Chapter 4

Basil sits by his desk near the open window and enjoys the warmth of sun on his face as it gives him a brief respite from having to copy the records of all his families dealings for the last six months. This task his mother gave him was more to help him practice his writing then any actually need to save copies of the family finances. If it were a task of any importance his mother or sister would have done it themselves by now but his mother had insisted Basil do it cause she wanted him to practice his writing saying that she expects him to be just as literate as his sister. That being said Basil lingers a bit more around the window before turning and getting back to work, it was a fairly easy task that didn't require much thinking since all Basil had to do was see the letters on one paper then copy them on another. This fact was actually what gave away the insignificance of the work he had been given because if it had been of any consequence all these transactions would have been either copied into Etrure tablets or some other parchment that could be easily rolled up and persevered. 

Instead he was given these simple papers that didn't last very long against the elements, he sighed to himself and grabbed his pen. He wrote simplistically, the letters not having any flourish to them being rather crud but they could be understood will enough which had been a point of pride for his mother while his sister at times mocked his writings lack of polish. But regardless of all that he felt proud of his writing and he suspected his father did too, a man of letters, writing and the arts he was going to be. Numbered among the few men in the world that could claim such expertise and that was something to be proud of, even those who practiced Mofea would have to acknowledge him with respect and who knows maybe he could learn to use Mofea himself one day. Such thoughts swirling in Basil's mind excited him, encouraging him to put in more effort into his writing and make it as good as his mom's and sister's. The scratching sound of pen on paper was all he heard for a while till the sound of the house front door opening caught his attention, the sound of the footsteps that walked in after told him his father was back from the market with their flour. He paused for a moment wondering if he had to write down this transaction as well but he would first have to ask his mother if he should then his father for the price of the flour if his mother agreed.

Basil then remembered why he was given the task of copying all these papers in the first place and dismissed his previous thought. He heard a couple more footsteps he didn't recognize enter the house soon after his father and heard a couple voices some rooms over, Basil recognized his father's voice but couldn't hear what was being said clearly. Whatever the conversation was about the other voices ceased for a moment and a clutter of activity was heard that ended with several things slamming to the ground. After that the voices sounded again for a short period before ceasing entirely followed by distant sounding footsteps, the footsteps of his father however grew louder as he got closer to Basil's room. The door to his room opened and the moderately tall figure of Basil's dad Opilio appeared in the entrance, "How goes it?" he asks "Hopefully it wasn't too much paper work for you.". "No problem at all pa, though it can get a bit boring after a time." answers Basil, "Might be boring but you still have to do it huh?"said his father like an adviser, Basil ached a little inside hearing that since he didn't want this conversation to turn into a lecture so he quickly changes the subject. "Did you see ma or Evantia on your way back?" he asks, "Yeah, they are actually still out on the practice range." Opilio answers. "They haven't even moved on from it?" asks Basil with genuine surprise.

"Yeah, apparently your mother thinks Evantia's focus needs work.", Basil laughed at this and his father couldn't help but chuckle a little as well. He was going to hold this over Evantia's head for ages to come, she was always so confident of her skill in Mofea, subtly boasting of her talent and playing clever tricks on everyone with it. Well almost everyone, their mother Probina being well practicing in the field made her a difficult target for Evantia's antics. Basil imaged his sister's face cringing in anguish as her pride gets demolished by their mother when she teaches her the more complex parts of Mofea. It had been around morning that she and their mother left to practice and now it was around midday or lunch so to speak so that would mean Evantia was stuck at the first phase of the exercise for 5 hours or so. Basil got a hold of himself but couldn't stop smiling and neither could Opilio, "Try not to tease her too much when she gets back alright." says his father both as a parent who wants peace between his kids and as a warning to be cautious. Because Evantia might hurt him unconsciously with Mofea if pushed too far, Basil understands this and knew where the line was but by the heavens he was going to dance just at the edge of it.

