a mile west from Vesper."
"You were born there, huh? Do you want – I mean, your family must live there, right? Don't you want –"
A chilling aura seemed to be cast over the area as Taurus fixated Leo with a stare. "It would be kind of you to drop the topic."
"Right! Right – sorry." Leo raised his hands. "Didn't realise –"
Taurus let out a long exhale and all of the iciness seemed to be let loose with that single breath. "I haven't told you, have I? We never did do the traditional introduction."
"My apologies."
"No, it's alright." Taurus waved a hand dismissively. "No offence taken."
"Right. So... the Well of Wisdom?" Aries asked.
"Mhm. I'll lead the way, then."
After a sharp swerve down through the thicker part of undergrowth, they eventually arrived at the well; a small, ancient structure covered with moss and lichen, with water seeping out from between the aged rocks.
"I don't see any fish here." Aquarius remarked, peering down into the dark, sloshing water. "A shame. We could've had a change of pace for lunch."
"It's just a myth." Pisces scuffed a shoe through the grass and fallen leaves, her eyes lighting up as her foot slid against something. She leaned down and picked up what appeared to be a small nut. "It's one of the hazelnuts from the nine hazelnut trees in the myth! I wonder..."
"So... what was the next verse in the song, Pisces?" Virgo asked, taking a look around the small clearing. "There's no clear path out of here..."
"Um... right. So... 'Follow the sun when Nyriu gives way, where the valley runs down to the Loch Etive'!"
"Sounds pretty straightforward." Scorpio pondered. "The first two lines have to be referring to the direction of the sun at... daybreak, since it's when 'Nyriu gives way' to Eireas."
"That would be..." Virgo unfurled the map she had apparently obtained from Scorpio yesterday. She turned around in a full circle before coming a stop, facing out in the opposite direction they had came from. "Around this way, I'd think."
"So... we just walk straight ahead to find a valley?" Capricorn asked.
"Sounds like it." Taurus gazed out in the direction Virgo was facing. "Loch Etive is between two mountains in the mountain range of Styx."
"Let's stock up first," Aries suggested, pulling out several waterskins from his bag.
Sagittarius smirked and skipped over to Aries. With a playful gleam in her eyes, she whispered "So, Aries; you're feeling jealous of Virgo taking all of the attention from Scorpio as our newest tactician, huh?"
"W-what?!" Aries stuttered, eyes widening to the size of saucers. He nearly dropped the waterskins into the well in his haste to spin around to glare at Sagittarius. "O-of course not! What are you even talking about?! I just like to – to have a plan."
"Riiight, like that's something you've always done before," Sagittarius hummed, laughter bubbling up from her chest as she casually leaned down to pick up a hazelnut. "Totally not jealous at all! It's totally not like you're trying to, oh, I don't know – find some way to get back Scorpio's attention."
Aries huffed between his teeth and turned back to the well. "Yeah, whatever, Sag..."
"'Whatever' indeed!" Sagittarius giggled and capered off to where Cancer was to hopefully shield herself from Aries' wrath if he ever got around to it.
-x-x-x-
And so they were off again after restocking their supplies at the well. The forest spat them out onto some sort of plateau, with lush grass brushing their knees as they picked their way through the open plain. The shadow of a small town stood in the distance and several horses grazed nearby, though they were too far away for anyone to really take note of them. A cool, morning breeze tickled the back of their necks as they trekked across the open plateau towards the rising mountain range in the distance.
"Sometimes I just have the feeling we're being followed," Capricorn noted.
"You're probably just imagining things."
"I hope so..." Capricorn's brow furrowed as he looked behind himself again. "Maybe it is just the openness of this field – it's just so..."
"Vulnerable?" Virgo offered.
"Yes, that."
"We've been through so many forests, I'm not quite used to not having trees and branches poke me in the face each time I take a step." Gemini stretched out her arms behind her back and gazed up at the blue sky, with smatterings of white clouds gently passing over their heads. "It's really peaceful out here."
"Yeah, it almost feels like there's no war..."
Leo fiddled with the hilt of his battle-axe as he studied the mountains in the distance. "Maybe so, but it'll come back to haunt us eventually." He frowned, but when noticing Gemini's curious gaze, flashed her a grin. "Well, that's what we're here for, right? To stop the war and protect our loved ones."
