Children of a Lesser God

Chapter 226: Information

Laz hadn't felt like he was an idiot when it came to things like spirits, other realms, or even his own strength. In fact, he felt as though he was more knowledgeable than most based solely on the fact that he had come into contact with more things than most people had ever seen. He was no expert, but he was no idiot either.

Until today.

"Tell me boy, what do you actually know about the other realms of this world?" The old woman asked, getting straight to the point.

"There are pockets of space that exist parallel to our own. Within these pockets can rest entire worlds or even just small areas. It just depends...."

"On what?"

"No idea."

"Of course not. Alright boy, I'm going to start and your going to listen. Your not wrong, but you are far from being right. If these things were just pockets of space, then they would be limited by laws that simply don't apply to our own world. Let's be honest for a moment. Most things can be described in scientific terms, but pocket dimensions? People gaining powers due to a blood infection? People who can channel elements? Does any of this seem like something science can reason out?"

"Well... No. Not really." Laz had questioned the things that he had discovered before, but where would he go to find answers. With only questions, there was nothing he could do about it Therefore, he didn't really think about it. Instead, he just filed it away under his whatever folder in his head. You know, that place where you put things that you don't understand and have no idea if understanding is even possible? It's like that.

"That's because it isn't. This world, our people, everything we know has been collected up into a nice little fishbowl of space. We can look out of the fishbowl, but at no point can we actually get there. Sure, from inside the fishbowl, everything outside of it looks explainable, but that's just based on what's inside the fishbowl. It's not the fault of us though boy, the lock to the door used to have a key, but that was taken away a long time ago. It just recently came back to us."

"The key...."

"That is it, isn't it? You already have the answer. Even I know nothing about what happened, I just know it happen. And here we are, eh? We have thee key, and the door opened, but now we are struggling with the outside world. We have parted the veil that that covers the world, but now we are seeing everything new and different again. It's like going back in time to when man had no idea what the bumps in the night were. They lived in the dark, feared the dark and avoided the dark. But the dark was there all thee same. These aren't pocket dimensions boy, they are the realms that are close to ours to begin with. They have always been there, we have just been cut off from them. Some of them may be dead realms, some may be teeming with life, different from our own. And that's what we call spirits. They aren't some creatures like fey or gnomes, they are their own creatures who have pierced the vail and come into our world."

"So those creatures I met, those large animal like things in that grey world..." Laz blurted out without thinking about it while trying to digest what he was being told.

"Animals in a grey world? Boy. Tell me. You've been within another realm?" The old woman looked both surprised and excited.

"Yes. Twice. The first time I was trapped there, the second time was by my own will."

"Then those spirits must have approved of you. I'm surprised your not dead. Those realms never lost their source of energy so the amount there should have killed you." The woman once again looked at Laz, wondering his secret to this.

"It almost did." Laz wasn't going to say more than he needed. He started to have some caution talking with this old grandma. He didn't know a thing about her, how could he possibly trust her.

"So be it. This world used to be a port of sorts and connected with various small realms that were close by, like living in a bubble surrounded by bubbles, until it was put into a fish bowl. So although we have old stores that seem crazy, for their people, it's actually history."

"Stories? Like... witches, ghosts, vampyers and werewolves sort of thing?" Laz thought back to all of the strange creatures he could think of and asked this question. He left out more crazy ones like bigfoot and slenderman as though seemed like more modern delusions.

"Oh, yeah. Those things be much more real than you can imagine. And the stories are far from being accurate. But that's not for now. Do you understand a bit now boy? Those pockets are actually true realms, the same as ours, just smaller."

"So the spirits you communicate with?"

"They are from one such realm. The Untamed Lands, they call 'emsleves. They hold great power and revere the old wisdoms. Their histories of our world are unmatched our... 'sciences.''.

"If they know so much about us, how could we not know anything about them?"

"Who says we don't? It's just that the old records that have been passed down have become so distorted with time that it's no longer even close to accurate. Old lost civilizations that have fallen. And I mean far older than you imagine. The great lizards that ruled the world hundreds of thousands of years ago wouldn't have even seen a bit of the old civilizations."

"Well, yeah man didn't..."

"Don't speak about what thee sciences tell you. If you don't know, don't interrupt." Laz shut his lips, obviously wanting to hear more.

