The Crone

The Umbraki celebrations continued long into the eternal night, Neomon and Avea were still trekking through the desert, not a word spoken between them. Her legs were beginning to grow heavy from walking through the dunes. The deafening silence had strained into a tense awkwardness."Stay close and follow me" Neomon said, disappearing into his shadows only to reemerge ahead, forcing Avea to keep track of the wandering shadow as it trailed closely in front. He'd hover back and forth in an hypnotic rhythm, only to solidify without any notice.

They kept trekking forward, leaving their footsteps behind them only for them to be covered by the wind. "Why didn't you stop it?" Avea heard herself ask, she'd been replaying Miara banishment in her mind over again, imprinted on her memory like a scar. Neomon's body went deathly still,"I tried" his words cutting, as he turned with a searing accusation simmering in his eyes.That's when Avea remembered the shadow spear that had struck Morpheus. "You were the one who attacked Morpheus?" Neomon nodded solemnly, "I tried to break the trance before violet flare revealed itself ... Mirara didn't deserve that fate" he looked away as if he couldn't stand staring into Avea's questioning eyes. "Why don't you speak out against Morpheus? You're their future galad they'll listen to you!"

"A mutiny" Neomon scoffed, "your idealism is a weak disguise for your naivety" he replied coolly, the words took a second to register before Avea bristled, the anger prickling her skin. "What is that supposed to mean?!" the rage flared inside her, as she stomped through the sands after Neomon. "It means I can't save anyone if I'm dead," his shadows flared out slightly, clearly provoked. "But you're Morpheus's successor?" Neomon's shadows shrunk, retreating back to their master, coiling around his forearms like they needed to be soothed. Avea knew he was hiding something, as turned she watched Neomon's cruel detached mask slide on, as he stared her down.

"And what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yes when the time comes for the ascension will you abandon your moon, the same way your mother did?" the words practically hissing out of him. Avea was too stunned by the question, "that's not fair." "Isn't it because from where I stand you come from a bloodline of cowards." He said the statement so definitive that Avea's words were strangled in her throat, her fury twisted so tightly it was choking her.

"What...my moon is gone?!" she sputtered. "Then why would the ancients claim you?" Neomon shrugged, that cool defiance making her teeth grate. She'd never thought of that, she never stopped to consider that she may become the galad to a realm."Your mother left her moon to destitute and now your planning to do the same... so who's the coward now?" Neomon's eyes held a cold glint as he beheld her, "It's different ... I never asked to be part of this," Avea protested.

"None of us did."

His response was a cold slap to the face, as the two of them stood letting their silence weigh heavy on them. They didn't speak the rest of the way, so much for allies, Avea thought bleakley. The resentful anger simmering between between the two of them was so tight like a string about to snap. As the silence became a crushing weight on her shoulders, she thought she might collapse onto the sands from sheer exhaustion. Until Neomon finally spoke, "we're close." Refusing to turn to look at her, they climbed over the dunes and there stood an ominous cave. A dark blot against the shimmering sands.

The closer they ventured towards it the more Avea began to grow restless. Who was this crone? Why was she truly outcasted in the desert? They'd made it to the cave and Avea didn't like how wide the jaw of the cave was nor how dark the inside. They stood at the entrance staring into the caves mouth, there wasn't a sound echoing out, not a even a whistle of the wind. "Are you sure someone lives ..." before she could finish her sentence two large shadow serpents broke out of the mouth, fangs snapping viscously. "Watch out" Neomon cried, his body instantly morphing into a shadow form, dodging the vicious fangs. Avea lunged between the narrowing gap between the two coiled serpents. She landed on the rocky surface scraping the side of her arm. Neomon reformed, while Avea's heart thundered in her chest. A cackle erupted from inside the cave. "Who goes lurking there?" The shrill voice said. A chill went up Avea's spine, "we don't mean to intrude..." Neomon said with his head bowed low, "Are you the one to find if you seek truth?"