Pisces nodded enthusiastically. "And then we'll be able to go back to –" She hesitated, her smile faltering. "– to our normal lives... but... it's almost as if I can't imagine a life without you guys. We've been through so much..."
"I... I wouldn't know what to do." Virgo admitted. "I mean, you all accepted me like I was family... and... I don't have anyone or anywhere else to go. I don't have memory of even a hometown..."
"Dione..." Capricorn was quiet for a long moment. "Without Uncle Lupus or any other family, I wouldn't know where to go either. Would Dione Village even be my home?"
"Speaking of family..." Leo trailed off. "I'd like to be able to... protect my family to." He glanced at Libra for a split second, before his eyes darted away to return to gazing out into the horizon. (The tiny action was only detected by Sagittarius, who mentally noted that down as well.)
"Where would we go?" Aquarius frowned. "The Auraidorian royal family... would they even accept us?"
"They'd have to!" Gemini exclaimed. "Libra's a prince, and we – we'd have saved the world from war!"
"I'm not quite sure about that," Libra said with a nervous laugh, "I mean... they probably don't even know that we left."
"Hm..." Taurus gazed out across the plateau as well. "Travelling like this with friends... it's really been my life ever since I was a child. I don't think I could go back to 'normal life'. What would someone like me be able to do? All I'm good for is hitting things with my axe and killing them."
"Taurus," Aries began with a sigh, "You're not your past. Remember that."
Taurus was silent for a long moment. "Yes, I owe my life to you for saving me. For bringing me back from the brink of... whatever I had become. But what would I do after that?"
"I don't know, but..." Sagittarius shrugged. "I mean, Aries and I wouldn't mind accepting you into Pyrax! I mean, since after we end the war, they'd have to accept us back, right? We wouldn't be traitors anymore, and we might even be able to make that alliance with Neptae again!"
"Assuming they even – assuming..." Scorpio looked deep in thought, his lips tugging down into its usual frown. "Assuming we're right about the Eirean Church and that we can get back the Crests. Then... then I suppose I might have to find a living somewhere else. My family – the von Charons – they're probably overjoyed at the prospect of having an excuse to throw me out."
"Scorpio!" Aries huffed, sounding infuriated once again. "You know –"
"I know it's true."
"But–! Ugh, I was going to say that you know... you know that we'd be happy to accept you into Pyrax too. The castle's big enough, and –"
"Ooh, Cancer, you can come with us too!" Sagittarius added, giving the blue-haired girl a nudge. "You're just as welcome as anyone else! And all of you would be welcome too!"
Cancer scoffed in response. "Yeah, right. Like you'd want a thief in your royal palace."
"Cancer–!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Scorpio muttered, coughing awkwardly into the back of a hand and looking away, as if not quite sure who to make eye contact with. "We might just end up dying alone in a field like this one after being felled by dark beasts."
There was a long silence.
"Thanks for ruining the mood, Scorpio." Leo said with a weak grin.
"Only giving an option."
"One I'd rather not take," Aquarius offered. "We did come all this way after all."
"Well, everyone?" Pisces cleared her throat. "We're nearly at Loch Etive. We can talk about that later when we walk along the brink of the River Styx!"
"'Accompanied by death's sails'?" Capricorn said dryly. "Wouldn't that just be a wonderful conversation starter..."
-x-x-x-
The Loch Etive was a clear lake bordered by rocky mountains and untouched by warfare. The shimmering water was still, aside from the fish that frothed just below the surface. A winding road started next to the lake and winded up the side of one of the mountains, surrounded by thick pine trees and small boulders.
"No time to dawdle," Pisces declared. "Off to the River Styx we go!"
Cancer ignored her and promptly sat down by the water's edge. Several fish swam away as she dipped a hand into the cool water, letting it filter through her fingers.
"...or not. Pit stop!"
The others gladly collapsed in varying places near the lake. Gemini shuffled off her boots and gave her ankle an experimental roll underneath a warm, sunlit patch a little farther off.
"Gemini, are you alright?" Libra asked, moving over to join her.
"I'm fine! I think it's healing alright. Look, it's hardly swollen!" Gemini pressed a finger to the bandages, pushing down slightly and huffing out a breath. "I could use a little more sitting but since we're in a rush, it'll be alright! Besides, you should be asking Aquarius if she's alright – I mean..."
