The Cloak of Vesper

Everything began to fall a part for society as this civilization had once known. Governments collapsed, the people of once great nations began to starve and revolt. It became a tailspin of chaos for all involved. Soon after the fall of man, just like in the movies of old, nature reclaimed the planet. Creatures evolved into beings that have never been recorded by any humans before. Several groups of humans, somehow, found a way to survive in the clearings of forests or even beneath the surface. Both fortifying their lands to evolve and grow into villages.

The world became more dangerous than our ancestors had ever experienced. For some, it became a world full of monsters lurking in the dark. Others that saw the knowledge these creatures could provide. For people like my mother, it was a case of finding adventure. She was not interested hunting these creatures. Instead, she was interested in the adventure of exploration. Mother never held any malice or fear for the animals of today as some others did. She knew what to avoid, and what was safe to go near.

Grandfather always stated that she was a rare breed of human. “Your mother had a golden soul and heart. One that could not harm with anger nor hatred in their heart. Perhaps that is why the creatures in our forest were not fearful of her,” as grandfather would always say. However, her golden heart and soul couldn’t save her from becoming part of the ever-growing list of missing. There were other adventurers that would go into the forest besides her. Most went missing within the first year of their adventures. She was different, she went missing after 10 years of adventuring.

Reports stated that her case was out of the ordinary. Only her cloak was found near a willow tree, folded neatly beneath it. There were no signs that something foul had taken place. No blood, no broken twigs, nothing at all. I wasn’t even two when my grandfather got word that she had been officially deemed one of the missing. He wept taking the cloak from the leader of the search party and locked it away in a chest. From that moment on, he raised me on my mother’s behalf; telling me of her adventures the entire time.

I had decided that I would pick up her mantel and become an adventurer as well. Grandfather still had her cloak stored in a chest, insistent that I keep away from the cloak and from the forest that took his only child from him. A few months after my twentieth birthday, my grandfather passed away peacefully in his sleep. After taking time to mourn his loss, I decided to find the cloak he hid from me all those years. There was nothing keeping me from starting my own adventure, just like my mother, and to find out what happened to her.

Little did I know that my entire world would change from that single adventure. Glancing through my old leather-bound journal, I flip to the image of the creature that changed my entire life. Perhaps for the worse.

***

The morning of the day in question, I had picked up the cloak that once belonged to my mother. I felt the fabric between my fingers, feeling each interlocking thread, each stitch, each and every small tear within the cloak. This had made my conviction to continue forward with this adventure that much stronger. Suddenly I ran across a loose thread within the seam. As I pulled the thread, it unraveled easily. As it unraveled an old piece of parchment fell from the uncovered hole. Gently, I unfolded the delicate torn parchment to reveal a hand written note. The note had been addressed to me, written in my mother’s handwriting. The note read:

My precious little Alara,

Remember that everything with essence has its place in the universe. There are no small parts to be played; even the tiniest pebble can cause the largest commotion.

If you are anything like myself, you will be setting off for your own adventure in the near future. However, if you are finding this, it means that I am, unfortunately, not there to give you this myself. Alara, the forest can be dangerous and unforgiving, but the creatures you will meet are going to make it worth it.

The cloak you have is not like any ordinary cloak you may have seen in the village. I doubt your grandfather knows what the material this cloak is actually made out of. It is made from the plant fibers from rare plants used by some of the tribes deep within the forest. In fact, it was created by a creature whom is not like any other that I have met.

Trust me when I tell you that this cloak can and will save your life. May it serve you well.

With all my love,

Your Mother

In a rather delicate manner, I folded it back up and placed it directly into my leather-bound journal for safe keeping. Even now it is pressed between the pages. I placed the journal back into my satchel, and then began to triple-check everything that was in my satchel. It was essential that I made sure that I had everything needed for this adventure. As I looked within the satchel, I had a canteen full of water, trail rations, ropes, and other items that I knew was needed for the journey. Once everything was ready, I closed the satchel up and put it over my shoulder. Before I left my home, I put on my mother’s old cloak and set off to the edge of the village.

Nearing the edge of the forest, there was a man-made path that groups of hunters from the village would often take. Gripping the hood over my face, I attempted to make it through without anyone speaking to me. Unfortunately, there was a large group of hunters preparing to set down the vary path I was wanting to go down so that they could go on a hunt on behalf of the villagers. As I headed past the group, one turned and saw me rushing past them. He grabbed me by my cloak with a loud chuckle. The rest of his party turned to look at the spectacle he was making with me, his unwilling cohort.

