This is a translation of the Tales of Vesperia novels: The Silence of the Dragon-rider, Judith"s story. I am only responsible for translating it, and for any content in ((double parentheses)).
PART 1: A CHANCE MEETING ON BALBUSA
Only the Voiceless Speak The Truth
Chapter 4
"Okay, here you go!"
Judith dropped the contents of her arms onto the ground with a thud. She"d gathered fresh produce from Temza: vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and even a little bit of meat.
The Krityans of Temza weren"t poor. They didn"t have an excess of supplies either, but Hermes said nothing to stop Judith when she went to bring supplies from their house.
There was no doubting that the creature was weak. In that condition, it should really be eating. But since Judith hadn"t the slightest idea what it would be able to eat, she had decided to bring lots of different things to offer to it.
But the creature simply cracked its eyes open a sliver and looked around, then closed them again. It didn"t seem to have an appet.i.te for anything she"d brought. Instead it seemed to view her efforts as a bother, disturbing its rest.
"Judith, honestly, I can"t think of anything else to try."
Hermes was completely exhausted after another round trip up the mountain. More than once he"d tried to grab Judith and bring her back with him, but each time she had escaped his grasp with surprising speed. How could his daughter possibly have been motivated like this all of a sudden?
"He"s so sad," Hermes heard her say as he desperately hurried after her.
Sad? That mysterious monster? It was almost certainly dying of some internal cause, which for a person would certainly be sad, but...
Or maybe she really had something else on her mind. He remembered their conversation from that afternoon. His daughter was the only one of her friends who hadn"t moved on, so maybe she was lonely.
There was no way they could overpower this creature, but Hermes had decided to let things go on for just a while longer while he watched over them.
"He won"t eat any of it, huh."
"Maybe that"s not what it eats. Or it doesn"t feel up to eating."
Its general listlessness and the fact that it didn"t show any interest in eating the meat meant that Hermes didn"t need to worry much about it attacking them -- although perhaps it just preferred its meals fresh.
Either way, it didn"t seem like there was much danger at the moment. The more he looked at it, the more he could see it had taken horrible wounds. He would have thought that an injured animal would be even more dangerous, but wondering about that when it was in such a weakened state was pointless.
"Then I"ll make him eat!"
Judith picked up one of the fruit from the ground and brought it over to the creature"s mouth. The creature"s eyes flared wide, and its mouth gaped open.
"Ahh--!"
"Judith?!" She fell back, and Hermes rushed over to her. In his alarm, he dropped the lux blastia and it tumbled over the ground with a loud noise, rolling to a stop near the creature.
"Hmm...?"
Hermes pulled Judith closer to him and got to his feet, but the creature wasn"t paying any attention to his daughter. Its attention was focused raptly on the blastia. When he moved to pick it up, the creature made a sound, different and stronger than the piping whistle from earlier.
"Dad, I think he wants the blastia. You can"t eat those, right?"
Hermes nodded. Certainly that reaction had been protesting his intention to take it, possibly even seeing him as a threat.
The creature had showed no reaction to humans, nor to food, but it reacted to the blastia. What in the world for? Hermes found his curiosity stirred.
The creature slowly opened its mouth again. He couldn"t see what kind of teeth it had, but it was certainly big enough to eat a person.
While father and daughter watched, its body began to glow lightly. Although he didn"t understand how the lux blastia glowed in the first place, he knew with complete confidence that the light grew stronger.
"This is......" Hermes felt his breath catch. As if they were synching up, the creature"s body became brighter until it matched the blastia"s light. Not only was it glowing; its whole body was radiating light. And then, as if it had been blown by the wind, the blastia"s light suddenly flooded out -- and rushed into the creature"s mouth.
Little by little the light drained from the blastia into the mouth of the creature as if inhaled. Then the radiance dimmed and faded from the lux blastia.
"That"s astonishing... Is it directly absorbing the aer?" Hermes murmured, ever the researcher, his voice hushed as if from far away. The creature made a sound like a sigh.
"Aer?"
"Aer is the force that powers blastia. And not just blastia, but you and me, and this mountain, and every single thing in this world -- it"s the substance that makes up everything. You could say that we use blastia in its raw form, but not the same way this thing just did......"
