10. A Deep, Aching Pain

I took a deep breath before stepping out of the woods.

I then walked over to where Yna still sat and after plopping down, I resumed my work on the structure.

Yna glanced at me but remained silent as I worked.

I was back in my goat form.

The ache within wasn't gone, but I felt a little better meaning my efficiency was boosted.

Some time passed and Yna eventually stood.

She keenly inspected the wall of dark vines before grabbing one of them, even as pure darkness poured into it.

A loud crack then pierced the air and a bright flash briefly lit the forest.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night and within that darkness, I saw Yna holding a piece of the dark wall.

"Not bad. It could be a lot stronger, but we'll take care of that tomorrow. Come. I'm sure you're tired." She said after dropping the dark vine.

"Nah, you go ahead. I'll pour a little more into the wall before calling it a day."

"Oh? OK." Yna said before disappearing into the forest deep.

I was then left with a silence that threatened to crush me, but regardless, I poured darkness into my dark structure.

.

..

My eyes pooped open as a loud crack pierced the air.

I sat up to find Yna holding another dark vine.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." She said.

I noticed that there was a bowl of water next to her, but my concern was the vine in her hand.

"When will it be strong enough?" I asked sleepily as the light of the morning sun bathed the plateau.

"Aww, don't be so glum. The way it is now, not even a high ranking magician could break one of your vines, let alone an entire wall of them."

"Oh? Thanks." I said as I walked towards the bowl.

I then began mindlessly drinking the crisp water which I knew was from the stream.

"Now, you're gonna have to make a ton of bricks over the vines. This'll make the wall strong and flexible. Which might not matter in the end because someone could just jump over it all, but that's not important right now." Yna said.

I nodded before creating several blocks of darkness around the vines.

I did this along most of the southern edge.

Yna and I then made our way off the plateau.

I looked up at the massive black wall and fittingly enough, barely any sunlight bounced off of it.

It was a dark barrier that I would use to protect all within.

"You look rather pleased with it," Yna said as she picked me up.

"Is it not good?"

"It's OK, but we still have to reinforce it. Same with the north, east and western edges." Yna said before leaping almost fifty metres into the air.

We then landed on top of the plateau with a thud.

Yna carefully placed me on the ground before gesturing that I follow her into the forest.

She led me to a rather clear patch in the woods.

"This is where we'll set up some shelter?" I asked.

"Yes. This'll be the centre. I plan to build a place where people can go when they need something. A central place where information is stored and distributed-"

"An office?"

"Yes. An office. I'll work on this while you work on the wall. Oh and don't worry. I'll drop by from time to time to… test the wall's structural integrity." Yna said with narrowed eyes.

"I'm starting to think that you enjoy breaking it." I groaned as I eyed a patch of delicious-looking grass.

I mindlessly ate some of it while pondering on how exactly we would feed anyone we took in.

We only had grass and I don't think the Rendaro share my tastes.

"Mmm… back then when you found me. What were you hunting exactly? Are there herds of other animals up here?"

"No, not really. I just happened to be taking a walk in my eternal boredom when we crossed paths. You're the only living creature I met ever since building my little cabin here." Yna said as she paced around, seemingly at random.

"Oh? And when was that?"

Yna stopped before looking up into the clear morning sky.

"A long, long time ago."

Her words were clear.

Almost as though the forest muted itself so that she could speak.

I wanted to ask about her past and her identity as a golden knight, but I didn't know if this was the right time and so after munching on some more grass, I turned to leave, but just as I did, Yna spoke.

"You can ask me to be more specific, ya know."

"Really? Then are you ready to recount said specifics?" I asked without turning around.

A moment of silence passed and I eventually returned to walking.

I took a deep breath up reaching the dark wall and it was here that I realized we'd need some sort of entrance.

Multiple of them.

I knew that there was a tunnel that led from the plateau to Kenos's throne room deep underground. A path from there led to a point somewhere in Lanceberg.

That would be a last resort escape route.

I shifted my thoughts back to the wall before sending out a ton of darkness, covering the southern edge of the plateau in a cloud of black smoke.

.

..

A couple of days had passed since Yna and I began preparing the Cradle of Hope for what would be my second attempt at helping the Rendaro.

Cradle of Hope is such a tedious name, so Yna and I began calling it C.O.H. or Coh, for short.

Yna had built a handful of small cabins at the Coh's centre and I had just finished up the wall that lined the entire plateau.

Yna rubbed her chin as she did the last checks on the wall.

I held my breath as she raised her hand and squeezed it into a fist.

