Chapter Fifteen: What Nokon Didn’t Say

The moment he slammed the old book shut and the dust billowed into the air, he knew he shouldn’t have come in his nice suit. He had planned on going to the ball. Even now he could hear the musicians playing, and he was sure his mother would be annoyed with his absence, but he knew Thyren would be there. 

He was always there. Thyren would tell him if anything important happened. More accurately, Thyren would tell him everything that happened and allow Nokon to decide which parts were important. Nokon brushed at his sleeve and succeeded only in smearing the dust farther across the black fabric.Besides, as he returned the dusty tome to it’s place, his eyes caught on another.

He couldn’t describe how he was drawn to the book almost hidden amongst other, more visible books. But as he walked closer, he realized the book was nearly hidden among the larger volumes surrounding it, it’s dark leather spine pushed farther back on the shelf than the others. Nokon might have passed it entirely if not for the faded mark pressed onto the leather. The symbol. The one he had been looking for. His heart quickened. It was the symbol he had found in an old history book of the castle months ago and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. An open circle, seven marks and a chained line through the center. 

Nokon had seen the symbol exactly three times since he had started looking for it. First was the old history book, the second was a travel account from a country that shared borders with Korvethis. The third wasn’t on paper at all, but on the second to the left stone at the east entryway. As he grabbed the book and pulled it out of it’s dusty spot on the shelf he became very aware of how heavy the old book was, an absurd amount. 

He had brought this symbol to his tutors, to historians, even to the Veilbound priests. Many guesses were had; an old religious symbol, perhaps a mason’s mark, maybe a pre-Korvethian royal seal, but none of those aligned as well as Nokon demand. Nokon hated unanswered questions, which was why he chose to spend the night in the restricted section of the library. 

The heaved the large book on the table and opened it up. The pages were brittle and thin and they had a feel to them that made him question if it was actual paper he was touching, but the book had the symbol, multiple times. 

He turned page after page noticing words here and there that he could understand, but most were in a language he had not been taught, a dead language. It was infuriating to have a possible answer but no way of understanding it. But as he sat down accepting the fact he would have to figure out a way to learn this language, the loud door hinged to the restricted section of the library. Nokon held back a gasp and looked around at the mess he had made. “If you’re the archivist, I can explain.” 

“That would be a first.” Thyren said turning a corner and coming into view. Nokon gave a sigh of relief seeing his friend, still dressed for the ball. He began to ask why he wasn’t still dancing with all the ladies of the court when he realized it had been a while since he heard the music playing. “You have dust in your hair.” Thyren told him. Nokon tried to brush it away, but his companion only laughed as the dust spread more around his dark scalp.

Nokon went back to looking at his book, just about finished with his friend’s jousts. Thyren took the hint and ceased his laughter and instead started looking at all the old books that were stacked incredibly high. The old kingdom had a massive library, but not too many people took advantage of the books and scrolls that had been brought in from all areas of discovery. There was always the question, both boys had, of what qualified a book to have a place in the restricted section. 

“The ball went well, Wrena was overjoyed that the ambassador from Gastan took part in the national dance. Walric spent most of the night talking to a royal visitor of Nisen. Elmara needed rescuing from a few conversations about betrothals.” Nokon barely heard all that he said, until his last words. “Your mother asked where you were.” 

Nokon’s eyes finally left the book and up to his friend. “What did you tell her?” 

“That you were indisposed.” Thyren shrugged. 

Nokon stared at him for a few seconds. “What does she think that means?” 

A sly look came about his friend’s face. “I didn’t stay to ask.” Nokon smiled too but included a shake of his head. “What are you doing here anyway?” 

Nokon looked around at all the books he had disturbed and then up at his friend. He wasn’t keeping his curiosity a secret, particularly, but it was a lot to explain to someone. “I saw this symbol, and I can’t find it’s origin.” 

Thyren came up behind him and looked at the page he was on. Nokon grabbed another book, one that was lighter, newer. “And…?” he asked, not understanding the significance. 

