The Mystery of Runes

Loop 2

Or you can stay here, Pan added, playing devil's advocate. You're Mother's greenhouse is still here and there's plenty of food as well.

Rune shook his head. "I should go see the Mystics and find out what is going on. I can't just sit around and wait for death."

Pan jumped up eagerly, seeing the change between the older versions of Rune and this latest one. She wanted him to succeed where his previous incarnations failed. She knew it would be many more incarnations before Rune activated his own personal sequence to get out of Rhyas. Some progress was better than none, which the previous five incarnations had done.

She hopped up the steps onto the porch and sat in the shade waiting for him to finish packing and come out to her. He was to be a Mystic, but not of this world. It was as plain as the beak on her face. She was chosen to be his companion and guide through this trial so he could return to the human world as a Mystic Summoner.

Rune stepped out with his Mother's shopping cart on wheels in tow. Pan gave an amused laugh. I suppose it would be easier to carry things that way. she said wryly. At least you know that 'saving pride' by pretending you can do something but can't only hurts you.

"Everyone else gets a good laugh," Rune finished the much loved saying by his teachers. "I intend to get there without literally breaking my back along the way.'

Pan nodded in agreement. Couldn't have put it better any other way. She ruffled her feathers before jumping and gracefully fluttering down to sit onto the cart. Nestling herself onto the lid, she added Made sure you packed everything?

"I'm sure," he replied and set off down the garden path towards the main gate. "I even packed some of the daggers and two rapiers in one of the side pockets just in case."

Pan looked over the side to see the hilts of two rapiers sticking out of the deep pocket. The bulge towards the bottom told her he didn't just pack a 'few' daggers... More like he had packed them all.

It's good to be prepared... she replied awkwardly. She peered over the other three sides and found similar bulges at the bottom. What's in the other pockets?

"Father's hunting gear, skinning knife, short & long bows," Rune replied using his other hand to count off the pockets. "Mother's herb pouch, medicines and ointments. And food that we'll need for emergencies if hunting doesn't fare so well."

Good idea. Non perishables, I hope. Pan remarked; impressed at Rune's well thought out, although excessive, packing.

"Mainly fruit and vegetable preserves that my elder sisters made," Rune replied pushing the gate open. "I figured those would last longer than breads and cheeses..." he paused, glancing back at Pan, before adding "I did bring some perishable food for the first few nights while I learn to hunt."

Just be careful on what you do and don't kill, Pan added gravely. Those who are already a summon will be more ethereal than those who aren't.

Rune paused in mid-stride. "What happens if I kill a summon?"

You won't like the consequences... Pan replied in a low tone. her eyes dilated until he could no longer see her golden iris'. At worse, you may die from eating someone else's summon. At best... You may end up as a summon yourself. Transformed into whatever it was you ate, eternally pretending to be the dead summon.

"What you said as a 'best' case scenario is something I would class as worst," Rune countered. he continued on along the barely visible dirt track.

Well you never know… Pan teased fluttering her wings in amusement. You might have been one of those people who is glad to be alive no matter what situation they are in.

Runt took a deep breath. "How far is Mount Arias?" He didn't bother looking around. The dense canopy of trees blocked out most of the sky leaving only shafts of light to filter down to the forest floor.

The base of the mountain starts after the wasteland. Pan replied offhandedly. She pointed out toward the horizon where the dirt path they were on continued out of sight. It's quite a long journey. Let's try to get to that hill before nightfall.

The challenge was exactly what Rune needed to take his mind off the distance. He nodded eagerly. "Before nightfall."

***

Rune crashed onto the floor exhausted. He had never, ever walked so far in his life. "The food sack is in the top part of the cart." Rune murmured in response to Pan's insistent pecking.

A few minutes of scratching and she returned, dropping the carefully wrapped cloth pouch next to him. She pulled at the knot until it was loose enough to fall apart on its own. She pulled the ends, unwrapping the pouch, until the cloth laid flat on the ground.

Sit up and eat, she said pecking hard the small wooden container she knew contained berries. Rune picked up the container and opened it for her. Small black currants sat nestled closely together inside. Thankyou. She delicately picked them up one by one with her beak quickly. Rune watched her place them onto the cloth, poke a hole in the skin with her beak, then somehow suck out the centre of the berry leaving only the skin behind.

"How do you do that?" Rune asked as she sucked the centre out of another currant. "You shouldn't have the capacity to suck anything."

