Year 1246, seventh month
The green grass was still damp from the melted snow. Time passed, and summer, Aedric's favorite season, had arrived.
A constant could be heard on the stone-paved street, alongside the noise and voices of the villagers. An old man, with no hair visible on his chin or head, walked hunched over, using his wooden staff to support every step. A black wool cassock elegantly covered his body down to his ankles. A thick red cincture was wrapped around his waist, and on his chest was a circle with 6 gray dots; 2 of the 6 dots were filled by a small fire emblem while the rest were empty.
Beside him, a boy kept pace, hopping like a kangaroo. He had grown bored of walking slowly, so he decided to make it more fun. Today was the last day of the week, so there had been mass. After finishing the service, the old priest went to find his youngest friend so he could say his daily prayers alone, with the chapel now empty.
—Why are so many people dressed in white today? Since I arrived in the village, I've seen people wearing white tunics with a colorful thing on their body— The boy felt confused by the strange sight.
"Duncan, why are so many people dressed in that strange robe you're wearing, but in white?" he asked curiously—
He had taken it for granted that the old man really liked that piece of clothing; otherwise, why would he wear it every time he visited? But seeing so many people in something similar seemed strange to him.
"Ah, are you talking about the cassock we're wearing?" —Then he realized something— "Well, I forgot to tell you about this subject in your lessons."
"I thought you were a dirty person who always wears the same clothes," —He said, holding his nose as if something smelled bad—
"Says the one who always wears the same wool cape all year," —He replied with a mischievous smile to the boy—
"My mom washes it once a week!" —He shouted in fake indignation—
"Me too," —He coughed softly and corrected himself— "My mom doesn't wash my cassock, I mean, I wash my own cassock."
"Why doesn't your mom wash it?" —Aedric asked curiously. His mom always washed his, it was a natural fact for him—
"Let's just say she's not here to do it," —The old man said, smiling. A small laugh escaped him at the thought of asking his mother to do that at his age. She definitely would have hit him if he did—
"First your daughter and now your mom, everyone has abandoned you!" —The boy replied angrily at the injustice—
Duncan remained silent, and the smile he always wore wavered for a moment at the memories brought back by his little friend's words.
"Don't worry, old man. I will be with you forever, I will never abandon you!" —He said fervently— "If your evil daughter doesn't want to be with you, then I will be your son!"
Duncan closed his eyes for a moment, a warm sensation in his eyes threatening to spill.
"Well, it's a magnificent idea. I would gladly accept it, boy," —He paused before continuing— "But your dad won't like his son having two dads, heh heh heh."
A laugh escaped him at his own joke, trying to calm his turbulent heart.
"Besides, they are not bad people, they have just been gone for a while. Goodbyes are not eternal. Remember these words, Aedric, and never forget them," —He said kindly, and continued— "In a few more years, I will be able to reunite with them, and I will make sure to hug them and tell them how much I love them."
Duncan, with his sore knees, bent down as far as he could to get to the boy's height and hugged him, very, very tightly.
"You're acting weird today, Old Man," —Aedric said, laughing at the old man's incomprehensible actions towards him—. But despite his words, he returned the hug with the same strength.
Duncan then remembered something, and then broke the special moment.
"Do you want me to give you a gift, boy?" —The old man asked mysteriously—
"Of course! Is it something great?" —His emotion was clear in his tone as he jumped up and down—
"Yes, it's something I made myself. Come with me to my house for a moment."
They both walked through the village while the constant sound of the staff rang rhythmically in the cold, ever-present air of the north.
After a few minutes, they arrived at a house made of mud, just like most of the houses, although this one had the peculiarity of being quite cracked and worn out by time. The wooden door screeched loudly, as if it were about to break at the soft touch.
"Do you live here, Duncan?" —The concern was evident in his tone—
"Although it may not look like it, it is quite cozy," —He said in his usual soft tone—
Aedric looked around the small house with his eyes. It only had one room and everything essential. Curiously, there was a chicken walking around. He noticed something strange that caught his attention. On one side there was a large bed with a large, old wooden chest, but on the other, a slightly smaller bed. Surprisingly, it was very clean without dust and next to a chest full of dust that did not seem to be opened often.
—Why would the old man have two beds? For visitors, I suppose— He asked and reasoned with himself.
"Come, boy, come closer," —Said the old man while approaching the dust-covered chest—
Taking a few steps in Duncan's direction, he could not help but cough at the dust that came out of the small chest when the old man opened it. Something white came out from inside, and he shook it, sending even more dust flying inside the house.
"From so much dust I'm going to end up choking!" —The boy said, annoyed—
He was going to continue protesting, but he stopped immediately. From Duncan's hands hung a whitish tunic, which turned out to be a soft-looking white wool cassock. It seemed inadequate for his size, even though he was much bigger than other children his age; still, it was big on him.
"Woaaaah! It looks very cool," —He came closer excitedly to get a closer look at the tunic—
On the back was sewn with thread a firebird spreading its wings next to an incomplete circle of fire surrounding it, the symbol of the church of Ignis. "Normally modifications to cassocks are not allowed, but the white ones are for lay believers, so they are permitted as long as they are not disrespectful to the Gods," —The old man said, indirectly warning him that he could only wear the white ones—
He also took something else from the chest, a thin cincture of intense red wool, similar to his hair, which was worn over the cassock to wrap around the waist. "This is a cincture. I also have mine, but the cinctures of the members of the church must be thicker, while that of the laypeople must be thin. They are used to represent the God you pray to; their colors represent each God, red is for Ignis," —He explained slowly to the boy, so that he would remember in the future and not forget it tomorrow, which happened often—.
