[ Lachlan ]

Broken and shredded by the magic of Neptune.

Around and around, the words echoed in Lachlan's head, but there was no meaning to them. There could not be any meaning to them, or else Lachlan would simply break in half.

Lachlan laughed, a single bark empty of emotion. "Passed on from the mortal realm?" Wind stirred his copper curls, tossing them in front of his unseeing eyes.

The augur simply nodded in response, her brown eyes still full of the divine red flames of Helios. "It is as I have said. So now you can see your quest is in vain."

"Then if he passed on from the mortal realm, where is he now?" The question slipped out of his mouth riding a wave of anger and hopelessness. It was an accusation against her for speaking such a terrible thing that could not be true.

Militum's hand came down on his shoulder and squeezed. "Lachlan," his voice was unnaturally gentle as he spoke, "you know that's not what she meant."

"Then what did she mean?!" Lachlan shouted, turning to slap Militum's hand off his shoulder. He knew, even as he yelled, that Militum told the truth. It hadn't been some half-lie that she spoke. Merfolk didn't have what the humans called a 'soul'. They didn't pass into the care of Hades when they died. They only left behind their memories in their vitae gems. Except that Bastian hadn't even left that behind.

Bastian had left Lachlan nothing but an ache that couldn't be healed.

Hot tears slid down his cheeks, fragmenting into jewel shards so small that they didn't make noise when they hit the surface of the ocean and sank to the sand. He slid his hands up into his hair, gripping his head tight as though it might pop off if he didn't keep pressure on it. What do I do? What can I do? He's dead? He can't be!

Numbness spread through his tail and up his spine, a tingle that made his entire body tremble with the force of it. He felt as though the air had left his lung, and the water was too thick to breathe. He gasped, trying to take in more air.

"Bastian is no more." The augur's voice broke his spiraling thoughts apart. "The Moon saw his final act as noble. She reached down from the Heavens and scooped up all of him that she could find, and molded him anew as best she could."

Lachlan stopped gasping. Air seemed to flow more easily through his gills and into his bloodstream. His whole body stilled and he looked up to the small human as she continued.

"There was not enough of him to save, so she gave him a new form, closer to her and her power. He walks the land now, not a merman, but a human. Your brother has another quest that he must complete and if he does, then he can return to who he was before."

Hope was a breath of fresh air that filled his chest and calmed his tail. Lachlan felt himself go limp in the water, with only Militum to keep him floating.

The augur spoke again. "If he wants to, that is."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Militum sounded angry for some reason. Lachlan looked up to see barely-restrained rage on the warrior's face. He snarled at the augur. "Why wouldn't he want to come back home?"

"Some things are beyond even the Sun's ability to predict." The augur remained calm in the face of Militum's wrath. "I have given you what I can. The rest is up to chance and the choices you all make." With that, the red light faded from the girl's eyes and she sank into the water up to her neck.

She rubbed at her forehead and spoke just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the waves and the sea birds. "At least you know he's alive now."

Militum scoffed at her. "Riddles and more questions are what you've given us. This was a waste of time."

Lachlan shook his head. "No, Militum. It wasn't." He put a hand on the warrior's chest, as though he could hold him back with his own measly strength. "Bastian is out there somewhere. And he's doing what he does best."

Militum frowned down at him, confusion etched into his face. "What do you mean?"

Lachlan laughed, the sound weak but genuine. "He's on a probably impossible quest for some reason that he's not entirely sure of. If anyone can pull off something well enough to impress the gods themselves, it's Bastian. Now all we have to do is find him, and help him."

Militum sighed, a deep and long-suffering sound. "How are we to do that? We don't exactly have legs to travel the land. Or any idea what he calls himself or how he looks. It seems to me we are even worse off than before."

"You should see that storyteller your mother told you about," the augur said. "I've got a good feeling about that at least. Though I can't promise it will be easily won information. At least you won't have to pay such a heavy price."

"Storyteller?" Lachlan closed his eyes for a moment. "Ah. The senachie." When translated from the language of the Selkies, the meaning of the word was 'bearer of old lore'. Storyteller.

"Why should we listen to her?" Now Militum sounded petulant.

"What else can we do? It's the only other path we can take right now." Lachlan smiled at the augur. "Thank you for your time."

"I like you. You can come see me again any time," she replied.

"Thanks, but I'd rather not need to come see you. No offense."

She laughed. "I wish you luck, Lachlan of two worlds."

He turned, ignoring her last few words, and dragged Militum back into the safety of the ocean. However much he might grumble about half-answers, Militum moved more swiftly than he had before they met the augur. Lachlan imagined it was owing to his heart being lighter than before.

They had a chance to find Bastian now. And they weren't going to waste it.

I couldn't leave you guys thinking he was dead for too long. ;)

I know it's been a long wait, but now that the party is (mostly) all together now, I'm planning to speed things along a bit quicker. Thank you for continuing to read. I really genuinely appreciate you. <3