"You sound like you"re talking to yourself in the bathtub, Dad."
Hermes gave his daughter a hurt look. Then the lux blastia lost its last trace of brilliance. The creature had finally sucked the last life out of it, and it made a sound like a sigh. Suddenly the darkness closed in around them on every side.
Unthinkingly, Hermes and his daughter tensed, but whether or not the creature was satisfied, it didn"t seem inclined to do anything else.
Gradually their eyes adjusted to the darkness, and they relaxed. For the first time time Hermes realized that the bedrock above them didn"t cover the sky, and there was only the spread of stars overhead. The ceiling had caved in, so they were only surrounded by ma.s.sive stone on all sides, as if they were inside a broken-down castle, and the night sky shone down though the rounded hole that seemed to have been torn out of the roof. The dim light from outside was somehow stranger than the darkness of the cave.
The creature made a low cry. Although it sounded a little stronger, it still didn"t have real power behind it.
"It looks like that wasn"t enough."
"Hmm. The lux blastia didn"t have enough aer stored up in it, probably," Hermes mused, deep in thought.
"Hey, Dad, let"s bring him more things with that aer stuff in them! If we do that, he could get better!"
"Well, maybe so, but......"
If he were honest about his motives, Hermes was very interested in what had just happened. He was interested in the blastia, too, but even with all his research there was still a great deal about aer that he didn"t understand. This creature"s existence could offer so much insight into it! His head was already racing with theories about how this creature could need aer to live.
But still, he had a certain duty as a father. He had to use his judgment.
"Well, let"s go back until daybreak."
"But we don"t have the light."
She was completely right. Certainly without a light, navigating down that road back to the house would be reckless. But while Hermes was busy trying to come up with a brilliant idea, Judith got one first.
"Then let"s all sleep here! And then this little guy won"t be lonely."
Hermes was at a loss for words. Sleeping outdoors on a rocky mountain? If the temperature held he wouldn"t have to be concerned about catching cold, but would they be really safe here with this creature? When they"d returned the first time, he"d told Murcy that they were safe, so no one would come to look for them. It was an unreasonable idea, so they needed to head back--
But Hermes felt like every argument he could think of sounded like pointless quibbling. Besides, in the end, he was deeply tired and he just wanted to rest.
Hermes"s face lit up with a wry smile, and then he just dropped down onto the floor.
"Sure, why not."
And he knew that his daughter"s eyes were shining in the darkness.
He could hear sleeping rhythmic breathing. And that was all he could hear.
Hermes was looking up at the stars. He was sitting cross-legged with his back to the wall of rock, and Judith was leaning against his side, sound asleep.
Everything had been turned upside down, he thought. His daughter, his research. Hermes still couldn"t completely process all of what had happened. But even so, somehow, he had ended up spending the night in a place like this, together with his daughter.
And the cause was this creature, which had been discovered for the first time here in this very cave they were lying in, with its eyes closed and sleeping... probably.
When he thought about it, it was really such a strange creature. It wouldn"t eat ordinary food, but it absorbed aer directly, which was miraculous enough on its own. Its behavior -- although unusual, there weren"t really other words to describe it -- made him draw the line at calling it a monster. That was part of the reason why he was doing this, sleeping beside it and watching it despite how dangerous that could"ve been. Even if not for its injuries, he had no feeling like the creature would attack them.
It was so quiet. It was calm at night in Temza, too, but not like this. If it weren"t for them, there wouldn"t be a single sign of civilization out here. It was too quiet, as if he couldn"t hear anything but the soundlessness.
Civilization... It had once relied on blastia, even though Hermes couldn"t use them for anything other than light. And after the ancient civilization"s dependency on exceptionally convenient tools like blastia, they had lashed out against them. Hermes sighed.
He looked up at the starry sky above him again, in its soundless brilliance. It had been a long time since he looked up at the stars like this... His gaze was always directed down, poring over machines or doc.u.ments.
But it wasn"t that bad. Hermes smiled, listening to Judith"s soft breathing.
Gradually, exhaustion advanced on him, like the rising of the tide. He"d intended to stay up and keep watch, but at long last, with his eyelids growing heavier, Hermes slipped into sleep.