Who says I'm sucking them? Pan asked, poking a hole into another currant. My beak keeps it open and my tongue scoops it out. She demonstrated for him in slow-motion. See?

Rune laughed. "You look like as if you're sucking the centres out when do that fast!" He picked up loaf of bread and tore a piece off. He loved the loves his Mother made. This one had olive and ham pieces inside and melted cheese on top. Normally he couldn't handle bread without some sort of topping or spread, but his Mother's bread made eating it plain easier on him.

The longer he watched her eat the currants, the more he wondered about the skins. "What are you going to do with the skins?" he asked when the feeling had become too much.

Bury them, Pan replied tossing an empty skin onto the pile. This world grows things differently. If you plant all the skins, a black currant tree will grow. Rune's shocked expression amused her. No need for seeds in this world. In the World of Dreams, anything is possible.

"If you say so," Rune replied. He bit into the loaf and smiled. The gush of juice from a particularly sweet olive sent him back to when he was a kid. Whenever his Mother was baking, he would sneak into the kitchen to steal the olives she had set out for the breads. More often than not, her fox would catch him. She would pin him down to the ground by sitting on him, her tail swishing happily like a pet dog waiting for praise from its master. All the while, Rune would wolf down the few olives within his reach.

What are you thinking about? Pan asked, noticing the lengthy silence that grew between them. You have a curious smile on your lips.

"Mother's baking days," Rune replied distantly. Inspiration hit him suddenly and he looked at Pan with wide excited eyes. Pan moved her head back in surprise. "Would I see Vain? This is where summons live right? So Vain would be here when not with Mother."

Pan shook her head. You won't see any summon that you already know. She hopped up and came close to him. The World of Dreams does this to prevent pain to those in the Human World. How would you feel if I answered your summon and told you I saw one of your siblings who had gone missing? The World of Dreams takes this into account.

Rune frowned. "So no matter how much I want to see them, I won't?"

Pan nodded. It's one of the very few things the World of Dreams enforces as a rule… She cocked her head to the side before turning it right around to look behind her. Get some rest or you won't last the journey tomorrow.

Rune gave her one stare at the back of her head and then shrugged and curled up to get some sleep. Pan watched the darkness. When she was sure Rune was definitely asleep, she hopped up and ran towards the sound she heard. Pausing every few steps, she leaped and fluttered down onto the outstretched arm of a hooded being.

I thought you wouldn't leave the mountain, Pan said giving the exposed hand a sharp peck. She looked back to where Rune slept. That are you going to do?

"Test him…" came the warmly familiar reply. "If he fails, he'll merge with me. If he succeeds, he'll be able to go on his quest." Pan pulled at the hood with her beak until it fell back revealing a shock of golden hair. The green eyes stared at her hard. "You're as blunt and forceful as ever."

And you're as indecisive as ever… Rune, Pan replied giving him a hard peck on the collarbone. I'm surprised that you're even allowed out to follow your younger self.

"As a summonable Mystic, I'm outside the flow of time," he replied, his green eyes glinting. "The Elders agreed that because I took this path with you in the previous incarnation, I would be better equipped to follow without being found by my younger self."

And because I was your summon and I am his, Pan said continuing his train of thought. It doesn't matter if I see you.

"Correct," Smoothed the feathers on her head. "Also because you know about the time loop and unaffected by it." He glanced at his younger self. "You should go back. He'll be waking soon."

Pan jumped off his arm and stood on the ground, looking up at him. Will you still be around?

"I'll be here until you reach Aria's Wings, the cliff at the peak of Mount Arias that looks like a pair of wings," he replied fading into the shadows. "Where the Academy of the Mystical Summons is."

***

Rune and Pan stared up at the huge mountain. "It looks like some sort of angel," Rune muttered staring at the mountain. The usual peak had a cliff which curved behind the mountain and extended out to either side like a pair of wings. Looking down, he saw a tightly packed brick road that glittered with gold flecks. "I feel like I'm Dorothy and I have to follow the yellow brick road..." He looked at the two angel statues that stood on either side of the road. "What are Mystics exactly?"

Pan skittered ahead, causing Rune to follow after her at a quick pace. They're summonable creatures that were once human. I'm sure I told you that already?

"You did…" Rune stared at the angel statues that dotted the road at regular intervals. "But all these angels…" He stared at a great emerald dragon. "All these statues, aren't of humans."