She then struck the wall with so much force, that it sent shook me to the core and sent up a plume of dust.

The dust quickly settled allowing Yna and I to inspect the spot she punched.

I saw a slight dent on the obsidian like surface of the wall, but much to my surprise, Yna smiled.

"Great job! This will stand, come earthquake or terrifying dragon."

"That's scarily specific!" I cried as Yna picked me up.

"This is cause for celebration! Let's look for some meat!" Yna said with a grin.

"Don't say that while looking at me and licking your lips!" I cried as Yna ran across the plateau in a manner of minutes.

Each step Yna took covered dozens of metres as we made our way towards a direction I assumed was north.

I saw an expansive forest that, although not as green and all-round amazing as the one back in Coh, was teeming with life.

I could see herds of deer, flocks of birds and even animals that I didn't recognize.

Not that I had time to recognize anything what with Yna's speeding.

We eventually came to a stop in a clearing and it is there that Yna finally put me down.

I took this as an opportunity to get as far away from her as possible, seeing as her body was glowing.

"Give me a moment," Yna said before a flash bathed the forest, temporarily blinding me in the process.

My vision quickly returned, revealing that Yna was gone.

I sighed before sitting down on the dry, thorny ground.

It is also here that I realized just how loud this place was.

So much chirping and howling filled the air that I couldn't even hear myself think.

Visions of when I first came into this world flashed in my mind briefly with painful clarity.

I took this moment to reflect on how much I had experienced since then.

Another flash temporarily blinded me, but I was getting used to it.

Yna appeared before me with a dead deer in hand.

"Come on, let's head on back. Unless there's something you want." Yna said, but I shook my head.

Yna nodded before gently picking me up again.

"Where exactly is this place?" I asked as Yna's body began glowing again.

"It's near the southern border of Lanceberg. Actually, there should be a small town not too far from here."

"Is that so? Also, you're able to instantly change locations. Why can't you just take us back home? Is there a range limit?" I asked as Yna took slow, deliberate, thunderous steps in the direction of home.

"Yes, but it all boils down to how much control one has over the aspect of space. I can open a gate from where I'm standing to about twenty meters away, but a skilled space magician could open a gate to an entirely different world if they wanted to." Yna said and at this point, Yna's feet were covered in so much magic, they burnt the ground.

"I see. And what about light? What are the limits? Your limits, to be exact."

"Ah, that's a good question and to be honest it has a lot of answers. All equally correct. I can harness light. Use it as energy, send it somewhere else, twist it, turn it. You name it. I can do all these things to a certain point. That point being the level at which one would typically become the host of their respective aspect." Yna explained.

I nodded while looking back.

I hoped that Yna's recklessness wouldn't result in a forest fire or something.

"And who's the Host of Light?" I asked.

"Caligo Corriandos, the Golden Prince." Yna said as her body burnt its brightest.

"Yna!" I cried.

This seemingly snapped her back into reality because her eyes widened and the flames around her body instantly died down.

Strangely enough, they didn't burn me.

"Oh, my bad. I got a little too excited." Yna said with a cheeky grin.

"No problem. Anyway, the Golden Prince, Caligo. Where is he?"

"Lanceberg is divided into three. Medelona, the Capital. Agna, to the west and Aurenia, to the north-east. I'm from Aurenia, by the way. The Golden Prince supposedly lives in a temple in the sky above Medelona."

"Supposedly? You've never met him?" I asked.

"I have, but it was brief. Actually, it was right after I became a knight. I never really attended all the parades and balls that were held in his name. Most of my time was spent on the battlefield."

We eventually returned to Coh via an entrance I had made on the northern edge.

Yna butchered and roasted her catch on a fire while I drew new maps and layouts.

I had a plan for the underground tunnel system, but I wanted to wait until Yna finished eating to openly discuss it.

Yna approach me while casually picking her teeth.

Her eyes had stopped glowing so I assumed she had calmed down a bit.

She sat next to me before picking me up and placing me on her lap, but my eyes remained glued to my maps.

"Mmm… strange."

"What?" I asked.

"I just thought of my mother. It's been… Ages since I recalled her face, her voice…"

"That's a good thing, right?" I asked as I turned to face Yna to find her looking into the evening sky thoughtfully.

"Perhaps. I remember a song she would sing to me before I slept. Would you mind if I sang it for you?" Yna asked.

"Sure."

Yna faintly smiled before gently rubbing the top of my head.

"I'll tend to thee

As you so deeply sleep

I will watch over thee

All through the night, you see

I'll hold you gently

Till you awake again

So close your eyes and sleep

And know..."