The morning sun would come and drag the stars from the sky. Until then, there would be not a sound in the world except for the breathing of the defenseless trio.
The morning was no less quiet than the night had been. If they"d been back in Temza, the voices and bustle of the waking citizens would have been everywhere, letting them know the day had begun. But here there was nothing like that.
With rock surrounding them everywhere in this natural dome, direct sunlight was mostly blocked, and it was impossible to tell the time. But Hermes woke soon enough anyway, thanks to the aching in his body from sleeping on the rocky ground.
His legs felt light. Judith had been resting there, and now she was gone, which made his sleepiness vanish in a heartbeat when he realized.
It was only more alarming to realize that Judith was right in front of his eyes -- directly in front of the creature"s face. She was eagerly talking to it.
"Judith..."
Judith was already glancing over her shoulder, as if having noticed his attention before he spoke. "Good morning, Dad!"
"Good morning. What are you... Ah, what are you talking about?"
"I"m asking him where he"s from and what his name is."
"Has it said anything?"
"No. But he"s definitely listening."
The creature"s fixed attention finally shifted to Hermes. Those eyes certainly had clarity in them, and they studied him with something very like intelligence. For once Hermes was more interested in straightening out the kinks in his back than studying the creature in return.
"He"s in pain," Judith said, pointing at it. In the bright light of day, it was almost painful to look at. All over its body, its scale-like covering was split and blood had oozed from the gashes and hardened, and some places it was still fresh. Very recently, it seemed to have been in some sort of horrible fight.
But it seemed to be calmer than it had been last night, too. Perhaps consuming the aer in the lux blastia really had helped it in some way. At the very least, it didn"t seem to be in critical condition any longer.
Then, it was time to make breakfast out of the untouched food that they"d brought for the creature. They"d been starving since last night, so they ate greedily.
"I"m sorry. But we"ll definitely bring you something you can eat after we"re done, and then it"ll be your turn," Judith told the creature, which was still watching them.
"But I really do wonder where this little guy came from," she asked her father, still eating.
"So do I. I"ve been giving it a lot of thought, but I honestly have no idea."
"Even you don"t know, Dad? I guess he can"t have come from anywhere after all." Judith said, and then grinned, finding her own joke funny. Hermes smiled, but something had suddenly occurred to him.
"I wonder if this is some kind of dragon..."
"What"s a dragon?"
"It"s a legend from the world below. They"re creatures from folklore, and no one really agrees on what they look like or what kind of powers they have, but they"re much more powerful than humans or monsters. I do think I recall hearing a story about a dragon that could eat light."
"Hmm, I see. So this little guy is a dragon. But he doesn"t look so powerful, does he? Maybe he"s still just a kid."
"A kid? Maybe so," Hermes answered. He wasn"t great with biology, so he stuck to a safe, inconclusive response.
It was hard to say whether it would be a better guess to say it was a child from a great species, or an inexperienced adult of some other species. Hermes was still thinking about it as he bit into a fruit. It was overripe, and intense sweetness filled his mouth.
"He" was confused.
These creatures had brought him something that he could eat. It wasn"t nearly enough to heal his wounds, but thanks to them he had recovered a little bit of his energy.
Were they his kin? It didn"t seem like they were enemies, but... He couldn"t get past that question.
The memory of wondering if these creatures would drive him away from their tiny spring, too, was still fresh with him. Remembering the terror he"d felt in that moment made him shiver.
But if these creatures were his kin, it would all be okay.
"He" had felt touched by something in that moment. Something thin and light and frail, but it wasn"t just his imagination.
It had been determination.
And he felt it now radiating from the smaller of the two creatures right in front of him.
This little creature was communicating its determination to him! Just as he"d thought, they weren"t so different from him, and they weren"t his enemies at all. "He" was astonished, but also filled with joy.
Still, even though the creature seemed eager enough to project its determination, tickling his mind with it, it wasn"t projecting any clear image. Its small body was only barely managing to radiate its will. But there was no doubt that it was the one calling to him.
Maybe it still didn"t understand how to do it right, "he" thought. Although wary of hostility, he had learned from studying his little kin. Maybe he could do it, too.
"He" gathered his own will, and gently projected it to the little one.