“LOOK HERE, MEN!” He yelled with his gravelly voice, as if he didn’t have everyone in his group watching his every move. “This young lady is trying to go into the forest! Trying to be an adventure like all those who have gone missing?!”

As I pulled at his hand that gripped my cloak, it began to rip under his tight grip. Upon hearing the tearing fabric, my anger began to boil to the surface. His group laughed and screamed at me about how a young lady such as myself had no business going into the forest alone. I am the sort that would never have yelled, or hurt another human ever. Until this point. The tearing was growing louder in my ears until it was all I heard. For a brief moment I completely snapped and bit his hand that had been holding my cloak tightly. The moment he let go from the pain, I took off as fast as my feet could travel. I had thought I couldn’t run too far from the entrance. That I would run into some sort of creature, or one of the tribes my mother had written about. I was wrong.

For what felt like hours, I ran until my feet couldn’t carry me anymore and I had to stop running. It was then I realized that I had arrived at a quaint stream deep in the forest. I had heard some stories about the streams that ran through the forest. If only I had continued on. Near the stream stood a large willow tree that covered just a little part of the stream. I walked beneath the willow as I heard the wild life around me. Beneath that willow laid a smooth large rock that looked perfect to sit upon. I sat on it against my better judgement and took a moment to take out my journal to do some sketches.

For hours I sat there sketching each animal that drank from the stream. As twilight descended on the forest, a fog rolled in. The fog was thick and sank to the ground. I turned the page to sketch the eerie beauty that fell upon me. One more sketch, I kept telling myself. One more and then we can search for that tribe from the letter mother left for me. I still look at that letter from time to time. Looking back up at the stream, I saw a strange figure looking at me. There was too much darkness around the figure for me to get a good look, but I could tell that this figure wore a cloak and held a staff made of some sort of wood with what looked like a barn owl sitting on top.

This figure was the first humanoid entity of the forest that I sketched and it would not be my last entity for centuries to come. Glancing briefly at my journal, I had taken my eyes off the figure for only a moment. Looking back up to the stream to find that this figure had moved closer towards the middle of the stream. It seemed to be moving closer to where I had been sitting. As the figure came closer, I could see what it looked like, and it was in fact an entity that looked to be a man.

His skin was that a shimmering star, golden and flawless. His eyes glowed like the stars themselves and his hair was to his shoulders, silver with golden streaks mixed in. The beauty of him being there was breathtaking. The barn owl on his staff was just as beautiful, with feathers mixed of different colors. Blues, purples, any colors that could make up the look of the galaxy and sky. There are still not enough colors in the world to show their beauty in a drawing. All I could do at that time was simply sketch them with some lead I had.

As I focused on the sketch, this enchanting being sat down next to me, to look over my shoulder. As he spoke it was like honey dripped from his lips. “You have great talent, sweet child.”

“Th-th-thank you.” I was barely able to say anything to him. Quickly I closed my journal putting both the lead and journal back into my satchel.

He had a rather cold look on his face even though he seemed to look very calm. “May I get the name of such a talented artist? Perhaps I can help you pursue your artistic talents.”

I looked at him in a bit of shock. Not because he was offering to help me become some sort of artist, but because he actually paid attention to me at all. “My name is Alara. I am actually an adventurer from a village that is just over that way.” I pointed to what I figured was the way I came from.

“An adventurer? Aren’t these forests supposed to be dangerous for anyone traveling alone?” There had been a hint of concern in his voice.

I gave him a shrug as I pondered his questions. “They are supposed to be. I wanted to go on my own adventure. I also need to know what happened to my mother, and why all they found of this cloak.” I tugged the cloak around me a bit tighter.

He seemed to relax a little bit; his stature shifted ever so slightly. “Your mother.” He glanced over to the barn owl on his staff. “I know, Chasca.” He paused for a moment as I simply stared at him still in awe.

The barn owl flew from his staff in a huff and began to change its shape into that of a woman. Her hair was a deep purple hue, with midnight blue eyes, and skin the color of the moon’s light. She seemed like she was in her mid-twenties at least. She was very fit looking, almost like the women I saw in those old paper books. I know now that she would be considered a model. This woman, Chasca, looks at me sweetly as a black dress appeared on her body. It was tight fitting, but she wore it better than others could.

“If you won’t tell her then I will, Vesper.” Vesper, the man who was sitting next to me, just scoffed at Chasca in a fit of defeat. I couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “This is my brother Vesper, and I am Chasca. Your mother was a friend to this forest. Our sister Faye actually met her a few times.”