"I know," Libra chuckled to himself, "She's... very strong. She seemed to be alright when I last spoke to her... Cancer says she was very lucky that the arrow only made a very shallow wound."
"Huh, what else should I've expected?" Gemini glanced at where Aquarius was sitting by the lake. "...you know, Libby, I'm glad she's making some friends here."
"I know." Libra followed Gemini's gaze. "I'm just glad she's becoming more relaxed... I would've thought that I would never be able to do anything without her hovering over my shoulder, actually – I mean, in a good way! But at the same time, it's nice to have a little freedom, and it's nice that you guys are getting along with other people..."
The two of them quickly looked away as they noticed Pisces approach Aquarius.
"Let's not talk about people behind their backs anymore, then..." Libra said quickly. "So, Gemini, about, er..."
"The Loch Etive is said to be one of the places that Deidre stayed at with her husband before she was called back to Neptae by the king Conchobar and had her entire family murdered." Pisces remarked, skipping a stone over the glimmering water as she flopped down next to Aquarius. "It's certainly a beautiful place, is it not?"
"...what was the first part?"
"Have you never heard the tale of Deidre of the Sorrows?" Pisces asked, surprise lacing her voice. "You know, the woman who was born blessed with the goddesses' beauty, and her beauty caused bloodshed and warfare until her eventual death?"
"...no." Aquarius stretched out her legs in the sun and rolled up her pant legs, still looking over the lake. "What kinds of tales do they tell in Neptae?"
"I thought it was a traditional Cethian tale. I guess they never spoke about it in Auraidor..."
"Perhaps not." Aquarius placed her sword by her side and loosened the clasp on her cloak, still enjoying the gentle morning sunlight. "Do spare me the details, though I do recall you mentioning the name in your song...?"
"What... Styx? Wait, no, Deidre?" Pisces paused. "Ah, yes! 'Deidre's tragic tale' – that part, isn't it?"
"It seems so."
"Well, basically, we're just retracing the steps of the heroine of myth! At least, she married her husband, Naoise – a warrior of legend – and fled Gaebia to Neptae by using the very cave systems we're going to be traversing now."
"That's not where they died, is it?"
"Oh, no, it isn't!" Pisces chuckled. "Even though the River Styx is said to be a symbol of the passageway between life and death back before the goddesses were born – when the ancient deities ruled – nobody's died down there recently. Well, probably..."
"Somehow, I don't think that's very reassuring."
"We'll be fine!" Pisces said cheerfully. "Right, Virgo?"
"H-huh?" The dark-haired girl looked up from where she was looking over the map, her eyes widening in surprise. "Uh... you're asking me? I–I don't know. I hope so?"
"How... encouraging." Aquarius sighed.
"C'mon! We've survived this long – from dark monsters to running away from guards in their capital city and even from falling down stairs – we'll be fine! Especially since there's nobody who's actively looking to kill us in the caves, seeing as nobody goes down there anyway..." Pisces gave Aquarius a pat on the back. "This might be the safest thing we've done yet!"
Virgo tried to smile, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes. "I hope so...?"
At the same time, Libra had cautiously approached their newest blond-haired recruit. He shot Leo the best, reassuring smile he could manage and sat down next to Leo. "Er... Leo?"
"Hm?" Leo looked up. "Oh, Prince Libra. It's... nice seeing you."
"Er..." Libra chewed on his lip. "It's just... I... you're not mad at me, right?!"
"Huh?" Leo blinked. "Why... why would I...?"
"I-it's just... I don't think I've really spoken to you, and I really hope you don't think I'm ignoring you, and..." Libra stuttered, fidgeting with his hands.
"No, no!" Leo let out a soft chortle of laughter. "I'm not... I..." He sighed. "Sorry. It's just... there's something that's been weighing on me recently..." He shook his head. "No, never mind. But I'm not – I'm not mad at you."
"Oh... I hope so." Libra smiled weakly. "I hope I'm not excluding you or anything... I know some – er, some of the others... they're a little... suspicious of you, since you're from Pyrax, where Aries is from. And, er, the people in Pyrax don't like Aries, right? B-but... well, I just wanted to say... y-you're welcome here, and I hope you don't... you don't feel left out! And that... well, if you need to talk... you know, about anything – your past, or whatever's been weighing on you – I'm here!" Libra's voice pitched upward an octave in a nervous squeak.
