Part 2

Mortality is one of the greatest blights and gifts that had been granted upon humanity. Without doubt we've all spoke wishes to live forever, at least once in our lives. To hold in mind that we're not eternal, but instead, quite fragile instead, is a feeling many claim to understand, but all too less know well.

For even if our own easily extinguished life might be forgotten for mere moments, we're constantly reminded of the fact, through others. We are all surrounded by the obvious signs that we're nowhere near close to the gods we proclaim ourselves to be. We're all liable to die at any second. Life is so easy to extinguish...

Once we come in contact with death once, we never forget the ruthless and unforgiving nature of it. The afterlife awaits us all, one sooner than the other, but once someone gets proof of this, they'll bear the mark for the remainder of their lives, never able to escape from the grasp  of death, no matter when that might occur. They become tainted by our own mortality.

The murky water stirred around from even his most careful steps, ripples lazily expanding into gigantic sizes. His shoes sank into the mud at almost every third step, though he didn't seem to pay much attention to it...or better, none at all. The air itself felt moist to his lungs, the large amount of humidity in it making breathing only a tiny bit hard.

Trees of relatively size, but tremendous leafage covered most of the bog that surrounded him, acting much like curtains. His steps were becoming more and more unsteady as fatigue slowly came over him. Emotions were good as secondary power for only a short while, before they'd lose strength and eventually prove more harmful, than good.

Not much was fueling the boy by now either way. A black void was present where his heart should have been, fed constantly by the many negative feelings that continuously pulsed within him. A monster of guilt, despair and grief kept tearing him to shreds inside, not giving him even just a single second of mercy.

Even he didn't know by now as to what was it that kept him going forward, but it was still there, still commanding him to continue. He just couldn't go back now, and face the truth he'd known ever since that night...that his mother was no longer amongst the living.

The past few days left nearly no imprint in his mind, either way. It was all just a blur, a living and never-ending nightmare. He knew that Rayman and nearly all of his friends kept being besides him to somehow ease his pain at least a tiny bit, but they too knew it helped nearly nothing. It was way too much for just one person to bear such a weight.

Salian let his hand rest on the bark of a tree for a few moments, while he collected his breath a bit. Beads of sweat kept running down his forehead like a stream, not showing any sign of stopping. The air was heavy around him, making him a tiny bit sleepy. He didn't want any rest though...if he had any, he'd only relive those moments once more, just like every time someone managed to get him to sleep a little.

He closed his eyes for a bit, trembling as he could see it all in his mind's eye once again.

She felt so light...so nothing of weight, even though she was resting fully in his hold. He couldn't move anymore, his heart coming to a momentary stop. Those empty eyes...gazing at him with the absence of the lambent vigor that should have pulsed from them, and the blood...the hot, almost steamy body fluid, running down her gown, his hands, onto the ground painting everything red...a river, a tidal wave of his mother's crimson blood...

Several birds and bog creatures scattered as he slammed the side of his fist against the tree with a loud cry, almost sinking to his knees right then. He couldn't bear to see it all once more. He couldn't accept that all this had come to pass. It was hard to imagine life could be this cruel.

“Mother...” he whimpered, able to feel his eyes watering a tiny bit once more.

What world would allow such to happen? His hands clenched into fists upon the tree's bark, though his nails were unable to dig into it. What fate is such agony? He gritted his teeth, bitter tears slowly sliding down his cheeks. ...what god would abandon his servant?

“Damn you!” he screamed. “Damn you all!!”

That was all his strength allowed him though. He could no longer do anything. He couldn't cry, he couldn't try and destroy anything anymore. He was just tired, lost, lonely and stuck in a hole he couldn't get out of without some help. He needed the hand of someone...anyone...

“Salian? Is that you?”

The boy flinched to the call of his name, raising his visage from the ground with a rather surprised look. He couldn't properly identify the voice at the first moments, spawning a short-lasting distrust. As he finally realized who addressed him, he forgot all of that, along with the anger that pulsed in him before.

His gaze was met with a rather friendly one, even though it came from the strangest of places...from the marsh, exactly. The figure rose a bit in the water slowly, letting the boy see him fully. An elusive creature his kind was, their natural habitat giving them one of the best hiding place of the planet.