"The sands told me you were coming" the voice chuckled with a veiled malice. Neomon and Avea glanced at each other, neither of them able to detect where the owner of the voice lurked. Neomon opened his mouth to speak. "We need to find the Obscurus library?" the question escaped from Avea's lips before she could silence herself. Neomon shot her a scathing glare for interrupting. "Ahhhh... been a long time since i've heard that word uttered, why would you need to know where the Obscurus is?" "We need answers" Avea replied, cursing the way her voice caught slightly. She coughed uncomfortably, suddenly there was a banging sound that echoed through the cave. Neomon and Avea braced themselves, as the banging grew louder. The sound ringing in her ears, until suddenly an enormous shadow appeared at their feet. The two claimed held their breath as the monstrous shadow came into the light and Avea almost choked on a laugh when the frail elderly Umbraki female hobbled forward with a walking cane. Her frame was shrivelled and small, while her eyes were glassy, wearing a black shawl that wrapped graciously around her hunched figure.

There was something unsettling about this woman, as she let out a low haunting laugh. Avea took a step back. "I'm surprised you came to see me shadow prince ... " "You're a seer?" Neomon said, his voice clearly surprised. "What's a seer?" Avea asked, struggling to keep up with the unspoken monologue going on between the two Umbraki. "It means child that I am able to hear the whispers of the sands and stars." Avea looked between the two of them locked in a silent staring battle. "Am I missing something?" she asked.

Neomon's entire body had tensed, as though he was expecting this frail elder to attack. "The seer's are another word for the astral parasites that Morpheus is hunting," he replied low and hushed. "Parasite" she whispered ... "PARASITEEEEEE" she screamed. The two shadow serpents lunged their fangs snapping ferociously, the saliva dripping onto the cold sand. Avea and Neomon fell back scrambling along the ground. The crone began stalking towards them, rather fast despite her small stature. Fury rippling off her, absorbing all of the darkness around her, swallowing it as though it were feeding her soul. "You have an exceptional skill at pissing off women" Avea hissed, as the two of the narrowly avoided the deadly jaws of the shadow serpents, who'd began crawling over the cave walls concealing their only escape. "Poor choice of words" Neomon gasped. Turning to run out of the cave, but the serpents slid across the cave's mouth blocking their path. Snarling at Neomon and Avea who halted in their tracks, they glanced back in terror only to find the crone standing there with her eyes filled with so much sorrow that Avea felt her heart crack slightly.

"I tried to warn him" the crone tutted to herself, like she were scolding a small child. Neomon halted, "Warn who?" The crones pained eyes lingered on Neomon for a moment, she was suddenly so small inside this cavernous cave. The hollowness like the space between stars, empty and dark.

"Morpheus."

Neomon didn't move, clearly conflicted he remained still, even as the crone's serpent pets began slithering over the mouth of the cave, the slim opening becoming narrower. "So he knows about the tears?" Neomon accused. The crone cackled, but there was nothing except rotten bitterness. "My dear prince everyone knows about the tears, they just don't say anything." "Do you know why the veil is growing?" he asked, turning back towards the crone. She remained silent, Avea could tell that Neomon was becoming agitated by her restraint ... " you have an obligation to your moon ... do you have no remorse for the destruction that you will cause if Morpheus is not uncovered?" The crone's face twisted in fury, "obligation?" she whispered, her voice shaking with rage. "And what obligation did Morpheus and his entire Umbraki court have when they ... BANISHED ME?! The force of her shrill scream sent the shadow serpents barrelling towards her, their enlarged forms sent a quake through the cave. Throwing Neomon and Avea to the ground, she towered over them, her smaller stature suddenly frightening. "Shadow prince ... I have no obligation to your court. They chose to live in the dark...now they can die there." The crone turned away, retreating back into the belly of her cave. Back to the solitude of the darkness, all of the fight left her body until there was only her withered frame fading away.