"Hmm...?"
Suddenly, Judith"s expression shifted, taken aback, and she looked around uncertainly. Her father gave her an uncertain look. "What is it?"
"Um... I"m not sure." She didn"t really understand it herself, and even as she said it, she tilted her head, thinking. She"d suddenly felt as if someone was beside her. It had been a strange feeling, but it had been very clear. Like someone whispering in her ear, even though no one was there.
If this had been an ordinary night, she would have a.s.sumed she was just up too late, but now it was afternoon. And her father was here, too. With him, she could think about it calmly, without feeling uneasy.
She felt it again. This time it was gentler, but still clear and distinct. She turned around, trying to tell where it was coming from. She could tell that it was flowing at her from a particular direction, and she felt it more strongly -- when she looked at the creature.
A moment pa.s.sed with Judith staring at it blankly. With all her heart focused in that moment, she felt another presence, another heart, outside herself, in the creature facing her.
She forgot all about her physical body. They had a conversation without words, a meeting of minds unhindered by language. They exchanged mental images and sensations directly, a conversation spun of only feeling and intuition, pure as children and in-depth as philosophers.
At first Judith was at the mercy of the torrent rushing through her mind, but quickly she understood that these were not her feelings, her will. Once she understood, she picked it up fast. Then she was able to sift through the thoughts, and all at once their meanings became clear to her.
And finally Judith engaged in it.
"Judith?" Hermes called her, having noticed his daughter"s strange state.
Judith slowly glanced at her father, as if waking from a dream. Then she looked back at the creature, comparing their appearances. Animation returned to her as she remembered where they were.
"He says thank you."
"Huh?"
"This little guy. He says thank you."
"......How do you know that?"
"He told me, that"s how. Right?" Judith said, turning back to the creature and winking at it. Now it was Hermes"s turn to be bewildered. During their strange breakfast, it seemed that something had happened. But what could it be?
"Judith, don"t tell me..."
She continued gazing at the creature, lost in a dream, but differently than when Hermes first woke. That was a one-sided experience, but Hermes could clearly tell from looking at them that this was more like a conversation, even though he couldn"t hear it.
Amazed, Hermes murmured, "A... dragon child..."
"Hey, what"s your name?"
"He" didn"t understand the concept.
"You don"t have one? Then, let"s see..... Simuen... Belvess... Lelos... No, not those... Ah, I"ve got it!"
Her manifested emotions were all excitement and surprise. He had the feeling that she was thinking of something ancient and precious and wonderful to her.
The little creature let out a happy sound: "Ba"ul! How"s that? You"re Ba"ul -- Ba"ul! That"s good, don"t you think?"
Although he didn"t understand her language, he grasped the reason she was pointing at him. When the little creature made the "Ba"ul" sound, there was a lot of significance packed into it.
Freedom.
Release.
Independence--
It meant all of those things.
"He" was pleased. When he took it as his "name", the sound Ba"ul would mean him.
"I"m Judith! It"s nice to meet you, Ba"ul!"
Ba"ul projected his understanding back to her and made a small sound out loud, and Judith raced up to hug him delightedly.
Ba"ul made another noise, louder this time. His cry echoed outward from inside the cave, crossing the distance to Temza, where the people all looked up, wondering what it could be.
They could not possibly understand, but that joyous, trembling cry marked the end of a long search.
They weren"t alone anymore.
((Editor"s notes: My heart. Ba"ul and Judith are so cute.))
((The implication here is that "Ba"ul" is a word in Judith"s ancient language, meaning freedom and all of that good stuff. Judith calls Ba"ul "kono ko", this child / this boy, but Hermes never does anything like that, so I tried to reflect how much she"s humanizing him in her dialogue, while Hermes is not.))
((We don"t know a lot about the Entelexeia, like why some of them can speak but Ba"ul can"t, and some of them can shapeshift like Khroma but the others don"t. It seems likely that Ba"ul doesn"t understand the human language yet, but probably will in the future with some exposure to it.))
((Credits: Love still goes to rainfall for getting me the novels for the holidays and for helping me with a few confusing bits.))
This is the end of Part 1. The next part is Part 2: The Great Circle. It may be a little late coming out because of RL things cropping up next week.