“Do you know what happened to her?” I looked at them both simultaneously, wondering what all they knew and what kind of creature they were.

Vesper stood up letting Chasca take his place as he walked toward the stream. He seemed to watch the stars twinkle in the night sky. “We do know what happened to her. She made a deal with one of our family members which is complicated. There is no telling what happened after that. I am not sure which one of our siblings she made the deal with though.”

“We only know because our sibling Wisdom recorded it.” As Chasca spoke that one of them knew my eyes widened in a bit of surprise and shock.

That is when the mood in the forest began to shift around the three of us. “Chasca, don’t.” A smirk grew on Chasca’s face as Vesper looked rather annoyed. He turned to us tapping the staff to the ground as if he wanted to get her attention.

Chasca looked at me, ignoring Vesper completely. “I can give you the ability to find Wisdom. Each of us have our own abilities. One such ability is to make something with different abilities or powers. Such as the cloak you are wearing. That cloak that you wear is the Cloak of Vesper. We can make something just for you to use. Well Vesper can, I should say.”

Looking down at the cloak I noticed that there was no longer a stich out of place, as if it were completely new. Turns out that when Vesper was sitting with me, he touched the cloak softly to repair it. Chasca went on to explain a bit deeper about how the items he makes are specific for the person he makes them for. If I did something for Vesper, he would make an item for me specifically in return. One that would allow me to pass through different realms, and times. Any dimension was on the table for me to go to. However, there would be a catch to this.

“Alright. What is the catch?” I would have blindly accepted anything. Looking back on it all, I should have declined their offer.

Vesper gave out a sigh, glaring at his sister. “I have to take something from you in order to make the item. For the cloak it was a bit of blood. Which is why the cloak seems to work for you as it did for your mother. Bloodline and all that.” He could see that I was read to spill any amount of my blood for finding out the truth. “Don’t be hasty. For what Chasca is describing, your blood will not be enough. Alara, I should tell you not to get involved with this family. Having a deal with any of us can and most likely will destroy who you are as of now.”

“I don’t care. I want to know what happened to my mother.” I was so innocent and naïve back then. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for one ounce of truth about my mother. If their sibling had answers, I wouldn’t stop at finding out.

“I need your life essence.” Before I could speak, Vesper saw the quizzical look on my face. “I blame you, Chasca.” He grumbles a bit. “Life essence, meaning your soul, basically. You could still walk around, but if you misplace the item I make, then you will be a soulless husk. If you wish to remain as yourself, you will never misplace it or let it out of your sight. I think I have said enough. Alright. Let’s get started then.” He handed his staff over to Chasca and began to take off his own cloak. “I will need you to take off your cloak, and you may want to lay down. This will not feel good.” His eyes locked on mine for a brief moment. “Alara, please be certain this is what you wish to do. You do not know what this will do to you, and you do not know what I may ask of you. Are you sure this is the path you want to walk down?”

If only I had heeded his warning. If only I had listened. “Yes. I am sure. I need to know what happened to my mother. I need to find Wisdom. I need to know who took her away from me. I don’t care what happens to me.”

Chasca held Vesper’s staff and looked at me tenderly. Both of them seemed to have a look of heart break in their eyes. “I see. Pain of not knowing. When did she disappear?” Vesper nodded to Chasca as if asking to make something for him as he asked his question.

“She disappeared when I was just a baby. My grandfather raised me with stories about her. He thought it would be nice to tell me how much she loved this forest. He never knew that it would make me want to have my own adventures and to also find her.” I fell into silence, reflecting on everything.

There was a surge of light right in front of Vesper as Chasca used the staff to make a place for me to lay down. It was made of soft light and clouds. “Lay down here, Alara. It will not hurt you. If anything, it will help the pain of your soul being ripped out of your body.”

Chasca went back to sit on the rock as she motioned for me to lay on the bed of light and clouds. She looked hurt, almost like she was in pain. “If you were so worried about her losing her soul, Chasca, you could have kept your mouth shut. Now you both must live with the choices you have made.” I looked up at him as he stood near me. “You can back out right now if you want to. Find out the truth another way.” A star fell down his cheek as if it were a tear. I shook my head as he sighed. “I was just curious about what you were doing in this forest. I wanted to see what you were sketching in that journal of yours. That is all I wanted. I wanted your talent to be noticed. I didn’t want to end up doing this.”

“Vesper, it is alright.” I laid my hands to my sides, breathing as evenly as I could manage.

