The Revelation

The dull sun had set along with its warmth, and now the burning blue moon rose up for yet another dusk. It was a cold and windy night; wolves howled from far away, and owls hooted from invisible trees. People sat spread out in the destroyed village, holding candles and lamps for their source of light, with their remaining belongings stuffed in a white bag. It was the first time in history that the believers and the non-believers sat amongst each other without starting a riot. But no words were exchanged because it was no ordinary night. They knew that it wasn't going to be just another night to sleep through, so they waited for them. They waited for revelation. They waited for answers. They waited for the truth. 

"Do you seriously believe in this man?" The uncertainty of the situation led a group of women from the Plateau to question. 

"The man did get stabbed twice, and he's still fine." 

They scratched their heads.

"Yes, but for all I know, he could be a wizard from an outer town, don't you think? and my grandfather always said, don't ever believe in anyone who claims to even know God." 

"You do raise a fair point."

The women turned to their right side and found some of the people kneeling down and bowing to their Moon Goddess. 

"These believers are firm, eh?" They told themselves.

"Yeah. Oh look. They are even bringing the honey-water offering. But aren't you not allowed to see it? There's like a thousand of us here..." 

They placed three pots of offerings side by side for their Goddess.

" Well, a lot is going to change tonight, for sure" She ended.

…

After a few minutes had passed, the seven members walked out of the darkness. 

Yin Kang came first and was in the middle. He had painted his face just like Vegas. On his left eye, a white paint stripe ran down from his forehead to his jaw and a black under-shadow on his other eye, and he was dressed heavily with thick layers of both black and white wool covering his upper body now, and the same thick trousers Vegas had dressed him up with, and big black boots. There was a sword. The Band had given him a new, sharper sword, which was strapped behind his back.

Vegas stood right beside him like a guardian, with Juno clutched in her hands. Behind them stood the three members of the crew itself: Wes Grand with his beard and hair neatly brushed, Colt wearing his unusual knight helmet and wielding a longsword, and Neilus with an unsettling smile on his face. The volunteers of the believers, Redyn and Old Slinton stood on the right side. 

"We are heading now." Yin spoke to the massive crowd in front of him. 

"And we hope to come back with an answer." He ended.

He took one glance at the crowd and all the faces they wore at the sight of him. But there was nothing, and seven of them began marching to the plateau above them. 

"We won't take long."

…

The night crickets chirped, everyone held a lamp, and they took the route, which required going into the forest and walking their way up to the plateau. This was the least used way to enter and exit the village, and this was also the route Vegas took when she stumbled upon Yin. 

"Can I see my mother on our way up?" She requested.

"Okay, but you must not take long." Wes Grand granted it on behalf of everyone. He led the way, as he was the one who was more familiar with it. Redyn and Old Slinton have never gone up the Plateau themselves, as they believed it was the 'unholy land'.

"Be careful; the path is rocky from here." Wes informed everyone as they approached the Plateau's bottom. 

There was a visible sand strip in their path, which made it easier to navigate the next steps. It also had many unexpected turns, but it was still easy to follow up for everyone. Vegas and her crew were marching furiously, ahead of everyone, and it was getting darker and darker, and Yin kept eying the moon from time to time. 

"A beauty. Isn't she? Our Goddess." Old Slinton finally spoke. 

"I don't know about her, but the moon surely is." Yin responded frankly, but he got no further words from him. 

"Hehe! I think we will see ghosts! Hehe!" Neilus chuckled from the front. 

"Shush, Neilus." said Colt. 

Colt was Wes Grand's favorite in the crew; he let him train the rookies, he trained Vegas, he was the chief-commander of the band, he was the most hardworking, and he was the strongest in the crew, just above Wes Grand as he was getting older. It would rightfully fall on Colt's lap to take over their crew after Wes. 

"Quiet Neilus! Don't scare the newcomers." Wes commanded. He always behaved that way. A leader. A leader is supposed to assist, comfort, take responsibility, and most of all, protect, and Wes Grand has been displaying those traits since he picked up the role. 

Yin walked closer to Vegas and whispered. 

"Is he always strict?" Wes reminded him of Master Li; they both could very well be of the same age. 

"Yeah. He's all about serving." She whispered back. 

After nearly 20 minutes of walking up the Plateau, they reached the Plateau Base, where every exiled, banished, and non-believers stayed. They made a brief halt outside Vegas's hut.

...

Liana was sick and asleep in her wooden bed, as always. 

"Ma. I'm headed to the village." She didn't want to tell the truth.

Liana lifted her eyes to hear the voice and smiled at her daughter. 

"Be safe, my sweet angel." Though her voice was feeble, it was pleasing. 

Vegas leaned in, kissed her on the forehand, and went out. 

The pack began their expedition again. It was a long journey ahead, and they were walking closer to the restricted zone, where logs of red wood with skull doodles closed the path ahead. They stared at them with a blank face. 

"Are you all sure this is safe? Everyone who's come here has died or gone missing." Redyn worriedly spoke with a frightened tone. 

There was utter darkness beyond the logs, with a strong cold wind gushing from the darkness. The path looked like it was getting steeper and steeper until it diminished. 

Wes Grand was the first to skip past the logs with a short hop, and he was followed by the others. 

This was the point of no return. Everyone here has absolutely no clue as to what lies ahead of them.

"Be careful," he warned again with a strict tone. 

"Hehe! I already smell the ghosts!" 

"Urgh." Colt sighed.

Wes turned back immediately, gripped Neilus by the collar, and stared into him.

"I'm sorry, Master. I'm sorry. I won't talk again." He begged and his unsettling grin dropped instantly. 