Neomon was left stunned, remaining on the ground as though he couldn't muster the will to stand. Avea felt herself panic, "no please wait!" she cried, "I need to know the truth about my mother." The crone halted, uncertain of her retreat. "Who might that be?" she tentatively asked. "Araceli the galad of the Oniria moon" Avea said, though the words still felt foreign coming out of her mouth, like there were acid on her tongue, with every word she spoke there was a sharp sting. The crones eyes shone with intrigue "the traitor...". Avea bristled at those words.

"I need to know if she's really the traitor that everyone says she is!" she pleaded. The crone remained with her back turned, "the obscuros library will tell me the truth and you're the only one who knows where it's buried." "The truth no longer concerns me" the crone replied numbly, before vanishing into the shadows. "The truth must still matter to you or you wouldn't be in so much pain" Avea spoke boldly. Taking a step deeper into the cave, she could now see the markings on the walls. The crone had been tallying the days she'd been left in isolation, and it felt like someone had twisted a knife in Avea's heart.

"I know that the truth haunts you, the same way it haunts me," Avea called out into the cave, silently praying that the crone was listening. Neomon remained behind Avea silently waiting as the crone considered her plea. "A truth for a truth," the crone murmured slyly, the words echoing around them. "A truth for a truth" Avea agreed, without hesitation.

"Very well ... do you like games Avea Maxwell?"

.................

All three of them stood outside the cave, surrounded by the sands and the stars. The crone stood in front of them staring them down, her warped cane digging into the deep indigo sands, like she was pressing into someone's chest. It was strange seeing the crone out in the moonlight, where they could see what the isolation had done to her. Her old withered face seemed haggard, but her eyes held a sharpness, like the glint of a blade right before it swung. They stared right through her, and Avea knew better than to underestimate her. They were not dealing with some senile hag, they were dealing with a vengeful woman. Avea struggled to swallow the lump forming in her throat, as Neomon and her stood alone in the Umbratus dunes. She couldn't help but wonder what the truth would actually cost them.

She turned those sharp eyes onto Avea,"to gain the powerful truths you seek, you must play the game of scales" she spoke through her chapped lips. "Do you wish to seek your truth?" "We do" Neomon declared. Once the words were said an ancient circle was drawn in the sand around them. She'd trapped them, a wicked smile appeared on the crone's lips.

Along with a marking that appeared on Avea's wrist, small and barely susceptible it was branded against her flesh. Banging her stick against the sand, her pet shadow serpents lurched into action both of them slithering around them, responding to the silent vibrations like they were commands. The shadow serpents emerged from the sands, but now they were solidified with a violet swade of shadow coating their scales, their rattling filled the silent air.

The twin serpents began to circle them, their sharp fangs glinting ominously in the shadowed darkness. "Maybe I was a little quick to make that vow" Avea muttered. "You think!" Neomon snapped, suddenly very aware of the danger circling them. "The rules are very simple" the crone spoke, her chapped lips curling into a sly grin. "I'll ask you three questions and you must answer truthfully, if you lie my serpents will be able to sense it." The serpent's rattled their scales in acknowledgement. Avea's heart began to pound in her ears. They needed to tread carefully, the crone was clearly digging for something. No, we just have to outwit her, thought Avea. She'd spent her entire life surrounded by liars and thieves who'd used their silver tongues to barter and charm their way out of dangerous situations. Neomon's eyes however, darted around frantically while his shadows strained against the enclosed circle. He was trying to find a way out, his aggression only made Avea curious.

What could he be hiding?

