Adventuring of Arcadia

His wife was going to kill him. How many times had she told him before to slow down for once in his life? Quite a lot, but how often did he listen? Around 10% of the time, and this time wasn’t part of it. Someone nearby started to ask him a question but he hustled past, not bothering to listen to the end of the sentence. There were more pressing matters at hand. In his haste, he pushed open a door with such vigor that it caused a strong gust of wind.

A piece of paper went flying off from the top of a nearby printer so he quickly reached out his left hand to try and grab it but just missed as it flew a bit further. No matter, the paper could wait. He probably would’ve had higher chances of grabbing it if he had used his right hand, but currently he was clutching another small piece of paper in that one, one that could possibly change the coming months, and even years, by a lot. Such a small thing, material-wise, and yet it weighed heavy in his palm. He knew better than anyone how even the littlest things could drastically flip the outcome, and the note was no exception.

He was in no surprise when he saw it on his desk at his office that morning, as he knew the reason he had received it. After what happened the other day at the laboratory, a meeting was inevitable, and the Council worked fast. He didn’t need to think about the odds to know they’d call one soon. He could tell this meeting would bring about a change, but first, he needed to get there, the quicker the better. Something told him he wouldn’t be able to make it if he took too long, and so, he rushed out of the office and to the nearby train station.

He had to slow down here, there were too many people around, too many potential accidents that could happen. As usual, it was bustling with people trying to get to work. They turned as he walked by, some waving while some said hello. Usually, he made a point to respond to people as they passed, this was part of being someone people recognized, but today he simply didn’t have time. A second’s difference would change the odds. He couldn’t exactly tell how, just knew that it would.

As he turned a corner to take a flight of stairs, he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye. They had their face covered by a hood, and their outfit composed of very baggy clothes. He couldn’t tell their gender, though he was more preoccupied with what they were fiddling with. To a civilian, it looked like they were rummaging through a regular, worn, duffel bag, but he was no ordinary civilian. How did someone obtain one of those bags? He’d thought they’d all been destroyed.

Wait. That second’s difference he’d been so pressed about about, what if his instincts weren’t about the meeting…but this person here? The person then looked up and met his gaze. Their face was covered, but he noted they had one blue eye, and one brown. Their eyes narrowed, and a split second later they picked up the bag and ran in the opposite direction. An announcement about his train sounded overhead. He had two choices: leave the station or stay back a little longer.

Something told him if he left now, there’d be a chance of fatalites at that station. If he stayed, the odds were…still less than ideal, but better. He turned around, holding his breath and covering his nose as he ran towards the bag, noticing a faint beeping coming from inside, which became more frequent. What? He had no time to deliberate, instead making the decision to yell out “Everyone in this vicinity, please move away from this stairwell!” He was loud and people recognized him, he knew they had high chances of listening. A slight smirk made its way onto his face as he saw them back up and warn others to do the same. He then proceeded to move forward and inspect the duffel bag, which in hindsight was very stupid. He knew the chances of his wife giving him the earful of the millenia were skyrocketing right now. He could already hear her yelling at him about doing stupid things, but then again she should know by this point that the chances of him not doing stupid things was practically zero. The way they met was because of him doing stupid things, after all. She could stand to be a bit more gracious about his stupidity. That was his last thought before something exploded and he felt himself fly backwards.

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Three hours afterwards

She was going to kill her husband. How many times had she told him before to slow down for once in his life? Quite a lot, but how often did he listen? Very rarely, and this was not one of those few occasions. She had a lot of questions to ask and so she hustled through the hallway, not bothering about anything else but her destination. A strong gust of wind almost threw her off her path but she recovered quickly, swift as a bird, so to speak. She entered the room as someone who was waiting inside opened a window.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be you here, I thought you were abroad,” she told him.

“I returned home with my brother just this morning upon seeing the Court’s message. How are you? I understand you must be very worried-” he told her..

“Worried? Worried? That doesn’t even begin to describe it. I wake up to a vague message from my husband saying he had to go attend to a serious matter with no other details. I then get notified on my way into work that he’s in the hospital. The cherry on top is when a coworker comes up and tells me there was an explosion at the train station which he usually takes to work, after which I rush to the hospital only to find out I can’t see him for reasons the doctors won’t say-”

“Wait, what? They did not let you see him either?”

“Either?”

“My brother and I went to see him as soon as we came back. Naturally, we were hurrying but when the receptionist heard who we were looking for, she went unsettlingly silent. She then told us his visiting hours were not open to everyone yet. Holden and I expected that meant family only, and that you would get to see him later, but if they didn’t let you see him…” the other person trailed off.