Purple scales glimmered along his long and slender form, his posture creating a sort of wave-like appearance, with some parts of his body always under the swamp-water. His prolate face, though rather strange for one who hadn't seen such before, showed nothing that could be defined as even remotely dangerous. Those who knew him would have laughed at even the idea of him hurting anyone.

A Marsh Serpent he was. Their kind were the most natural inhabitants of the Marshes of Awakening, as they roamed every inch of water of it. They were benevolent creatures, often sought after by weary travelers of the swamp. It had always been a fondly told legend that whenever one would get lost in the murky Marshes, one of the Serpents would find them and safely lead the unwary out.

“Hi Sssssam...” the boy sighed, his elevated mood not lasting for too long. Even though it's been a long-long while since he'd seen the Serpent, not even his presence could relieve him.

“Hello to you too!” the mentioned Serpent swam a bit closer, clearly seeing signs of distress upon the young boy. It would have been against his entire being if he didn't check whether he was alright. “...how are you holding up?”

The boy's gaze snapped at him again, though this time he looked truly shocked. Out of every kind of question, this certainly wasn't one he had anticipated before. It was as though...he knew. He can't...I've never told him...nor anyone else! The Serpent's gaze was anything but unknowing though. He seemed perfectly clear with what happened a few days ago, though from what source, Salian couldn't possibly begin to guess.

“The Teensies.” Sssssam spoke up again, his look an almost sorry one. “They've been around a day ago, warning everyone that Mister Dark had returned...and what he'd done already...” he added, his voice lowering slightly as he gazed at the boy.

Salian shook his head a little bit, as if trying to prove that he was doing fine now. However, it was pretty obvious that he was still very far from it. His pains had only begun. The time of reckless sadness was slowly ending, giving place to the simple, cold grief. Sssssam continue to look at him for only a little while longer, before he turned around, swimming away.

The boy trembled a little, a subtle feeling of betrayal coursing in him. For just a moment, he felt as though even the Marsh Serpent had decided to leave his presence, deeming it nothing but a blight. Even from something so simple, only the worst things could come to his head. His sulking ended abruptly though as Sssssam suddenly reappeared, pulling a small punt with a rope around his body.

“Come on...” he called, his calm voice almost startling Sal for a moment. “A little ride never hurt anyone.” he added, seeing he was very much unsettled.

His thoughts lost logic soon though, as he finally got into the worn old boat. He moved without any real decision, slumping into the moldy wooden contraption. Sssssam seemed happy of his decision and began to move, dragging him along for a little ride along the Marshes. He personally found a little stroll to be great to take one's mind off anything bad...and right now, he knew the boy needed this little relief more than anything.

-     -     -

“This just can't get any better, can it...?”

The trip the Salian's room only yielded quite the worry to the Limbless. His footsteps barely even echoed along the Council Halls as he quickly strode through the corridors, heading straight towards the entrance to the Hall of Doors. Normally, he didn't quite like the maze of Teensie portals, due to the rather uncomfortable feeling when he crossed through them, but this was an exception.

For now, he was trying to find one of his closest friends, who seemed to have simply vanished into thin air. Due to the events a few days ago, the very shadow of pure fear grasped his heart, images of Dark, or any other malevolent force for that matter, taking the boy for some foul reason. He knew this was highly unlikely though, as not even the shadow mage would have been able to enter the Council, without someone sensing his presence.

Thus remained the only other plausible explanation: Salian had run off somewhere.

In all honesty, Rayman had to admit he expected this to happen, sooner or later. The boy had just lost his mother...it was perfectly understandable that he just couldn't face the truth and accept her passing. Thus, to escape the horrible reality that was this life, he-

“-fled to Polokus-knows-where...” he groaned, taking another sharp turn. However, he was met with an unexpected obstruction, all of a sudden.

A loud band shook the hall as they both landed on the ground, dazed from the sudden knockdown.

“Ouch...watch where you're going...” a distinctly feminine voice reached the Limbless, prompting him to rub the blur out of his eyes.

The curly blue hair, lambent green eyes and soft features, instantly gave her identity away. Ly rubbed the back of her head a bit from the fall, before glancing back at Rayman. A cheery smile immediately appeared on her face, once she realized it was him.