Aedric was so excited that he began to undress quickly to try it on, his small, though surprisingly developed, muscles for his age, were exposed to Duncan.
The child was overly excited by the gift, his emotions running wild as he yearned to put on his present. His blessing momentarily activated; the stigma of the bird with its outstretched wings shone as intensely as a blazing fire, but Aedric had long since stopped worrying about it, believing it was normal for everyone.
Duncan's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. He immediately recognized that mark above the heart but said nothing, returning to his usual calm state.
The cassock stretched down his entire body to his feet, touching the ground because it was too big. The old man approached, his hands trembling from what he had just seen, and tied up a large amount of cloth with the red sash.
A silent tear rolled from Duncan's right eye. He noticed it as it slid down his cheek, quickly wiped it away, and tried to compose himself.
—Even though my daughter couldn't try on her gift for her coming-of-age birthday, at least someone just as important can use it now.—
He couldn't hold it in any longer and let the repressed emotions out, warm tears falling down his cheeks, one after another.
Aedric noticed the old man's state late, but despite his bewilderment, he did what he thought was right in this situation. He slowly walked toward the old man and hugged him. Not being as tall as an adult, he barely reached his legs.
"I don't know why you're crying, Duncan. But here's your son! I love you as much as Dad, so I think it makes sense, yes... it makes a lot of sense!" —He tried to convince himself, twisting all the logic a six-year-old could think of.—
Duncan fell to his knees on the mud floor, still crying, with the child comforting him by stroking his head, being more at his height now. Drop after drop left a small, damp but warm mark on the muddy ground.
He felt embarrassed, an old man like him crying like a child, in front of none other than a child. It was ironic.
This thought made him laugh for a moment, and he finally managed to calm down.
Aedric helped Duncan up so he could sit on the bed; chopping wood since he was young had paid off.
"Don't scare me like that, old man," —The annoyance evident in his voice— "What would you do if I wasn't here, haha," —The child basked in his glory, feeling incredible.—
"What would I do without you…" —the man said thoughtfully— "I would feel lonely and sad," —He said in a whisper only he could hear.—
"What did you say?" —the child questioned the old man inquisitively.—
"I didn't say anything, it was the wind," —A mocking smile appeared at the corner of his lips.—
"Do you think I'm stupid?" —the boy retorted, annoyed— "I know you said something!"
"Well, yes I do, ha ha ha," —He laughed in an even more irritating way for Aedric.—
"Whatever!" —He turned around, in a bad mood, and walked toward the door— "I'm leaving, if you don't follow me I'll just go home alone," —The boy grabbed the staff lying on the ground and gently tossed it at the old man.—
Duncan immediately regretted his actions; he was forced to walk quickly with his old and aching body, only able to blame himself as he chased the healthy youth along the now-darkened path; the sun had set some time ago.
He saw the boy walking ahead of him in the white cassock.
On the boy's back was the phoenix, which always revives from the ashes upon death, this time the phoenix returned in another form.
He no longer saw only the child, he also saw someone else, someone very special.
In the distance, a winged being shone so brightly it could be mistaken for the sun, but no one was able to see it.
"I will leave him in your care, apostle of Ignis," —the being from another world said in an intelligible language.—
Several minutes later…
The two finally arrived at the entrance of the wooden cabin. Duncan asked Aedric to wait outside for a moment, as he had something to discuss with his parents alone.
So the child was now sitting outside his house, with Angel lying on his lap.
"Do you like it when I scratch your ears?" —he asked the dog.—
"WOOF!" —exclaimed the intelligent dog in its own language.—
It will never be known what Angel answered, but it must have been an intelligent and wise response, for he had a large beard growing on his chin for a reason.
It was at that moment that Angel began to bark into the air.
"You've finally gone crazy," —Aedric laughed.—
Suddenly the dog shot out of his lap, like an intercontinental missile. It ran toward the forest, barking at nothing.
"You stupid dog, get back here!" —the boy shouted as he chased his furry friend.—
The evershines illuminated the area, so Aedric wasn't afraid to go into the depths of a dark forest, and above all, he would never let his dog escape; he needed someone to run with every day.
After several minutes of running, the two were audibly panting in the forest. In front of the boy stood a giant tree, much bigger than the rest.
He thought he had finally caught up with Angel. He was wrong... He ran again, but not as fast, approaching a large hole in the tree.
The dog stood in front of the tree, barking constantly, something was there…
Aedric, for the first time in a long time, felt fear run through his body, a fear of the unknown. He was very grateful that the place was full of evershines; otherwise, he would have already soiled himself.
Slowly he approached the hole, step by step…
Even Angel suddenly fell silent, scaring the boy even more.
Aedric slowly peeked his head toward the tree hollow, when suddenly...
"WOOOOOOOOF!" —The dog barked again, so loudly that Aedric jumped and hit his head.—
To be continued.
—End of chapter 5—