"Of course pa, I know her enough to know where to hit and where not to." Basil answers reassuringly, "Well then best of luck to you with that, I need a bath right now so I see in a few, also tell me if Evantia and your mom come back while I am in there." said Opilio before closing the door and walking off to get a bath. As the sound of his father's footsteps receded Basil got back to his writing and tried to match the rhythm of the sounds he heard with his pen. The birds were chirping their songs just outside and the wind carried their music far and wide, the rustling of the tree leaves strangely sounded like the beating of the waves upon a beach. All these sounds help a bit in alleviating the overall boredom that came with such boring a task, determined or not seating by a desk and writing or rather copying words gets tedious after a time. Such monotony also made a person look at all the things around them with greater appreciation finding in them new details they had not noticed before.

So was the case for Basil as he went about his task, he found the carvings upon his wooden desk were well made and wondered how much it had cost to make. He wonder if the he should move his desk further away from the window so he could focus better, he wonder if his room was proper arranged today and so turned in his chair to look at his room. The bed was made properly and all his clothes were folded up in the closet, the crystalline lamps were fixed properly in place and spare crystalline were in the drawer next to his bed in case the lamps needed replacing. Realizing he was detracting himself Basil willed himself back to the work he was given but it was to no avail as his thoughts went on to other things like if his black flowing hair would stay as silk smooth when he grew older or if it would thin out like his father's who now used custom wigs to cover parts of his head that was balding. It went on like this for a while as Basil trudged work like he was walking through thick mud. In the end when he couldn't take any more of this back and forth he stopped entirely and went to the window once more leaning on it, it was a beautiful day outside, the greenery that stretched on endless in almost every direction eased the stress in Basil's mind. 

Basil's family home being at the edge of town allowed him to gaze out into the open fields of untamed nature when he felt bored or stressed or any other kind of discomfort. For all intents and purposes Basil considered all that he saw from the window as his though that had no legal basis. All that he saw before him and the various other properties around town including his own home were legally possessions of the Consulate. At least in theory, the Consuls back in Korton never pressed the issue cause they knew it wouldn't end well so in practice each person owned whatever land or property they bought, how it has always been how it should always be. Basil looks up at the shinning sun as it gave off its heated rays that baked all beneath, he closes his eyes to feel its warmth on his tanned skin without having to hurt his eyes. He smiles to himself enjoying the feeling and letting his sense enjoy the serenity of his surroundings. The sounds of blowing winds, rustling leaves and singing birds was a pleasure to hear, the smells too were equally pleasing as one of their neighbors grew tea leaves and coffee beans in a small garden behind their house. And the wind carried their fresh sent to Basil's window making him almost taste the sweets of sugared tea and coffee on his tongue.

Slowly and gradually however this sense of tranquility starts to fade, first the birds singing stops, devolving from a beautiful rhythmic music to incoherent chirping and squeaking. Basil was a tad annoyed at this and wonders if some malcontent was disturbing the birds in the trees with rocks after hearing the flapping of several wings beating hurriedly upon the wind. But he dismiss this thought when realizing that the flapping of wings came from all direction near and far, no one would be able to do that unless there was some sort of hunt and there weren't any scheduled for today or any this time of year. The wind then picked up in force as he finished the thought, blasting and rushing though his clothes making him look wider then he did. 

Basil instinctively grabbed hold of the window frame with one hand and his shirt with the other, it felt to him like someone had splashed water on him and exposed him to a mild wind but the thing was that he wasn't wet in any way at the moment. Basil's nose too was assailed the sweet smell of teas leave and coffee beans being overthrown by a strange amalgamation of aromas, he had never smelled anything like this before. The scent was like that of burning ash but instead of simply wood burning in whatever fire gave of this smell it was also steel, glass, coal and any other element a person can think of. It was only when Basil felt the heat of the sun leave his skin that he opened his eyes, the sight that greeted them when he did was that of nightfall. Basil was confused, an expression of utter befuddlement grew on his face, he blinked once then twice to make sure that what he was seeing was not a trick of the mind. Darkness engulfed the sky from horizon to horizon and Basil wonder how could night have come so quickly then he wonder 'Wait if this really is night then where are the stars?'. He looked all across the black sky and saw no stars though he did see light of sorts, strange lights to be sure but lights nonetheless. The strange lights were like strings crisscrossing throughout the pitch black that was now the sky, they all seemed to be one color and then the another always shifting and changing or maybe that was just Basil's eyes having problems with the still blowing wind making him see things. Basil also wonder if it was the blowing wind that made him see the black sky move or rather swift like a cloud. 'A storm maybe?' he asks himself, if it was a storm then it was the strangest storm he had ever seen, the clouds or smoke or whatever it was that made up this thing he was seeing at times looked like flouting dark water or some other such liquid he would have called it flouting oil but he noticed the clouds or smoke or whatever wasn't entirely black. It had bits of different colors on it just like the lights and it was when wondering about this and many other things about this phenomenon he was witnessing that he heard the first scream.