"Let us begin" the crone said, but Avea caught the hint of maniacal delight in her voice now that she'd cornered them. "How did you know the song of the light chords?" the crone's words narrowed to Avea. She had to be careful with her wording, she mulled over the question. "My mother forged it into key so that I would be able to open a portal." The crone tutted, as one long nailed finger tapped against the knob of her cane. "The game is to answer the question..." the crone whispered, a haunted note lingered in her voice.The serpent's tails briefly flickered into sight before disappearing again. "You have no idea how deep my connection to the uri goes," even though the crone was standing in front of them, her voice was distant. "From the far reaches of the cosmos I can hear their melody ... your mother must've known when you struck those chords that someone would hear it." Avea felt her throat go dry, struggling to get the words out. "My mother used to sing it to me every night, it was always the same melody..." Suddenly she was in a freefall, her mind an abyss. If her mother knew that the crone would hear the light chords was she trying to send a message to someone else?

The serpent's scales rattled slightly, but then stilled, deciding they were satisfied with her answer. The crone smirked, amused by Avea's evasion to the question. She gulped feeling the large serpents begin circling around her, "where is your mother's moonstone now?" Avea huffed in irritation, realising it wouldn't be that simple to deflect the crones questions. "I don't know" she stammered. "Don't lie to me child" the crone sneered, the serpent's began hissing. Avea's mouth clamped shut, she thought about the Supreme's fingers curling around the smooth stone, the protective instinct seized her."You know the dunes are barren around these parts and my serpents go days without eating. I'm sure they'll relish in tearing the flesh off your bones, it'll be quite the feast." Avea's breathing became shallow, she could feel the crone digging deeper and she was feeling more defenceless as each truth was revealed. The crone lifted her cane, and the serpents scales rattled louder and their mouths began salivating. "The supreme has it ... she took it from me when I arrived," the words flew out of her mouth. Neomon exhaled, and a strange unreadable expression passed over the crone's face. She stalked closer until she was standing right at the rim of the enclosed circle.

"Final question ... "who is your father?" the crone asked. The question struck Avea like a blow to the gut, almost winding her. "I've never met my father" she responded, blank confusion flickered across her face, as her thoughts tangled in her mind. Avea had asked her mother countless times about the identity of her father, and she'd always replied with the same answer. He was no one, he abandoned them a long time ago."That wasn't the question..." the crone snarled, baring her rotted teeth. The crone tilted her head as her eyes trailed slowly over Avea, trying to catch out the feigned confusion. The scales rattled in irritation and the serpent jaws snapped menacingly. "I don't know who my father is... I swear." The serpent's didn't rattle a scale and the crone withdrew, seeing the stricken panic in Avea's face was enough to convince her. Speaking the truth out loud felt jarring, leaving her visibly shaken. It was as though her mind were a tangled ball of string that was only one pull away from unravelling. Her mother had been so harsh about the identity of her father, that Avea assumed that it was a pained memory, that her mother was simply a woman scorned. She couldn't have been more wrong, she could've walked past him at the Unification ceremony, he could've been anyone there. The pitiful story she'd told her about the farmer on T'alli now seemed suddenly ridiculous, Avea would never be rid of the stain of humiliation for being so gullible. She felt as though she'd been flayed alive. The crones eyes turned slightly distant, as Neomon stood tensely beside her, suddenly realising that he would be next.

That was three questions. "Now it's my turn" Avea replied, straightening her posture, trying to ignore the way her fury surged through her veins towards her thundering heart. The marking disappeared from her flesh, onto the crone's shrivelled wrist. Avea's eyes turned onto the crone, whose eyes had hardened like molten lava. It was her turn to ask the question, where is the Oculus library buried? She ruminated the question, but there was something else nagging at the back of her mind. Something she needed to know.

"What is the true reason that Morpheus banished you?" the story that Neomon had given her didn't make any sense.There was something that Morpheus was hiding and this crone knew something. The crone's eyes seemingly shone with knowing, as though Avea had passed some secret test. "The Triskele were just as much a part of the Umbra court as the Noctya, a long time ago." The Crone's eyes were bright, as she reminisce. "We were the seers of the void, tasked with guiding the uri across the veil. We would hear the whispers of the sands as the stars told them their secrets." Avea could feel Neomon lean in closer, clearly intrigued. The crone's eyes suddenly hardened, a shadow of pain that flashed over her face."Then the ascension failed and Morpheus become galad." The venom on her tongue was clear as her serpents released sharp hiss at the mention of the galad's name. "One day I was out in the dunes and I sensed an evil presence. So I asked the sands and they revealed a tear. It was making the sands sick, leaching them of their vitality." Avea's breath hitched,"the tear was like a blood wound in the very fabric of our moon...it was small at first but I knew it was only the beginning."