Nokon looked at him bewildered as well, wasn’t it obvious?” And there hundreds of years apart.” 

Thyren gave a slight shrug. “People draw circles, Nokon.” 

“With seven marks?” Nokon pointed to each one and looked back at him friend. He still shrugged. He pointed to the center line with a chain around it. “Is this common as well” 

“...people are also miserable.” Thyren gave a subtle smile. 

Nokon tried one more time by pulling out the travel record. He opened it and went to the page that someone had used to frottage the symbol from a stone that was hundreds of miles away. “This was in Valedour, across the sea Thyren! The traveler found this symbol on an ancient tome thought to be thousands of years old.” 

Thyren dropped his smile and looked at it. He then looked at the one in the history book. There was no denying the oddity of the symbol showing up in two very different texts in two very different times and places. 

While Thyren looked at the two books, Nokon felt drawn to the newest one again. He found his hand crawling over the top that was quite uneven. His fingers curled over a hump and before he realized it, his nails dug into the cover of the book and tore it. He stopped, looking at the damage that was caused just by touching the text, wondering how much trouble he was going to get into for it, but at he looked at the cuts his fingers did, he realized that there was something smooth and shining underneath. His nails dug into the cover and without a second thought to hesitate over he tore the broken leather apart. 

“Nokon, you fool, what are you doing?” Thyren hissed, looking back at what his friend was doing. A few more tears and the whole cover was gone off of the old historic book in the restricted section. He didn’t fret for long though as he watched Nokon produce a beautiful, onyx bracelet, one that looked exactly like the symbol in the book. Without a second thought, like Nokon was getting really good at doing, he slipped the bracelet on. 

Thyren hissed and waited for whatever was to come, but nothing happened. Thyren didn’t know if he was disappointed,  but the whole thing felt underwhelming. Nokon’s shoulders sagged as well. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry, but jewelry he had, what he wanted was answers. 

After the suspense faded away, Thyren nudged his friend. “Your mother is looking for you.” 

Nokon sighed heavily. “I’ll go shortly.” 

“You should go now, come, I’ll help clean up.” Thyren started to grab any and all books that Nokon had taken off the shelf and put them away, but Nokon was slower. He stood as he opened the book with the torn cover again, trying to find one last speck of an answer before he was dragged back to royal life. 

Thyren had to take hold of the book eventually. He put a sympathising hand on Nokon’s shoulder as he pulled the insanely heavy book towards him. He looked down at the symbol on the page Nokon was still gazing at, and then he looked closer at what was written right below it in a quickly scribbled text. “Doesn’t that say lower sanctuary?” 

The book was gone from Thyren’s grasp in an instant and Nokon’s face was inches away from the page. The spark that Thyren had unfortunately seen in his friend’s eyes when he was about to do something dangerous appeared. 

“No, Nokon.” Thyren begged. 

Nokon looked at his friend with a much more determined face from a minute before. “I haven’t said anything.”

Thyren sighed. “You don’t have to.” 

Once the books were finally cleaned up, though Nokon had now refused to part from the book with the torn cover, they snuck out of the restricted section and out of the library itself. Nokon bid Thyren farewell, which Thyren was worried about, but he didn’t do much arguing. “Go find your mother.” 

“I will…I will.” Nokon waved him off as he walked the opposite way of his mother’s chambers. 

It wasn’t hard to slip past the guards who were more inclined to look out beyond the castle’s walls than the stairs that lead farther down into the castle. Once Nokon was far enough down that the windows ceased and a torch needed to be lit, he began to feel the nervous excitement of finding something new. As he got to the lower sanctuary, or what his better judgement thought it was from the historical texts, he realized how large it really was. Just below the main hall, which could be used for sieges, though that was an almost laughable idea for Korvethis, Nokon brought up his torch and started walking the perimeter. 

Thud

Nokon stopped and tried to figure out what he just felt. He started to walk again but nothing happened. He made a circle and then he felt it again.

