The Caretakers didn't move at all, which was the problem. They stood with those creepy blank white eyes staring at the two of them, their wings sitting still and balanced, weapons just creepily wavering in a way that made the air feel like it might break apart in chaos at any damn second.
Idemay knew that look, or something similar, that void that preceded something violent that didn't need any justification.
She kept a hand wrapped around the blade, its rough texture pressed against her palm but her shoulders remained square, her weight balanced as though she might make the first move.
But then, Brill got up.
He pushed his head up, breathing unsteady and then, once again, began to walk forward as if nothing had happened. His hand, before Idemay could pull it away, grabbed onto the golden blade himself, skin touching the metal without hesitation.
"I won't go back with nothing! I can't...! It's not fair!" Brill exclaimed.
Idemay's eye flicked down to him, her stomach clenching, a feeling that refused to be identified taking hold of her insides.
"Brill…"
A Caretaker's voice came in and it was calm and expressionless. "Let go of my blade. And I will allow you to live."
Idemay breathed out through her nose, an irritated look falling onto her face as she glanced at the thing.
"Make that shit disappear then. I've been to all four Divinity gates to see those Divine Beasts: Gate Ephilm, Warhel, Kalhalla and Taretan. I've seen the other Caretakers do that and bring the weapons out of thin air.."
The Caretaker showed no reaction like that of a normal person with no sign of offense or surprise, and the blade disappeared in a dissolving manner.
Idemay already knew the deal, she knew these Caretakers could make their weapons dissolve if they wanted to, but she also knew that since the Caretakers didn't just do that at first, that just meant they wanted Idemay to take her hands off the blade so the fighting could resume.
"We will see your son in 10 years. The Keymaster has instructed us to stand down. Mercy has been shown to you this day. To reject the balance of harmony and connections is a sin in itself, even for a mere human child." A Caretaker said.
The Keymaster…
Each of the Gates had one, A creature that was intrinsically bound to each Gate, its body a component for the large portals to function. If a Keymaster didn't make them move, the Gates wouldn't open or close. They were the heart of the whole system, completely aware of everything that went on in their Domain, of every contract that was ever drawn, every step that was ever taken inside. The Caretakers answer to them, as do the beasts on a basic instinct but only within the Divinity Gate; if the Keymaster decrees that something is over then it's over.
The Caretakers stepped back to their original places without saying another word, wings folded back against them as if they had never moved from their original spots. Idemay let out a sigh and felt some of the tension slip from her shoulders.
'That was close...' She turned. Brill was already walking away from the gates. There was no doubt in his steps or any sort of hesitation, walking forward like staying any longer would shatter him from the inside out; walking away empty handed.
Idemay opened her mouth, but nothing came out, but her own chaotic thoughts.
'... What do I even say to Brill...?. Dear... My husband... Where are you when I need you? What am I going to do now to comfort our son...? I don't know what to say....You always knew what to say... Shit... I need a smoke now, and a drink. I never even drank before you died to a stupid Divine Beast, and you know what, I'm starting to hate it, but I can't seem to quit... But Brill... I have wanted to be a mom for so long and I didn't realize how easy it would be, but Brill.. I have never seen him act like this at all. I don't wanna say the wrong thing... After I put so much faith in him and got him hyped up for this Choosing.. Am I at fault for this..?'
She let out a sigh and rubbed the back of her neck, her fingers lingering there as if they might conjure something up if left alone long enough. Part of her wanted to just reach out, pull her son close and try to force comfort into him, but what if she just made him angrier, what if she pushed him away even further? What if what she said, in the spur of the moment, just stuck?
She was a young mother, around 28 years old, having Brill when she was 20, so all of this was still new to her.
She didn't move, but Brill kept walking. He wasn't acting upset, he wasn't crying like one would expect an 8 year old to do, he was walking away with a determination that didn't waiver.
"I will be worthy for a cool powerful Divine Beast! Not some little puppy.... Is this all I'm worth? It can't be…"
….
The town didn't seem to care that Brill was having a bad day. By the time night came to Cassady, the streets were busy with lights that hung from lampposts and windows that lit up the paths and voices that echoed back and forth from either end of the street while families flaunted what they got that day.
"Look! Look!"
A little boy ran by with a Divine Beast that looked like an explosion of tiny floating orbs of light held together with thin strands of luminescence, the orbs spinning in perfect synchronization with the boy, changing hues from dark purple to gold before bouncing off him like a rubber ball.
Further down the street a woman giggled while her Divine Beast slouched beside her; it was an animal in the shape of a feline with long ribbon-like appendages dragging behind its back that writhed individually on the ground around them, trailing bright white dust that fizzled out.
She moved her arm and the ribbons matched her own movements, forming what looked like a word in the air before they dissipated. People stared and pointed and watched the contracts turn into a public show.
While all of that was going on, Brill was on top of a building, his house, with his knee's tucked toward chest, hand covering his face to wipe away his eyes. Brill sniffled and pulled his sleeve over them again, as if that could make it go away.
"Why is it always me, why do I always have to suffer?" He looked at his hand and flexed his fingers, expecting to see something different now.