“Sorry, Ly...” the Limbless chuckled a little in slight embarrassment, gently taking her hand and setting her back on her feet again. “I didn't exactly plan on running into you like that.”

Instead of being angry or any of the sorts though, the fairy surprised Rayman by lifting him up into the air and into her arms. He couldn't even speak at first, momentarily stunned by the friendly gesture. Before he could get used to it though, she had already placed him back on the ground again.

“About time we finally met again...” she remarked, though pouting a little bit out of playfulness, even though she knew very well why he hadn't visited lately.

“Well...to be honest, I wanted to make it a group visit.” he mused, grinning slightly. “But...it didn't quite turn out as planned...”

The fairy's smile calmed down a little, a bit of worry mixing into her feelings. She very much knew what he meant. Although she had no true concept of what it was like to lose a close sibling, she knew it had to be excruciating. Nothing could possibly compare to the loss of the very one who brought him upon this world.

“I hope he's doing better now...” she sighed, twirling her blue hair a little, like whenever she was nervous. She'd let it grow again lately, though it was doubtful whether she was just trying it out a different style, or merely didn't care about it too much.

“I wish it was like that...” the limbless sighed as well. “In all honesty, he's doing worse every day...he's barely eating at all and I doubt he got any sleep lately.” he listed, looking rather worried, not to mention anxious as he remember the reason why he dashed down the corridor. “Not to mention he seemed to have run off now...” he added, startling Ly.

“What do you mean 'ran off'?” she asked, her eyes widening slightly. Sure, she expected him to take Shya's death rather badly, but she didn't think he'd decide to vanish altogether. “But...where to? And when? Didn't anyone watch over him?” Questions kept blurting out of her, heart sinking to the fact. They had just returned from the clutches of certain death, and she didn't want to have Salian, nor anyone else of her friends in mortal danger once again.

“Apparently no one was around at that time.” Rayman answered as best as he could, careful not to upset the fairy any further. “I doubt he left for real though...he left all his stuff here. He just probably needed to get away from here, for a short while.” he added, able to see Ly easing up a bit already. “Still, I was just about to go after him...no matter what, the Council is the safest place for him, right now.”

“Mind if I tag along?” Ly queried, glancing into the limbless' eyes.

She expected to see rejection in them, but instead, she found only a gleeful light instead. She couldn't help smiling back at him, able to guess what just happened. He knew it; he knew she would follow him with, or without his approval. She ran her hand along her, signaling that unless serious running was involved she'd do fine. Having just gotten another dose of healing magic, it was doing pretty well now.

“After you, madam.” the limbless purred, even making a quick bow out of playfulness. Even in worry, he had always been one to find some glimmer of light in the dark, smile in the grief.

“Why, I'm flattered.” she winked, giggling a little bit before going forwards, Rayman following close by. Wherever Salian was, both were very hopeful that he was alright, or at least in the right hands.

-      -      -

“You'll never really get over it...”

Salian flinched from the words, his attention centered upon the marshy scenery, till that moment. That one sentence was more than enough to divert his attention. He turned towards the purple Marsh Serpent, who was still in the middle of giving him a tour of the Bog.

“What did you say?” he asked back, unable to hold back just a little edge in his voice. His feelings about the death of his mother, was a touchy subject.

“I said that you probably won't ever get through Shya's death.” Sssssam repeated himself, as if he was merely discussion the weather. “Not for a couple of years, at very best.” he added.

In an instant, the boy felt something he never thought he could harbor for someone like the Marsh Serpent. Pure and unquenchable rage flared up from the very depths of his soul, consuming every bit of rational thought he had around.

How does he DARE say that?! His hands clenched into fists as he frowned upon Sssssam. If he hadn't been swimming, he would  have attacked him right there, without a true and valid reason to silence him, unless to keep those foul words from his ears. He didn't want to hear of his mother's death. He just couldn't accept that it was the actual truth.

His rage dissipated quickly though as Sssssam turned sharply, causing the old boat to swing about a bit. Salian lost his balance right at the first movement, nearly falling overboard. In the end though, he merely ended up falling in the boat, groaning from the blunt pain. Even though the planks seemed age-old and moldy, they were hard as the exterior of the Fairy Council.

