Gilded Serpents

Chapter Nine: A Night at Camp

"How... How did you do this so fast?"

I had only turned around for a moment to wish Gaelenod a brief goodbye until morning, but when I turned around - an entire camp had sprouted from nothing. The little rocky clearing was now home to two neat black canvas tents, doors tied open so that I could see bedding neatly folded in each. Lumo was sitting on the previously rolled log, idling poking the fire - just as I had left him.

"Is it... is it too much?" he chuckled. "You can sleep in the woods if you like. I just assumed this suited you better."

"It's very impressive," I said, ducking my head to take a look inside.

"Good. I wanted to impress you," he responded flatly.

"Really though, if not by Void magic - how did you make this so fast?" I rubbed the thick quilt between my fingers as I sat on the sleeping pad. Every single stitch, every fine weave. It was real but - I felt it buzzing, almost humming with magic. There was even a little hand-woven ward seal made from nearby branches and hanging from the tent door. He did not buy these from any city. These were conjured.

"Because... Hm, I'm not sure how to explain this," Lumo said, turning around from the fire and facing me. "I... I was created by magic. I am... I am made of magic."

"You mean... you mean from another? Like a Void beast? I thought you said-"

"No... No. Not like a Void beast. It's very... very different from that. I was created by magic. Powerful, powerful magic."

I shook my head. Impossible.

He sighed. "I was created to... to serve the Guides," Lumo looked down.

"You're - you're their servant?" I shook my head, "That doesn't make sense."

He laughed, leaning forward with his hands on his palms, his golden mask flickering in the firelight.

"No. Not servant. Not exactly. I suppose I should choose my words more carefully. It's a bit more complicated than that," he smiled.

"Then why - Why does Gaelenod call you 'Prince'?"

"Because he's a silly old man," Lumo sighed. "That ring - that ring Vasati gifted to you... May I see it?"

"I - Sure," I stuttered at the abrupt change in topic. I carefully removed it from my finger, holding it out in my palm. But instead of taking it directly, he held my outstretched hand close to his masked face.

"Ah - just as I thought," he smiled. "How well do you know your Lucerna history?"

"I'd like to think pretty well," I cleared my throat, feeling a shiver of goosebumps run up my arm as his breath hit my palm, "I've read all of the main stories - Lord Kryon, Lord Ventas. The whole lot of them. All of the greatest battles of this age - from the Selphenian campaign through Fort Aneton, to the taking of the Akaron Isles."

I felt my heart race as I finally got to talk about something I knew - instead of being laughed at for my ignorance. But unfortunately, my excitement was short-lived. I could tell he was holding back another spout of laughter.

"That is all very well and good, Mira," Lumo said, a little too condescending for my taste as he gently placed my outstretched hand on my lap. "But that's all from the Third Age - modern times in the scope of this realm. What about the First and Second eras?"

"Well - there was the Great Chaos of the First Age where wars ravaged the entire realm... and then came the Great Rest of the Second when the Four Guides came together to create peace in the realm, uniting us all and creating the four schools of study. But, you can't really blame me for not being an expert. There's no written history from either age."