"Man did not continue on in this realm and all of them retreated somewhere else, leaving the world to what it would make itself. The mega dinosaurs that they speak of roaming around were nothing more than the weakest wild creatures left in this world. Dis is why they kept getting smaller and smaller since the world could no longer support the great beasts. All of the intelligent ones left while the less intelligent ones died off. Of that, we know. But as to why, the denizens of the Untamed Lands will not speak of it. It's as though, they are afraid."

Laz felt like his head would explode. This was far more than he expected to hear. 'If what the old woman was saying was correct, it wasn't that humans hadn't existed before the dinosaurs, just that they had all left long before the dinosaurs ruled the world. But there was no scientific proof of that... but then again, there wouldn't be, would there?'

'But then, are we even related to the old humans? Didn't we evolve from monkeys?'

"You are thinking man as in what we are today, eh? But even you can imagine what kind of creatures might have inhabited this world back then, can't you?" The old woman seemed to know what Laz was thinking.

"You mean... like elves?"

"HA ha ha ha ha... boy. Let me tell you something. If you were to ever meet one of the eldest born and called them an elf, they would be confused at first. But if they ever learned what the term meant in our language and you called them that, they wouldn't hesitate to kill you on the spot." The old woman crackled in laughter until she tired herself out.

Of course Laz had no way to appreciate the joke.

There was also many things he was missing, answers he wanted. But he knew it wasn't the time to ask just yet.

"Now then. You understand a bit more than before, at least as much as I will explain. But for the real reason you are here. The thing your seeking is a treasure. You were told to come here right? Other's who have a connection to other realms, whether they know it or not, will also be told to come here. And those that don't, might be drawn here anyway. What you and all are seeking is a door. This door leads to a realm where this treasure can be found but only after you finish the tests laid down for it. If you cannot pass, you won't even have a chance for it. As fer why the other realms know about it, it's because they feel the fluctuations in the void and know what it means. But even they had no idea what kind of treasure it is. They had been cut off from each other and us for so long that although they can see the light, they can't identify it. Even still, everyone will want this treasure, so you should be ready."

"What about you? Won't you want it too?"

"What would an old lady like myself have due with a hidden trial and treasure. Some of my clan of the Vodun will be making a go at it. But us old things are staying out of it."

"They why help me?" It didn't make sense for her to share stuff like this with an outsider like Laz. Helping her own people would have been what she should have done, right?

"Cause you seem like a boy who will repay a debt. I help you a bit now, you help my people a bit later." The old woman didn't hide her intentions and instead laid it out straight. Laz could appreciate that.

"So how long before this thing happens?" Laz asked, starting to get interested.

"It's still going to be a while. Besides, it's still missing a few things before this trial can open..." The old woman, for the first time in their conversation, seemed hesitant to continue.

"What things? " If there was something he could do to make it go faster, Laz was ok with it.

"Death."

"Death?"

"The ones opening the portal are using death as a means to pry the door. Don't sound too surprised, this door wasn't meant to be found, much less opened by humans like us. It's a wonder we don't destroy ourselves doing so."

"And you know we won't?"

"I was told where that door leads. What will be found when it's opened however is anyone guess."

"That's not very helpful..."

"You think you could do better boy?" She was asking if he thought that someone else would tell him as much.

"No. I didn't mean that."

"Well, whatever. I've said all I mean to say."

"Then... why have you not spoken about why you called me some sort of dark omen?" This was the key point Laz wanted to understand and in fact, was one of the reasons for his trip here.

"Yes. That." The old woman hesitated before she grabbed her cane and picked it up. She silently spoke a few words to the silver skull which then seemed to nod back to her. Laz couldn't help but rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Do you think of yourself as still human boy?" The old woman asked while holding the cane in the air.

"Am I not?" Laz's response caused her to smile.

She had expected this.

The old woman waved the cane once and then sent it flying at Laz's forehead, the skull bashing right above his eyes.

With a flash of darkness, Laz opened his eyes and saw nothing but blackness all around, except it was like, an open field.

The trees were a light shade of black that stood out from the slightly lighter black of the grass. In the sky, to Laz's surprise, rested two full moons, one of which was a sparkling azure while the other was a deep violet. They were the only things producing light in the dark world.

Laz couldn't help but stare at those twin moons before raising his hand to cover his eyes. As he raised his hands however, Laz noticed that they were a deep grey color with black lines running all over him, like creepy veins that were showing above the skin. Checking himself out, he felt like his hair was halfway down his back while he noticed a pair of slight fangs within his mouth.

Laz had no idea what happened, but he knew he looked far from human now.

The old woman seemed to materialize out of thin air and stand before him, the walking stick in her hand as she smiled.

"What do you think now?"