Giggle listened, then nodded, closing her eyes briefly before beginning.
"She is ancient--far older than any of us. Crippled. She claims that she was never a child--perhaps created as-is, I don't know." Giggle's tone was somewhat dismissive, not in a rude sense, but in the sense that she simply had no way of knowing--and there was no point in dwelling on it.
"She told us all a story, once, I think a true one. She said that once the world was very loud, that there were creatures you could trust and those that'd harm you and trick you, lead you to your death. She called that time the 'great noise,' and said that there were some similar ones who could trust each other. I don't know what she meant by that--something like 'those like us' but I don't know why. How."
Giggle eyed Eythan, her gaze solemn as she fought to remember every detail she'd secreted away that day. So much had happened since, but she recalled thinking how important it was that she remember.
"She said those like her had to live in secrecy, in the dark and staying quiet. That many who failed were caught and killed. I don't know why. And then she said one day the noises stopped. They crept out from hiding, but it was all stopped, quiet--empty."
A long pause, and Giggle's eyes slipped closed, something of the storyteller within her rising to the surface now that her mind was clearer, and her breath had been caught.
"The Lorekeeper says that 'those like her' rejoiced, thinking they were free. That there was one cave, though, that they still feared, even though they wandered, now. She said it made them terrified. But everywhere else they moved through--she described Orion, Polaris. She said the Spire was 'harnessed,' once, by the enemy I think. The noisy ones." The hyena snorted, as if shrugging, in a sense--again a "who knows" sort of gesture.
"They went to Pisces, Eridanus--I can't remember it all, Monocer--no, that came later, actually," Giggle corrected herself, humming for a moment in thought. Her brows furrowed.
"She spoke of a buzzing leading them all, a sound they followed--to the 'cursed' cave. I believe, on what I know now--many cycles since this story was told to me--that they were led to Cetus, and the sea monster that lives there. Though they describe the creature as ferocious and terrifying, and from what I know it's sedate--even lazy. It might not be the same one. But the buzzing! That is almost certainly Nemean. Have you heard of her? Called 'betrayer' by many, and known for leading others to their deaths! Into combat! She has done it to many of the caves many times. I don't know everything there is to know of her--I haven't seen her--but she is tiny, so they say, and flies, and uses lights."
"Anyway, the buzzing led them to this terrifying cave." Giggle's voice was dry, unimpressed.
"And then a voice becan to call out to them for help. They were fools, and went in," she added bluntly.
"Lorekeeper said again how afraid they were of the monster and the curse, whatever it was. Then they saw the waters rippling--probably the marsh, there--and fled."
The hyena shifted with a grimace, stretching; her muscles were starting to feel the battering of the spar.
"To make a long story short, they followed the voice again--like fools, again," she added, but now Giggle sounded grim, and a little sad.
"It led them to Monoceros, this time, and there the dragon attacked them, if I understood it right. Raheerah, the black dragon--her description matches what I knew of him, though I've never seen him either." Truly, she'd remained secluded in Canis most of her life.
"Others have fought him--some of them are still alive, in these caves. But to that group of poor gullible idiots, he gave fire. I can't remember if the others lived--I don't think so--but she was left behind."
Giggle paused again, thinking. The next part was important to get right, and she wasn't at all sure that she understood it.
"She said that there was a weak lamb that she'd thought was 'one of them,' who'd been in hiding with them, if I understood. That she went to the dragon, and the dragon lay peacefully before her after having slaughtered the rest. That the lamb kissed the dragon. Then a great bird of ice swept in, and began the fight anew! The dragon took to the air, and they fought there, fire and ice, and their battle made the air churn in its violence, and there the storm in that cave was formed."
That had always been her favorite part, and she paused, for a moment, basking in it.
"Lorekeeper spoke then of another creature I don't know of, or recognize, with long legs, arms, a gentle face. She said that now there were others present, strong ones I think--not her friends--and they were arguing over whether to let her die. The thing-with-arms took the ice bird away--allies, I think--to help him? And none of them ever returned. Lorekeeper dragged herself back here, to Canis, and only woke up when we found her. We heard her in the bones, and we dug her out!"
A pause, and another stretch.
"It's a rambling story, but it told us a lot, as we pieced it together--and it's time you understand it! It refers to time before ours, Eythan--before ours. When there was order, of some kind--and cruelty. When Lorekeeper, despite being gentle and crippled, had to hide or risk being slaughtered. It tells us again of Nemean's sadistic evil! It tells us that the ice-bird--he is still alive, and fought the dragon with the others--and the lamb are old, very old, and the dragon, too. They are all still alive, I think."
"The point is that there were plans, here. There was violently-enforced power, maybe rigid order! There was a time when Gembound had to hide for their lives. And there are still remnants from that era. We have to watch--always--to be vigilant, to warn others in case of their return, and to make certain they don't drag us into another such era. I, for one, am not interested in skulking about in the dark while noisy monsters impose their order on our caves. This is our home now--and we need to keep it that way."
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ROLL THE BONES