"I told the Umbra courts thinking that they would believe me, but Morpheus instead declared to everyone that I was a liar. That conversing with the astral plane of the sands was making me sick." The anger had twisted the crones face, the memory of a scar that had never healed. "They laughed, but the tears didn't stop. It was soon after that I realised that only the Triskele could see the tears." Neomon and Avea were now intently listening, hanging onto her every word. " I would beg and plead with Morpheus, that if he didn't do something we would lose our connection to the uri. He would simply seek off and come back only to tell us that the ancients had given him clairvoyance to save us."

"He told us our uri was poisoning us and sure enough soon after, three of our kind were struck down." "Who?" Avea asked, cautiously. She'd just given away another question. The crone's eyes were almost glowing with a vengeful fire, that told Avea that she would burn everything down to avenge them.

"A farmer's son, a council woman's daughter, and a Umbraki guard." "They had black veins on their arms, trailing all the way up to their faces until eventually they succumbed to their insanity." The crone's hollow laugh sent a shudder through Avea, and even Neomon took a wary step back. "Morpheus only needed that to prove to everyone that the Triskele were not to be trusted, and suddenly our word became nothing, the secrets of the stars and stories of the sands were silenced."

"How was the veil created?" That was her final question. Neomon glared at her, she could feel his anger rippling towards her. "His wicked pride ... that is what destroyed our moon," she spat. "The triskele became ostracized and as the uri began to disappear the Umbraki needed someone to blame. Still I remained faithful, I tried to repair the tears one by one, but there were too many. One day the tears split forming the veil." There were shadows dancing across her face, "so Morpheus sacrificed us and I had to watch as every one of us were swallowed by the veil. I still hear their screams." The crones confession was more haunting than she could have imagined. Neomon had gone deathly still, he didn't even seem to be breathing. "So you created the veil..." her voice didn't even feel like her own, her eyes lingered on this puny female and thought back to the monstrosity of the veil, it was almost impossible to believe.

"That I do not know" the crone replied, her voice thick with guilt, her eyes filled with sorrow and her face stained with shame. "No...no that not right..." Neomon stammered. "The violet flare corrodes the mind, the Triskele are ..." Neomon faltered when he saw the crone's face darken. "The only thing that has corroded our mind is the lies of our galad." She banged her cane against the sands and the serpents began to snarl, baring their jagged canines, like they were imagining crushing Neomon's bones between their teeth. The crone's attention turned to the shadow prince, her face morphing so that every bit of her seething hatred was etched into her withered face. Neomon eyes widened in panic as he watched the marking appear on his wrist.

"Your turn ... shadow price" the crone said, clearly finished with her confession. Avea turned her attention to Neomon who's face had gone completely bloodless. "What truth have you come to seek shadow prince?" The crone asked, her eyes looked like they were peeling away layers of Neomon's flesh, stripping him bear. He stood deadly still, not daring to move under her penetrating gaze. He was trapped in her circle with no choice, but to answer. "I came because the veil is growing larger. No one knows where the tears are coming from." The crone scoffed, though it sounded like more of a hack. As the disgust became bile in the back of her throat. "That tends to happen when you exile the only Umbraki who can sense them." She cocked her head to the side, as she glanced at Neomon. "Too bad the ancients didn't claim someone more astute." Neomon diverted his eyes at the scathing remark. Suddenly the shadow serpent scales rattled viciously and the crone face split into a vindictive smile ... "my pets suspect some deception in your words prince." Neomon's shadows flared out around him, as though it were futile attempt to protect him.