'I'll prove to them that I am worthy of SOMETHING! It doesn't matter what it is! I will make myself worth it and nobody will avoid me again... Not even Divine Beasts...'
Inside the house that Brill was sitting on, the room couldn't have been more of a contrast. Idemay slouched over a wooden table in the center of the room, a half-empty mug of mead clutched loosely in one hand, another overturned and spilling over near her; the scent filled the room as she pushed herself up just enough to drink from her mug again.
"Ehhhh it's gonna be okay Brilly Brilly, there's always another time right?! Ten years is not so long!" She tried to stand—
THUMP!
She hit the floor with a hard thump, her mug tipping out of her hands as she gave a small giggle that held no humor and she continued to lie there in a daze before a new emotion flashed across her face. A single tear trickled down her cheek, and a quiet sigh escaped her lips.
….
(Morning time)
Stripes of morning light cut across the floor and up the side of the desk where the spilled mead mug had dried to a sticky ring.
Brill stood over his mother, arms hanging slack at his sides, and looked down at her crumpled figure splayed out in what seemed to be a bizarre tumble that had placed her on the floor.
She reeked of mead and something sour beneath; Brill wasn't focused on that though, he looked down at her face, the eyepatch messy and revealing the wound on her eye, her hair fanned out around her head in a way she'd scream bloody murder about, if she had the mental clarity to even notice.
Brill remained silent, then, his voice got quieter than he thought he was capable of speaking-
"I'll be back."
Idemay didn't react, of course she didn't. Brill dropped to a crouch, hooked his arms under hers, and pulled.
Nothing.
He shifted his legs, braced his feet, and clenched his jaw, and pulled again, dragging her across the wooden floor by inches at a time, her weight feeling like she was completely dead.
"Come on…" he groaned.
His hands slipped once, then twice more. His arms burned with the strain, he leaned back and yanked hard, managing to get her close enough to the bed to loop one arm under her shoulders and lever her up.
But It took forever.
It took much longer than it ever should have, by the time she was all the way up on the bed his breath was coming in shortly, his arms screaming, but he didn't let up, maneuvering her until she was all the way against the blankets and not halfway hanging off.
The bed itself seemed wildly out of place in the room, furs spread across it, dark wood on the frame, detailed so finely it must have cost an absolute fortune…which it did; around ten thousand gold to be exact, a price tag that could only be supported by someone whose position allowed them to drop coin without batting an eye.
Idemay had been a Knight Captain of Velkrund, and Brill's father had been as well.
King Camelot XVI of Velkrund didn't allow their sacrifices to pass unmarked; after Brill's father's death he'd authorized a full compensation in what was technically called a Fallen Captain's Grant, essentially a mandatory charitable contribution meant to support the dependents of the knight in question. It was an obligation to the kingdom, and it was dressed up in gold.
Brill drew a blanket over Idemay, tucking it around her shoulders with clumsy hands.
Idemay started to move to get comfortable, she mumbled something as her face pressed into the fur.
"Brill…. It's gonna be okay…"
Brill had stopped, and for a moment, it truly sounded like she knew what she was saying. Then her breath came in deep gasps, which meant a hangover, and not nearly enough sleep.
Brill let out a deep breath and stared at her for a moment longer before looking away.
"I'll make myself worthy of a real Divine Beast.. They'll all want me then…"
The thought had burrowed deep into his chest, and it was already becoming hard to stand still.
He grabbed his belongings and left the room. Those belongings were a rusty short blade that was dirty, and a brown attended cloak around his neck with his fathers blood stains on it.
Brill was outside now, and he walked straight through Cassady and didn't stop at the edges. He walked right past them and toward the Grudlen Woods.
The trees began exactly where the road ended; close packed, large trunks rising impossibly high above him, the branches tangling into a dense canopy that seemed to devour light the deeper one went. People never went into these woods unless there was absolutely no other option and common sense demanded they didn't.
Grudlen wasn't exactly a tourist attraction.
Wild beasts roamed freely, none that had ever been subjected to the system and contracted, only the untamed and unfettered that answered to nothing but themselves and their base needs.
Divine Beasts also dwelled here; not the ones within the Gates, tended and protected by Caretakers, but the ones that had been cast out. It wasn't rare: neglect, abuse, or simple disregard for their needs and contracts, and a beast was abandoned. They didn't return to the system, but they didn't immediately seek new contracts either; they wandered, some straying into populated areas, but many opting for isolation.
The Grudlen Woods contained more than their fair share. Certain kinds of plants thrived in specific patches of earth, others drew creatures toward deposits of unknown minerals beneath the ground, and there were whole sections of the woods that seemed to demand a particular environment just to sustain their very nature, and these different requirements carved out territories that merge into one another, some benign, some terrifying.
Everyone knew it, and everyone knew to go around whenever possible. Crossing it implied desperation, supreme confidence, or simply an ignorance that borders on suicidal.
Brill stopped right at the edge of the woods, heart pounding in his chest, looking up at the small trees.
'I'll make them all want to be around me!'