The Sun & Moon

16

When Iridessa reached the river, all of the villagers were there. They immediately swarmed her asking questions, fear and concern on all of their faces.

"Everyone sit down," she ordered, her eyes flashing a bit.

They obeyed and backed up to give her space. They took a seat in a ring around her, watching and waiting for what she had to say. She let out a breath before sitting down with Mateo still wrapped around her.

"What happened today we had hoped would never happen," she began to explain slowly, "Those creatures that you saw are called Deviants. Druig, myself, and our family were sent to remove them from the world so that humanity could grow and develop. Somehow, some of them survived undetected all these years."

"What will we do now? They've destroyed our home," one of the women spoke out.

A small smile formed on Iridessa's face and she let out a calm laugh. "Did we not build this home ourselves? What makes you so certain you cannot do it again? We will not abandon you. We will rebuild what needs to be rebuilt."

The people nodded. A few began to relax and smile. Iridessa had always had that affect on people. Her calm nature made it easy for others to be as calm.

"Will you and Druig leave?" a man asked.

"It seems we may have to," she nodded, "I have reason to believe these Deviants were coming for us and our family and not after you all. We would be a danger to you. And something bigger is happening that we must help attend to."

The sound of footsteps made everyone turn. Druig emerged from the tree line. Iridessa stood as he walked over to her and Mateo.

"¿Estás bien?" he asked Mateo, running a hand over the boy's curly hair.

Mateo nodded, his little hand moving to wipe away a few remaining tears. Druig smiled down at him and kissed his head. He then looked to Iridessa with a soft frown. She knew that meant something horrible had happened. They returned with the villagers to their home. Sersi had already began patching things up for them. Iridessa saw Thena alone and it hit her what'd happened.

"No..." she breathed.

Gilgamesh was dead. The Deviant who'd killed him had absorbed his power as well. They all worked together to put the village back in order. The next night, they held a brief ceremony for Gilgamesh. They built a pyre on which they laid his body. Iridessa then lit it as Karun recited a scripture. It was an otherwise silent and sullen occasion. Iridessa stood at Thena's side, her hand in hers.

The next morning Thena ventured into the nearby river alone to say her last goodbyes. When she returned, Sersi announced that Druig was in for the plan and that they were going to need to find Phastos. While Druig was powerful, controlling the mind of a celestial was no easy feat. They would have to amplify his power somehow. Only Phastos would know how to do that.

After a brief meeting with the people of the village to tell them their decision, Iridessa and Druig had one last goodbye they weren't quite ready to say. Mateo stood near one of the older men who had offered to take him in for the time being. Druig knelt down in front of him. The little boy threw his arms around him, pressing his face into his neck. Druig's arms moved around him tightly.

"Do you have to go?" Mateo whispered.

"Yes," Druig sighed, "It's not safe for you to come with us. You're gonna stay with Agustín until we get back, okay?"

The little boy nodded pulling back and wiping at his eyes. It did little to help as he began bawling buckets when Iridessa knelt down. He ran into her arms, tucking his whole body into her as best he could.