“Cool down, Salian.” Sssssam called from up front, the very tone of his voice surprising the boy. It seemed the Serpent anticipated such an anger. “This just proves what I've just said. Although I haven't seen you in these past few days, you're either way past grief already, or have never even begun to do so.”

Salian's blood quickly began to boil once more, his gaze hardening as well. Even though he pretty much calmed down after nearly sinking into the bog, this was more than enough to awaken a blinding fury in him. This was way more than he could accept without some kind of repercussion. Just as he was looking for something he could use as a weapon though, he noticed the Marsh Snake was gone already.

“You obviously miss her, but your feelings are directed towards your own misery, than Shya's untimely death...”

He spun around to face the Serpent, but he was long gone by the time he looked. Panting a little from the forcibly contained anger, he kept glancing around to find him, his words only working to upset him more with every second, to the point where he could barely even think straight.

“Your suffering doesn't come from the pain of losing her-”

“You just don't know what to do with your life now and that's what really troubles you-”

“In all honesty, you're merely clinging to the foolish thought of her being still alive, instead of  coming in terms with the truth-”

“She's gone, Sal. And nothing will ever bring her back now...”

“SHUT UP!!” the boy screamed, losing his balance once again, from the continuous spinning around, falling into a sit.

Salian barely even realized the tears that kept running down his cheeks, nor the fact that he could no longer feel angry. He only felt as though there was a black void withing him. He'd been denied of everything, even anger now. He had nothing left to keep him going, as sadness was definitely not something that would push a person forward. The boy swallowed the rest of his tears, feeling terribly lost and forgotten right then.

He only flinched as he felt something wet and slimy touch his neck, making him turn with a shocked look, only to find that it was merely Sssssam facing him with a rather sorrowful look. The boy was too surprised to care about his long-gone rage anymore. He just remained sitting there, gazing into the eyes of the Serpent.

“I only know because I've been through the same.” he spoke up once more, his voice turning compassionate once more. “During the Pirate Invasion, most of my kind was wiped out by the robots. There were only a handful of us left, by the end. I went through the same pain, the same sorrow you're experiencing now...”

The boy couldn't speak in earnest, his look one with shock as he kept gazing at him. He'd only ever known Sssssam as a friendly and ever-cheerful person. He never expected him to have such a grim past. Sure, the invasion brought all kinds of sorrow upon the world, but the casualties were moderate, as far as he knew. His silence only made the Serpent smile though, able to sense some guilt in him.

“It's alright...you had no idea, nor do most people.” he assured, sounding rather lively. “I just meant to say that I know what you're going through now...and the worst you can do now, is to mope on. Shya's gone, but you're still here and there are people who still wait you with arms spread wide.”

Salian couldn't help but smile a little upon his words. Even if it was hard to admit, he had a point. Though Shya was in the Spirit World now, he was still around with the promise of a long and happy life. But only if I chose to continue...

“Come on...I'll take you back to the portal.” the Serpent winked, seeing all he said was taken into consideration.

The boy nodded absentmindedly, still smiling to himself. Yes...it doesn't have to end here. A tragedy, true, but not the closing page of the story. He eased into a more comfortable sit as Sssssam began to tow the boat towards the portal he came through. A minute later, he felt the boat stop all of a sudden. He merely chuckled a bit, leaning towards the Serpent.

“Okay, I got it now...you can stop playing arou-” his words got stuck mid-way though, as he realized something was wrong.

Sssssam was gone. No trace of air bubble, no movement under water, nothing at all. Fear began to gather in the boy, only before he noticed something in the marshy water...something far bigger than the Marsh Serpent could ever grow into.

He immediately went overboard with a loud cry, able to hear the boat being destroyed by something. Panic struck him that instant, the primal urge to get himself into safety. Even though he was a naturally good swimmer, the swamp-water hindered the task quite a lot. Suddenly, he saw it.

He only caught a slight glimpse of it, but it was enough to freeze his blood. The exact looks didn't remain in his head at all, but rather the details, the kind that further hurried him to flee. It was definitely an aquatic creature, but as colossal as he had never seen, besides Carmen the Whale. Just seeing the razor-sharp teeth and the single, hungry-looking eye was more than enough to get him moving.

