Tuesday 28/3/2017 Oscar Loya Piece

Oscar Loya

Leviathan looked down at the delicate wrinkled face of his grandmother, Leandra. She was old, ancient if you believed the rumours. Her once golden blonde hair had now turned to grey wisps, and her vibrant green eyes were now lackluster. She lay on an old cushy bed that had been pushed into the corner of the small master bedroom.
The elderly woman moved her shaky gaze up to Leviathan. “Levi,” her voice was steady, but nothing more than a whisper. “I’m sorry I didn’t have time to teach you more, but your training up to this point will have to do. Take the runes to the sanctuary, summon Arcana. They will finish your training,” her warm soft hand trembled in the boy’s clammy ones.
“But who will-”
“Don’t worry about the cabin. Nothing will happen. The woods will give you enough time,” her soothing voice cleared all concern with its superior wisdom. She drew her hand from Levi’s and gently brushed away the light brown hair that had fallen in front of his honey eyes. An oddity, for the Greymore family had bright green eyes, like Leandra’s. But the fact was, their eyes weren’t originally green. The magic that they practiced, Alteration, changed their eyes; a sign of status as a powerful sorcerer. Leandra’s eyes changed when she was only 14, and Leviathan’s mother gained hers when she was 17. Prodigies to say the least. But Leviathan was soon approaching his 18th birthday, and he yet had any green eyes to show.
Leviathan nodded at his grandmother, accepting her advice. He bent down and gently kissed his grandmother’s forehead. She sighed.
“Walk with the beast inside,” they both murmured to each other. It was the saying from the Greymore clan.
The boy stood up and sadly looked down at the frail figure that was slowly fading into a comforting sleep. He exited the small room that smelled of firewood, even though it was summer. He moved across the wooden house to his own room. Levi packed quickly. Just the basics. You don’t need a smartphone for magical training. His hands moved efficiently through his belongings. Packing a couple of changes of clothes, a jacket, toiletries, and of course the family book of knowledge, Niemals Endende.
He hesitated, then forced himself out of the room, and approached the living room. When he entered he looked at the old weathered floor boards. His eyes looking for the symbol, a triangle containing a square, that marked the place of the runes. Runes were stones with magic imbued inside of them. They were capable of making spells without the caster having to put any of their own magic into it. Incredibly useful to say the least.
Once Leviathan found the marked plank, he carefully lifted it. Underneath lay a little cupboard. It was spacious, half a foot deep and about three feet in length. It had plenty of room for little odd trinkets that would peak the interest of any one. Everything from an ancient astrolabe to what seemed to be an orb with a smoky interior that would constantly shift. Levi reached for a velvet pouch that lay in the center of the hidden storage unit. His hands grasped the soft pouch, and then he put them into his backpack. He replaced the plank and left the living room slowly. He walked through the cosy cabin, into the kitchen, and then out the backdoor. The giant pine trees and singing birds met him. The sun was bright, beaming even, enticing Levi go back inside and sit down at the kitchen island. To sip on some iced tea, discussing magical theory with his wise grandmother. But he couldn’t.
He started to make his way to the rim of the forest, slowly walking the stone path, breathing in deeply. The breeze danced around him, completely oblivious to his melancholy. Leviathan entered the shade of the woods, and he turned around. His golden eyes searched the small cabin he called home for a reason to go back inside and stay. But he knew he simply couldn’t. With one last glance at the house, he turned around and entered the cool, dark forest.

***
The forest seemed shy at first, then slowly it revealed the life it held. Small animals started to scuttle in the undergrowth. Birds chirped along to the sway of the wind. The shadows made interesting figured on the brown and green of the floor. Figures that Levi would love to ponder for hours on end. Sitting under the ever moving clouds. Breathing in the sweet scent of ponderosa and flowers.
And Levi almost did stop to smell the flowers and contemplate the shadows. He knew he had enough time. The woods adjusted time so that you could pass months, even years, meditating and learning from nature, and still come out only a couple of days later. He would only come out a few days older, and none of his family would know.
They would be there when he came out, when the clan elder dies the council is summoned and then a new elder is chosen. Leandra was the last elder. His mother would have been the next elder too. So he didn’t stay, because he couldn’t bring shame to his family. While his mother and grandmother could easily become the heads of the family he would have spent a century just sitting under a tree. As he strolled along he glanced at the enticing views.
It didn’t matter, however. Before long the dirt path had ended in a small clearing. He was almost to the sanctuary. He turned to his right, the sunlight falling onto him like a stage light. Leviathan’s golden eyes pierced the dark woods in front of him. Palms started to sweat. The rest of the path was short, but it wasn’t a path. Levi had to remember how to get there on his own.
He stepped away from the ray of light, goosebumps climbed up his arms and around his neck and back. The shade seemed cooler here. The birds didn’t chirp. No more scuttling or dancing of the wind. It was just Leviathan, and his deep breaths.