The Great War: Chapter 66
Two minds, one child
The tranquility of the tent is filled only with the sound of young Anora scratching away on a piece of paper, happily drawing to her hearts’ content. Isaac watches her quietly from his mound of cushions as Anya watches over her shoulder quietly with a soft smile on her face.
The two of them are stuck with watching Anora for the foreseeable future. How could they have said no? Well, Isaac might have turned the Captain down, but Anya didn’t. He gets it. They know the Generals and they helped Anora once before. Edwin found good beings to watch over his daughter.
Well, at least he offered to pay them for their time, too. Isaac can’t keep faking their money forever.
But it’s not long into the cycle until the peacefulness of the tent is disturbed. Suddenly, without explanation, a new mind makes itself known to him. A warm presence yet distant, not quite all there. He can’t help but suck in a breath and sit up in alarm, staring at Anora, as the child frowns to herself, pausing her drawing suddenly.
That second presence is coming from her.
The girl looks up to Anya and states, “I feel funny.”
Anya frowns back. “What do you mean? How?”
Anora raises a hand to her forehead. “My head tingles.”
The Cryomancer turns to Isaac very briefly, her mind swirling with concern. Is she sick? is her first thought.
Isaac presses his lips tightly together, trying not to betray his knowledge of the truth. Anora isn’t sick. Rather, she’s only sensing this second mind within her own. Of course it’ll make her feel weird, at least for the time being.
Funny… it almost reminds him of the Guardians back on San Ovila. How chaotic their minds all were, an overwhelming cacophony of voices. It was as if one Guardian were simultaneously ten thousand beings at once. With Anora, however, it’s only two, hers and whoever is on the other end.
The other being is quiet, their attention elsewhere. But he’s confident that it’s only one. He narrows his eyes at the child, trying to see if he can reach out to that mind, only to be met with a hazy wall of fog.
“You don’t feel sick, do you?” Anya asks Anora in the meantime, turning her attention back to the child.
Anora shakes her head slowly. “No?” Of course, she’s not sure herself. Her head has never tingled like this before. And it’s starting to scare her. Why is she suddenly feeling this way? Why her?
Anya places her hands on Anora’s shoulders and musters a small smile. “Just let me know if you start to not feel well, okay? It’ll pass eventually.” Hopefully, she adds to herself quietly.
Tch, Isaac can’t help but blow irritably. Whatever being he’s sensing, he just can’t reach them. Perhaps if their attention was turned to Anora, he could try again. But that fog is just too dense. They’ve really zoned out.
Who is this? He can’t discern anything that could give him a name or other details. But he feels like he already knows that this can’t be another mind reader like him. This presence hovers over Anora, like a guardian spirit watching over her. Anya doesn’t have that, and Isaac feels completely fine as well. Anora is just a child who knows nothing of importance.
How did this happen? With how fast this second mind appeared, no doubt some being was granted some sort of special power very recently. And it might not just be Anora who feels it, either; fog of the mind usually indicates exhaustion or divided attention. Whoever this is is not experienced with a skill such as this… whatever this is.
“Isaac?” Anya asks, her voice cutting through his thoughts. He takes note of her concerned scowl. Why does he look so agitated? He can’t possibly know what’s wrong with Anora, can he?
Stars above… How is he supposed to talk his way out of this one?
“If she’s not feeling sick,” he says, picking his words carefully, “perhaps it could be a mental issue.”
Anora’s eyes widen, fear stinging at her thoughts. He doesn’t blame her; she’s totally healthy as far as she’s aware. And she is. None of this is her fault. It’s the fault of the other presence hovering around her. But what else is he supposed to say? That there’s another being in her head, likely listening to everything she thinks and knowing every word she says? He’s not looking to scare her. He doesn’t even know if this other being has any malicious intent or if this is all an accident on their part.
“It’ll be okay,” Isaac tries to reassure Anora, jumping to his feet and striding over to where the child sits. He kneels down in front of her, careful not to sit on any of her drawings that are scattered about. “Would you like me to look? I promise it won’t hurt.”
Anora stares back at him, and so does Anya. They’re both wondering the same thing, What is he going to do?
Anora, wordlessly, nods her head.
“Alright, then,” he holds his hands out to her, slowly bring them to the sides of her head, “just close your eyes and relax.”
Anora follows his instruction, closing her eyes and slouching forward. He places his fingers just at the edge of her hairline, pressing his thumbs to her forehead gently.
Her memories swirl in sharp focus before her. Most of them are of quiet cycles drawing in her room while Edwin is out caring for his ship. Sometimes he brings her with him, though she is confined to his quarters for the most part.
She reminds him of himself.
He can feel it now, too, that overshadowing presence looming somewhere in the background. It feels as if some being placed their cold hand on the back of his head, trying to force themselves into his innermost thoughts. The haze is what is causing the strange tingling sensation, their lack of clarity being felt through Anora.
He can just barely hear distant whispers, too, other minds even farther away than this one, all of them confused and uncomfortable just as Anora is. So, this isn’t an isolated incident. What’s going on, then?
Slowly, he eases up on his magic, releasing Anora from his hold. The girl is much calmer now, though worry still linger in her gut.
“You’re fine,” he tells her. “I can’t promise the tingling will go away, but it’s harmless.”
Anora stares back at him, her wide eyes sparkling. A small wave of relief washes over her.
“Why don’t you get back to drawing,” Anya suggests, giving Isaac the ‘I want to talk to you’ look. He gives Anora a pat on her head and stands with the Cryomancer. The child watches the two step out of the tent quietly, still trying to make sense of the strange sensation still within her.
“Do you know what it is?” Anya asks him.
Isaac shifts his weight and folds his arms. “I… do. Sort of.”
Anya raises an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain.
“It’s hard to describe, but… it’s like there’s some other being in her head.”
“Really?” Anya breathes in disbelief. “How?”
“I don’t know,” Isaac admits. “From the feel of it, this is a new development. Very new.”
“She’ll be okay, won’t she?”
Isaac tries his best not to let his unease show. He doesn’t know for sure. He hopes so, but until he knows who’s on the other end, he can’t help but worry for her. He’ll have to keep a close eye on Anora now, just to make sure this doesn’t start to negatively affect her.
“She will,” he says.
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