Leo studied the mint-haired boy. Finally, a faint smile quirked at the edge of his lips and he let loose a breath. "That's kind of you to say, Prince Libra. I... I'll take you up on your offer when I'm ready. But I do thank you for... coming to me."
"N-no problem! I, and... just Libra is fine! There's no need..."
"Right. I forget that you don't do that kind of thing." Leo turned out back towards the lake and tipped his head towards the sky, a faint sigh passing his lips. "But... there are just some things... I don't know what to do or how to feel about them..."
-x-x-x-
"Well, is everyone ready?" Aries asked, rising to his feet and scanning the group. He did a mental headcount: he was present, Scorpio was at the lakeside talking to Taurus and Capricorn, Pisces, Aquarius and Virgo were a couple of meters down the lakeside, Libra was with Leo, Sagittarius, Gemini and Cancer were –"
"Sagittarius, what are you doing?" Aries called exasperatedly, waving a hand at the not-very-subtle tufts of hair poking out from behind the pine trees.
"Aries!" Sagittarius yelled back, her attempts at stealth busted; she stepped out from behind the pine tree and brushed out the ferns from her hair. "Can't you tell I'm trying to do something?"
"Stop bothering the others and dragging Cancer and Gemini into your strange schemes." Aries massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, sighing through his teeth. "Please just stop."
"I'm not – ugh, fine!" Sagittarius rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at Aries. "But I'm not 'dragging them into' anything! They chose to –"
"No, I didn't." Cancer grumbled as she stepped out from behind the trees as well.
Gemini slunk out as well, sticking out her tongue at Aries as well.
"Gemini, why are you barefoot?"
"Why not?" Gemini shouted back, though she wandered off back down the shore to retrieve her shoes, who were lying a little further off.
"Let's go."
"H-hey! Scorpio! You snuck up on me there," Aries startled slightly at the voice. "Weren't you...?"
"Taurus and Capricorn were telling me about the cave systems, since they seemed to be the most familiar with them. The river that connects the lake to the caves has a narrow path next to it where we can walk. The path widens out once we're further in the cave, but apparently there are no lamps further inside because the children aren't allowed to play in there anymore."
"Right – and?"
"We'll need torches." Scorpio sighed. "Who's carrying them?"
"Oh, that – er, I have it!" Libra rose to his feet, opening up his rucksack and pulling out the sturdy wooden sticks. "These are it, right?"
"Pisces, Virgo; could you light them before we enter the cave?"
"We've got it!"
"U-um, alright!"
"Put on your shoes, Gemini – we're leaving." Aquarius called.
"To the River Styx we go!" Sagittarius cheered. "This'll be fun!"
"I'm not quite sure of your definition of fun," Leo remarked, sidling up behind her (nearly earning a smack in the face as Sagittarius spun around and nearly slapped him with the palm of her hand in her surprise at his appearance), "But I do hope it doesn't involve dying."
Aries couldn't help but notice Leo looked a little shaken, but in almost a split second, Leo's easygoing smile had returned at full blast as Leo made eye contact with him. "It doesn't involve dying, right?"
"At least, not us dying," Capricorn raised an eyebrow, "I'm looking forward to beating the monsters that were at Dione back into powder, and then beat them into even finer powder for revenge."
"I'd rather not have to fight more of those things in a dark cave." Taurus shook his head. "It certainly wouldn't fare well for us."
"You mean... the beasts you keep on mentioning?" Virgo tipped her head to the side. "I don't think I've seen one before –"
"You'd better hope you don't, but knowing our luck, we will." Aquarius sighed.
"– yes, I'd think so, but meeting one... I, er, we might be able to discern more of its weaknesses if we did encounter another one." Virgo continued, fiddling with her tomes. "Maybe... if it's made of dark magic as you say... perhaps I might be able to do something useful with my light magic?"
"You're already planning to be ambushed again by those Eirean Church goons?" Cancer sighed. "Aren't we all just a bundle of optimism and joy."
"A bundle of optimism indeed!" Sagittarius agreed. Pisces nodded enthusiastically in agreement and declared: "Let's go!"