Yin looked at Wes with disappointment in his face, and Vegas caught Yin's reaction.

"One day his wife was sick with fever, and his dauta' wouldn't shut crying, and Wes was drunk that night. But he wanted her to stop cryin' so he took her out to show her the moon and the stars of the night…Wes slipped on a rock and dropped her. Then, after two weeks of mourning and pain, his wife passed away too. So he's never really cared about anyone or anything else since then. Apart from his duty." Vegas informed. 

Yin was rendered speechless; he continued walking with his head down, guilty of judging him with just a fraction of idea of who he was.

…

Everyone was getting dizzy and struggled to keep up with Yin, who was now leading the pack. Surprisingly, Old Slinton held up better than most of them. 

"Who're The Elders." Yin asked the question out of nowhere.

"It was The Three Elders who carried King Kontello to his grave. According to the books, they were the supreme mages of the time who cured and protected the Realm from the Evil. Some say, King Kontello lived for nearly 300 years by the power of The Elders, but it is uncertain. Kontello adored the Moon Goddess, and he went sleepless for days just to look at her throughout the night. The Elders even helped him with his desired rituals for the Goddess, one of which is our honey-water offering." Old Slinton narrated. 

Yin nodded his head at the information. 

"What if it's all a fuckin' hoax?" Vegas rebelled against Old Slinton

"Keep your curses to yourself." He replied patiently. 

…

An hour could have easily gone by, and all they could still see was a steep and narrow path ahead of them, with a few trees covered in snow here and there. The assumptions were not totally wrong, and it was true about the fact that it snowed here. Their steps left trails of prints behind them, and there was no way for them to get lost on their way back.

Vegas stumbles upon something rigid and falls on her face. 

"Vegas!" Yin rushed, lifted her, and dusts the snow off her. 

Everyone then pointed their lamps at the ground. 

It was someone's long, rotted skull, frozen to the floor. 

"Goodness." Everyone stood there, just as frozen as the skull, and in dread. 

"I'm leaving…" Redyn cried with a shrill voice. 

"No no. We're going to be fine." Yin reassured and calmed the rest of them.

…

As they turned their lamps towards the path again, the light caught a glimpse of what rested in front of them. There were countless skeletons, rotten and frozen to the ground, almost invisible due to the amount of snow. But they were able to see them all. 

"O' boy," Vegas said to herself. 

The sight of the dead didn't stop the seven members. Old Slinton had expected such a disaster. Wes Grand and Vegas were able to suck it up. Colt had his knight helmet on, which shielded his reaction. Neilus believes that he was the one who caused this bad omen, so he chose not to talk, just like he promised. Redyn was ready to run at any given chance, and Yin was unbothered. 

…

They kept climbing and climbing against the harsh wind and the steep surface, and they knew they were getting close to something. For many hours, a strong mist of cold wind had blocked their path, but it was starting to clear up. The burning moon, which was above them when they started this journey, was now on the horizon. 

And the mist eventually cleared up, and there were trees on both sides of the path, which was covering something ahead. 

"Colt man, whaddaya think bout' this?" Neilus learned to speak quieter. 

"I'm just followin' my commander's orders, Nei..."

Colt gasped underneath his helmet. 

"Commander! I see the end…" Colt pointed his longsword.

It was the end. They had reached the Plateau's peak, the forbidden, the restricted hell's end. Now the burning moon was dangerously close to their eyes, dangerously dark and beautiful. Millions of stars flashed in front of them, and the night sky was clouded and cold. It was quiet as a devil's prayer.

All seven of them stood in silence, looking at each other and the dark beauty back and forth in amazement. They were surrounded by trees and the edges of heights, which led to death. But there was no burial or grave in sight. 

"This is it, huh?" Vegas sighed. 

Old Slinton was silent and kept staring and praying at the dark moon. 

"Look for the grave." Yin commanded the pack, and everyone spread out and pointed their lamps at the ground, hoping to find a grave that belonged to the late King Kontello himself. They had come across thousands of human and animal remains on the way, and it would only make sense if they found what they were looking for. 

"We don't see anything here."

"Not here either." 

"Nothing here as well..."

The attempt was a failure, and Yin took a deep breath and walked closer to the edge of the Plateau's peak, but his leg hit a solid foundation, he quickly crouched down with his lamp, and everyone else looked at him. 

"What is it?" They asked curiously. 

It was a large rock slab with an engraving that read,

 "Here Lies, Vienna,

 The One & Only True Lover Of The King.

 Year - 565" 

 …

Yin's eyes widened, and he rubbed away a portion of the snow near to Vienna's grave, and there was another. 

 …

 "Here lies, The King Of The Realm, King Kontello Greyfold,

 For you, My Dearest Queen, My Dearest Wife, My Dearest Moon, 

 Next To You, I Wish To Rest.

 Year - 573"

 …

Yin Kang had no words to utter, as he ushered the rest of them to step near him. 

"The Moon is not a Goddess, it was his wife, who died 8 years before him. Kontello lived in utter grief, and prayed to the moon, hoping that's where his wife resided because he buried her here, close to the moon. And after his own death, Kontello was buried here alongside her by The Elders as they knew that's what he would've wanted." Yin puzzled the pieces together perfectly. 

It was a revelation. The entire history of the Realm was turned upside down. 

"But…But it can't be…The dark blue moon…The offering…." Redyn cried in disbelief. 

As he turned around to run away, a tall and pale white figure stood in front of him. It had three heads and three arms on each side.

"O' God, It's The Three Elders…" Old Slinton whispered.

The figure's arms shifted into a blade and plunged through Redyn.

…