Oh, Pan paused and stared at him. Didn't I tell you that part? Mystics can choose one of two paths. The easier path of becoming a summonable being. Or the harder path of gathering all the ancient beings of this world and become a Mystic Summoner.

Rune stood and stared at her incredulously. "So the time loop I'm in… Is because I have to choose one of those paths?"

Pan shook her head and pulled up one leg until it was tucked in her feathers again. You have already chosen the path. You just need to follow through with it.

"When and where in this fucked up world did I make my choice?" Rune yelled at her angrily. Pan sat down hard in surprise. He rarely swore and when he did it was a practically a huge neon sign saying he was incredibly angry. He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself.

You made the choice before you were born. Pan replied softly. Her soft voice stabilized him. Your bloodline is famous for producing Mystic Summoners. Your great great grandfather was you soul's previous incarnation. Between the transition between death and rebirth, he… or should I say you, now… chose the path he wished to take in his next life.

"Then what the hell is this time loop then?" Rune asked more irritated than angry now. He knew about his grandfather and his many incredible feats in the War of the Magi. "The old man I saw before, I'm almost certain was me."

This time loop is reincarnating your body. Pan ruffled her feathers and stood again. Your soul doesn't get reincarnated. You'll receive all the memories from this time loop that have been sealed away each time your body returned to this world.

Rune continued to walk. A soft brush of feathers on his ankle told him Pan now walked beside him. "Then... There would be a version of me at the place we are going." Rune said, more to himself than anyone else. "That makes logical sense. It would also make sense if he doesn't show himself to me as I'm not suppose to know about those things, correct?"

How does it make logical sense? Pan asked not looking up at Rune but instead on the road ahead. It wouldn't be much of a time loop if there is more than one of you while the loop is in progress. That produced a very pointed silence from Rune. Overlapping at the beginning and end of time loops makes sense but an overlapping in the centre makes no sense at all.

"Mother told me that summons don't die," Rune replied softly. He smiled when Pan jumped up to get a closer look at his face. "She told me that summons are attached to the bloodlines. I never knew what she really meant until you mentioned my great great grandfather." He looked down at her and refused to recoil when he saw her pupils almost fully dilated making her eyes look totally black. "You was his guide when he had to do this, weren't you? I know of no one else in my family who could summon a chestnut-brown burrowing owl."

Pan blinked and relaxed her eyes. True. Your grandfather could summon me. But I wasn't his guide. Pan mentally added. My twin sister, Anu, was his guide. She noticed Rune give her his usual 'I don't believe you' glance before looking up at the brick road again. Your grandfather was a much more successful summoner than you were before he became trapped in the time loop.

Rune accepted that fact ruefully. "Mother told me he was able to summon all sorts of owls. She expected that because I could summon you that I would be able to do the same." The two came to a stone door with a large sunburst engraved on it. Rune examined the door carefully for any knobs or means to open it. "She only told me about the ancient creatures when I saw the family tree photo album. He looked so sad, standing there with all the ancient creatures and one chestnut-brown burrowing owl."

Pan sat on the ground. The puzzle door was for him alone to solve. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. She could hear him muttering away to himself, trying to open the door. He was sad because he lost Anu during the journey to become a Mystic Summoner. All through his life, he vowed that when he is reborn that he wouldn't lose her again. she thought while watching him through slitted eyes. But… You weren't able to summon Anu when you were reborn. Only me. I wonder if somewhere in his subconscious, he's trying to not lose me as well to the same circumstances.

***

Pan awoke the next morning to find Rune still poking at the stone wall. Standing, she pecked his leg hard. Rune looked down at her with bloodshot eyes.

Want to go home? she asked, playing devil's advocate again. You obviously can't open that door and it leads to the only path that reaches Aria's Wings Cliff. You've spent all night trying and it has gotten you nowhere.

Rune sat down hard. "To think I've come this far just to be defeated by a stone door," he placed a gentle hand on Pan's head and pulled her close. "Perhaps I'm not suppose to come to them at all." He stood and went back down the path. "Let's go home… Pan."

Pan's feathers bristled in frustration. He was suppose to tell me that he wasn't going to give up! She skittered down the path after him. He's gotten all depressed again because he couldn't do something he's put his mind to.

***

Rune stood with the cane from his previous incarnation in his right hand. It has been so long, His old and withered left hand rested reassuringly on the wall for stability. I know what to tell my younger self as advice now.

"Never Give Up!"