He walked to my satchel that I had left at the rock where we had been sitting. Reaching in he grabbed my leather-bound journal from it and walked back to me. He laid it on my chest and looked at me once more. “This will not be a new item. This will be me, basically, enchanting your journal with the abilities Chasca stated. That way we both know that you will not lose it. I hope that will be alright.” I gave him a nod, tears swelled in my eyes from fear and hope. “Good. The journal will always have blank pages for you to have use of it still. A gift from me to you. Also, keep the cloak with you. It will provide protection for years to come. Alright, enough stalling. May you forgive me for all that is about to happen to you.”

My eyes shut tightly as I felt a sudden surge go through my body. It felt as if lightening striking me multiple times. I tried so hard not to scream, but nothing could stop the agonizing screams. Everything I was, everything that I could have been began to be ripped from me. I was ripped from myself. For what felt like an eternity, I laid on the bed waiting for the pain to cease. To this day it still hurts from time to time.

***

When I finally came to, I sat up and noticed that I was no longer in the forest. I laid in a giant bed with beautiful lace curtains draped from the canopy. I could see the barn owl, that was Chasca, and looking around some more I saw Vesper. He sat at an old looking desk with my journal. It looked like he was making his own drawings in it.

Vesper gave a nod to Chasca. “Thank you for letting me know.” He stood up and walked to me. Pulling back the curtains that hung between us, he looked directly at me. “You have been out for about a month. To be honest, I am surprised you lived through that.”

“I am surprised too. Thank you for helping me, Vesper.” He looked pained as my lips produced his name, he even tried to turn from me. “I mean it.”

“I know you mean it, Alara. I hope you do not lose that hopeful optimistic outlook that you have. It is precious. Anyway, I made a few pages in your journal. I drew all of my siblings, including Chasca and myself. That way if you run into one of us you will know. I made a special page about Wisdom. Please, be kind to Wisdom, they are the kindest of all of us. It will tell you how to attract Wisdom. You can also find them in almost any library.” He sighed as he walked back to his desk. “We need to discuss what you will be doing for me, Alara.”

Sliding myself off the bed, I made my way over to him. “Of course. What do you want in return?”

“I want...” He stopped for a moment and looked at me. “I want you to tell me what happened to your mother as well. When you find out, of course.”

A smile crept on my face. “Alright. I can do that.” The pain in his eyes never went away. “Vesper, what’s wrong?”

“You need to go on your journey now. Be the best you, that you can be. Can you do that for me?” I nodded in agreement as he handed me the journal. “I made a page on how to find Chasca and myself if you should need us. We are usually together, but just in case.”

“Alright. How do I make these abilities work?” I stared at him waiting for the answer. He simply pointed down at the page he had bookmarked.

The page read:

Alara,

I cannot bare anymore goodbyes. I hope this will not be our last meeting.

Chasca did visit you in your dreams to assist in easing any pain you suffered for what I was asked to do. Don’t worry, you were under our care the entire time.

Now for the important part. Your mother is dear to me on a deeper level than you will ever know. If things were different, you and I may have met outside of the forest instead. To work these new abilities, you simply need to think about where you want to go. At first it may be difficult. It was for all of us at first.

You will disappear at the slightest thought at first, wandering the dimensions until you get the hang of the new abilities. Take the cloak for protection and try not to make a deal with every one of us that you meet. We are not all nice. We can and are like the fairy folk of other dimensions. Though we tend to operate different.

Welcome to the chaos of the Faye Family. Trust only a few of us. For chaos runs strong through every single one of us.

Vesper of the stars

Tears fell from my eyes as I disappeared from the room he had kept me in while I slept. The next moment I was in the village I grew up in. I stood in front of the grave stone the village gave him. Next to his grave was my mother’s and a new one; it was mine. Only a month had passed according to Vesper, but it had been longer. I fell to my knees as my heart broke. The entire village claimed I died five years ago.

Vesper was right, his kind were chaos. He warned me about it all. I could never have any hatred toward him. I am the one who asked him to do this to me. Doesn’t mean it ever stopped hurting. From that day until now, I wandered through different dimension until I found a planet with other human beings. I decided to stay there for a while even though it was still difficult to control the new abilities from time to time. Now it has been at least two hundred years that I remained in control on this planet. Traveling from place to place every so often, and making sure that I visited every library. Now I have a nice studio apartment. I keep a bookshelf with all the books I have collected over the centuries in hope to attract their sibling, Wisdom, to me. My questions still remain unanswered, but I will do whatever it takes to get the answers I seek. After all I made a deal with Vesper, the one sibling of the Faye Family that also wants to know what happened to my mother.