“No one told you anything? Nothing at all? Did you see Yosano? Maybe they know something.” she suggested, hoping to get even a tidbit of information.

“Yes, we did see them. They even recently dyed their hair a new color, so naturally, they were hard to miss.”

“Do you ever miss them when they’re around?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“I do not know what you are implying, dear friend. I am merely expressing my opinion that Yosano is a very noticeable person.”

“I presume you asked them about my husband at some point and that you noticed what they replied,” she prompted.

“You presume correctly. They were quite nervous too, naturally, but also just as confused as we were. It seems those higher up are being rather tightlipped about the whole ordeal, which makes me think it’s regarding the reason for meeting here in the first place,” he responded, raising more questions than it answered.

“The reason for meeting here? I’m only here because your brother sent a message that you’d all be here and I thought we’d know something about the…the incident,” she replied, slightly caught off guard. Her companion looked at her in surprise, raising an eyebrow. Quickly, he closed the window he had opened earlier and then turned back to her.

“You do not remember this room? We used to be in here quite a bit,” he asked. She could tell his tone was not one of judgement. She looked around, scanning the room’s interior. The lighting was dim, because while the windows weren’t covered, the weather was cloudy and shadows covered much of the room. The only real light came from an obelisk in the middle of the room-wait, of course. She hadn’t realised exactly what the room was because she’d never used the entryway she’d come in through today during any previous visits.

“Why were we called here?” she asked the other person, just as a knock sounded on the door. Her companion opened it to reveal three other people.

“She poses a good question, why were we called here?” the oldest of the three asked.

“Ah, nice to see you again, Yosano-san,” the man already in room greeted them.

“I’ve told you countless times, Hershey, there is no need for such formalities,” they replied, chuckling a little. The other three present made eye-contact with each other and rolled their eyes before the conversation continued.

“It’s nice to see all of you again, old friends. Zaya, you’re back too!” she told one of the newcomers.

“While this return is a bit sudden, it’s always lovely to see you, Roja,” Zaya replied. “Holden here just picked me up. What’s this I hear about your husband?”

“He probably jumped into a situation without thinking again,” Roja grumbled.

“I’m so worried I can’t even make a snarky joke at his expense,” Yosano remarked.

“I think it’s best we address the previously asked question, why were we called here?” Yosano reiterated.

“Gods know why,” Zaya replied. “I assume I’m not the only one who thinks the incident earlier this morning and this meeting being called the same day is not a coincidence?”

“Naturally, that would be an apparent conclusion to make,” Hershey chimed in. “Our sixth was on his way here when the incident occurred.”

“We had to postpone the meeting for a few hours as well, thanks to the frenzy that ensued,” Yosano remarked.

“Wait a second,” Hershey suddenly paused. He turned to the fifth person in the room, his brother, who had been silent the whole time. “Holden? Something on your mind?”

“Thank you, brother. Yes, there is something I should share. The Court reached out to me while I was picking up Zaya here. With the official seal of the Council.” Holden responded. A silence fell upon the group. Moments passed as everyone processed the information that had been imparted onto them. Yosano reached for a pendant they were wearing under their clothes, which, physically was very light, but carried a different weight altogether. It was quite simple, just two green, interlocked, hexagons, but its appearance further intensified the tension in the room.

“After all these years…” Yosano murmured. “This is really an official council meeting, then, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” Holden responded. “That’s not all, however, the Court has made a serious call. The Twilight.” Everyone else froze.

“The Twilight? Now?” Roja asked, shocked. “Has it really been that long?”

“I suppose it has,” Zaya responded. “Time really has escaped from us, hasn’t it?”

“Indeed” Hershey agreed. “Though I suspect the time crunch is only one reason for calling the Twilight. That incident that happened at the station earlier, it was a warning.”

“The first sign of thunder before a storm,” Holden added. “We’ve been at peace for decades, but it appears war is looming once more, and war means the Council is needed again,”

“Of course,” Yosano piped up, “but we’re well beyond our years, no matter how much we try to deny it, and our time on Council is reaching a close. There’s only one last important action we must take.”

“We must choose our successors and help them rise. Tides have turned, and a new dawn is approaching,” Zaya continued.

Roja looked at each one of them before adding her piece. “Indeed, but before every dawn, the old day must darken. If what happened to my husband is any indication, I believe we’re already losing light.”