Luck finally became his lover for a moment, as he managed to get to shore without the creature attacking him. He did feel it swimming around, the rippling of its huge body enough to promptly catapult him onto the muddy beach. Coughing and spluttering from the water, he tried to get up, instincts still commanding him to move on.

He suddenly heard the sound of footsteps, seeming to be getting close to him. Though weak and confused, Salian immediately got into motion again and tried standing up, wanting to face whoever it was. They took Sssssam already...but they wouldn't do the same to him! The moment he had a decent foothold, he raised his fists, ready to defend himself.

However, he never even got that chance. The moment he was prepared, the figure raised its hand, blowing golden dust into his face. His senses shut down almost that instant, his entire body becoming heavy as lead. The last thing he could see, were a bunch of rags, before he blacked out, landing in the mud once more.

-     -     -

“Well, according to the Teensies, he should be around here somewhere...” Rayman mused, looking disgusted at the squelches his shoes were making in the mud. He was almost two inches taller already because of how much had piled upon them.

Ly followed him with a giggle, although she wasn't doing so much better either. Her body suit was already stained enough to make several less timid fairies cry, though she didn't seem to care about it at all. Unlike Rayman, she only had a single article of clothing to get dirty, either way. She had no shoes even; rather than that, the material of her body suit was much thicker around her feet, serving almost better than any footwear could.

“He'd really chosen the best possible place, that's for sure.” she mused, taking a good look around, both to keep an eyes out for Salian, and get some sightseeing done. She'd rarely ever been to the Marshes before. “Good news is that it's relatively safe here, right?” she asked, just to make sure.

“When you know where to go.” Rayman remarked, getting a little scowl from her. “Okay, okay, it's actually pretty safe...especially since we've already been here a few times together. He's probably near Sssssam...whenever either of us appear, he always arrives there minutes later, as if he had a radar.” he chuckled.

“No offense Ray, but you're not hard to spot.” she pointed out, smirking a little. “After all, a little guy with no arms or legs ain't that hard to recognize.” she added, skipping ahead of him, coating a little of his shirt with mud as she passed by.

“Oh, is that so?” he raised a brow, quickly running after him. Even though she was faster on forest ground, he had the upper hand here, because of the more difficult terrain. “Well, let me just say that you're not exactly blending in either.” he explained, also smirking. “Blue hair and green lips pretty much stand out here, not to mention the body suit!” he slid just ahead of her suddenly, making her stop in her tracks, unless she wanted to knock both of them down.

“I always wanted to ask anyway...” he continued, the smug grin on his face not fading at all. “Why did you decide on green lips anyway? Was it because you wanted to look more like Betilla...or just to appeal to a certain someone?” his smirk went even wider as she merely raised a brow, but couldn't suppress her bodily reaction, in the form of a blush.

“Ah, shut up.” she grumbled, grabbing his hood and pulling it over his face, securing it tightly as well.

“Why you little...” he growled, only hearing her giggling as she left him, his sight being reduced to the interior of his hoodie. He only managed to free himself a few minutes later, running after her with a growl. “I'll get you for this!” he promised, only to bump into her.

He groaned and glanced around, his blood freezing as he realized why she stopped. The purple body and long face easily gave away the person they were both gazing upon. He had his head on the beach, looking somewhat wounded.

“Sssssam!” Rayman cried, dashing to the side of his friend, just as Ly started taking care of his wounds. Most were only minor ones, but they could still use some patching. “What happened?” the limbless asked in a hurry, getting a really bad feeling out of it.

The Marsh Serpent glanced up at him, looking both pained and angry. It happened in less than a moment and even now, he praised his luck of evading those terrible teeth. He could feel the familiar energy though, which made him so angry. “Witchery...” he growled simply.

“Ray...what did he mean by that?” Ly queried, glancing at them in worry. She didn't exactly get what the Serpent meant with that, but guessed it must have had to do something with his condition. “And where's Sal?”

The limbless remained silent as he stood up though, glancing firmly into a single direction. No matter the trees, bushes, creatures or anything else, he could see the cottage clearly in his mind's eye and its resident. He clenched his fists, scowling deeply. The little search for Salian had just turned into something a lot more serious.

If you've hurt him...not even your most foul tricks will save you from me...