"I want to know what Morpheus is hiding behind the veil."

"Ahhh perhaps you are not as oblivious as you appear," the crone hummed. "It's interesting how many will have the same thought, yet only few are brave enough to speak it aloud." There was a scoulding, almost mocking tone to her voice. "After making the unification bond...is Morpheus's uri true?" The question seemed strange, was that not implied? The two Umbraki were locked in a silent battle of wills. As Neomon silence carried the serpents scales began to rattle sinisterly, they started quietly and only grew more agitated.

Neomon hesitated slightly, not in fear, but pondering the question. "His uri is true, but it's dulled... like there's something else there syphoning it." The crone was silent for a long moment, Neomon's shadows began to spiral, pressing against the edges of the warded circle in a panic. "Don't be scared prince" the crone cooed. The malice glinting in her eyes, she'd cornered her prey. "I know you didn't swear loyalty to our galad, at least not in the traditional ways." "What is she talking about?" Avea hissed. "It's a merging of the shadows ... of consciousness" he seemed to grow more wary. Suddenly understanding what the crone was after.

"The sands whispered to me, the same way they told me how you found me out here in the dunes." Neomon's shadows crept towards the circle, trying to find a weak point in the barrier. Avea watched him with suspicion, "I've heard the rumors like many of the Umbraki" Neomon replied. His answer seemed far too rehearsed, his posture straightened, bracing himself for the crone's final question.

The scales rattled. A lie. "See I made sure that I wouldn't be able to be found ... at least not by just any Umbraki." The crone was stalling seemingly enjoying watching Neomon squirm, under her withering gaze. "I don't know what you mean," his denial wasn't convincing even to Avea. His composed edge was slipping, as the serpents scales rattled even louder. The crone looked at Neomon like she were seeing him for the first time, "you've hidden it this whole time ... but you can't hide from the stars prince...they see all." Neomon's shadows flayed outwards and began to spiral like a hurricane of shadow. He tried to morph into his shadow form, but the circle hindered his ability.

"Do you hear the whisper of the sands?"

Everything went still, the stars dimmed as though the life had been choked out of the sky. Neomon's shadows swirled frantically trying to find an escape. The scales rattled louder, until they had become deafening. "Neomon" Avea cried, as the crone tightened her grip on the cane. Lifting it ready to give the command. This is what she'd been after, Neomon's confession.

"Neomon..."

"You hear them don't you prince," the crone whispered. Her eyes glinting ..."but there's something different about you." The scales rattled again, "last chance." The crone banged her cane silently against the sand, but the serpent lunged for Avea's jugular. "NEOMON ANSWER HER" she screamed. "I can hear them" Neomon gasped, falling to his knees, gasping for air, as though saying those words had seized all the breath from his lungs.The crone stared down at Neomon triumphantly, knowing she'd won.

The circle broke and Avea rushed over to Neomon who remained crouched on the sands. "Neomon?" she asked gently. Suddenly she was blown back by the force of his shadows, thrown back onto the sands. The grains of sands flying everywhere, Avea dug her hands to keep herself from being blown away. "You knew this whole time" Neomon hissed through gritted teeth. His head snapped upwards, even from amidst the whirlwind of sand Avea could see the violet flare in his eyes. Shining outwardly with a brilliance that was wild and untamed.

"I have been waiting for the day you would come to me shadow prince...I just needed to see it for myself." Neomon shot out his hand, allowing his tornado of shadow to merge towards the crone. The crone eyes turned violet, holding up her cane she redirected the shadow, splitting it so it flowed around her.The primal force of Neomon's shadows encased the crone, only when he'd exhausted himself did he ask. "Where have you buried the Obscurus library?" he asked. The marking had revealed itself on her wrist, the crone was still bound by the laws of the game to answer his questions.

The crone's cracked lips broke into a smile, "In the viel."