A terrible shriek of either a young boy or a woman startled his ears filling him with dread, he thought some terrible accident had happened when people were to distracted by the happenings in the sky. He hoped this more than anything, he hoped it was just an ordinary accident then he could quickly let go of the sudden fear that rushed into his heart. But his heart was broken like it would by a lover who would not return his same affection when he heard the second scream and the third and the forth and some much more after that. All peoples of all ages and genders were screaming in abject horror at something he know not what and that made him even more fearful. 'The crystalline, the crystalline!' he thought when he realized he was in pitched blackness in his room, he rushed way from the window and presses hard on the lamp buttons. His room gets illuminated with a luminous blue light, he saw his bed, desk and closet were all intact though why he fear they would be gone he did not know, he looks around some more then he freezes stiff. There something on his window or rather flouting within the frame of his window. It resembled a black smoke like rope or snake but one with no eyes or scales, it flouted deeper into his room seeming to be following him. This black smoke like rope entity didn't seem at all scary or intimidating but its sudden appearance and interest in him terrified Basil.

Basil backs away from it as it got closer, he opens the door of his room with his hand while his eyes were still on the black rope thing which didn't seem to be in much haste to reach him. He goes out of his room into the hall and the entity follows him seeming to be able to stretch on endlessly. Basil walks slowly backwards keeping his eyes on the thing, 'Pa' he calls with some urgency, no one answers, 'PA' he calls again with more urgency and again no one answers. 'PA!' he shouts finally and still no one answers, as this all happened Basil still heard the frantic screaming from outside. 

He quickly looks away from the thing and looks behind him, the hall was empty and dark he quickly looks back at the thing which hadn't changed its pace. He waves his hand to the side trying to find the wall as his room's light grows distant, the activation button for the crystalline of the hall should be here he thinks. He finds it shortly after and turns it on, blue light covers the hall and shows Basil the length the black rope thing had grown to in its pursuit of him, it stretched the length of the hall. Basil takes in a breath upon seeing this then he speedily looks back at the hall, an inching feeling on his back telling him there was something behind him. He nearly lets out a sob when he sees that multiple of the black rope like entities slithering on the air in his house. They passed under and above doors and even key holes, going thought windows, chimneys, stretching and branching out violating his home with their presence. 

His head now looks back and forth from the thing that come from his room and the others some of which started flouting towards him. Basil breaths heavily now, the beginnings of panic sipping into him and even now he couldn't help but feel proud of the fact he had kept panic away for as long as he did. His hand still being on the wall when he had turned on the crystalline lights it feels the ruggedness of wood, it was a door, Basil feels hope surge within him as he realize which door this was. It was the door to the bath room, his father was probably inside taking a bath, he ignores the fact that his father hadn't answered when is frantically calls to him just moments ago desperately holding on to the hope that his father hadn't heard him. He opens the bath door without looking at it, his eyes still jumping between the black rope like things that were following him. 

"Pa" he calls, no answer, "Pa please" he begs almost crying in the process, he wishes that his father just ran out of fright when he saw these things and unwillingly abandon him but that once he comes to his senses he would come back for him. With this hope he dares to look into the bathroom and sees his father lump in the bathtub as if asleep, the water up to his chest but not reaching his neck and one of the black smoke like rope things split in two, one of the branches splitting off into smaller strands that went into into the eyes, ears, mouth and nose of his father, the other branch was inside the tub itself but Basil couldn't see what it was doing. It was when he was greeted with his horror that Basil finally began to scream, joining all those who had screamed before and were still screaming now.