Thud

He looked down at his wrist, the bracelet was knocking on his wrist. He looked down at the ground and realized there was a door, an old door. He stepped off of it and reached down into the cracks and pulled the floor boards up. Below was darkness. Pure darkness. 

The rational side of Nokon told him to turn around. Perhaps if he knocked on Thyren’s door his friend would come with him. Perhaps tomorrow he could send a small army of guards below to see what lurked in the darkness, but the realistic Nokon knew he was destined to go down into that darkness himself that night. 

He sat on the side and lowered his legs in until he found a step, and then he found another, and another and before he knew it, he and his torch and his book were below the lower sanctuary. Though his hand was shaking, he stretched it out as far as he could to see as far as he could, it wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy him. He began to walk down a narrow corridor that led to more stairs, and then another large room that led to more. The walls and their sculptures started to change to ones he did not recognize as he walked down, ones that looked ancient, but every time the bracelet pounded on his wrist he followed. 

The air was stale and his torch was low by the time the bracelet knocked on his wrist like a heartbeat. The corridor was small, Nokon had to shuffle sideways to get through but as he reached the end, he took the bracelet off. The vibration had begun to hurt. 

He held it up to the wall in front of him, looking at the eroded design and taking care to feel when the bracelet’s vibration got louder. Once he circled in on the place that moved the bracelet the most he felt around with his fingers until he felt something just below the cracked stone. He dug in with his fingers and pulled off the loose stone. Behind it a diamond shaped piece of what looked like gold stuck out. The gold had symbols in it, but it was too hard to see with the little light he had. 

He pulled out the piece of gold, but before he could bring it up to his face, it pulled out of his grasp and into the bracelet. He looked at the half black onyx circle to see there were dents in the bracelet, seven of them, and the gold diamond fit perfectly into one of them. 

He held the bracelet to put it on his other hand, he got his fingers through it and then, “Don’t.” 

Nokon spun around grabbing his hidden dagger ready to attack anyone, or anything, that was down there. “Who’s there?” He whispered, unsure if he really wanted an answer. 

“Take your hand off it.” 

Nokon slowly looked down at his hands and realized he still held the bracelet. He tilted his head confused, but decided to lower it to the ground and release it. He stood back up and waited for more instruction, but there was none. So, he picked it up again. 

“I said don’t.” 

“Yes. I heard you.” Nokon said out loud and then slowly, slipped the bracelet onto his wrist. It hummed for a moment as it went on and then became completely still. “Where are you?” 

“Elsewhere.” 

  Nokon turned around again to the crumbling stone wall. “That’s not helpful.” 

“It wasn’t intended to be.” 

Nokon couldn’t help but smile. He looked around to see any other thing that might be special, but even the bracelet had stopped moving. He put his dagger away and picked up his torch and turned to leave. “Are you a ghost?” Nokon walked to the first set of stairs and waited, but there was no answer. “Spirit?” He began to walk, but slowed, wondering if whoever talked to him was stuck back at the old wall. “Demon?” 

“Put the piece back.”

He smiled and began walking up the stairs. After a few flights, right before the ladder to the lower sanctuary Nokon stopped to regain the air in his lungs. “Are you trapped?” Again, there was silence. Nokon stayed for a moment, hoping that the voice would answer eventually. Worries that he had left the voice behind several flights below, Nokon began to walk back. 

“Go upstairs, little prince.” 

Nokon froze. “How do you know who I am?” the voice was silent again. He could feel the frustration seep lower into the pit of his gut, but then he also heard another voice, one farther away above him. One calling out for the prince to come do his princely duties. 

The prince was escorted to his mother’s chamber once he got back to the great hall. He had apparently been missing for almost three hours while he ventured below the castle. Thyren was especially not pleased that he had been woken up to find him as well, but Nokon didn’t tell anyone what he was doing or where he went. He insisted he had gone on a midnight walk around the castle and must’ve missed the dozens of servants and handful of guards who had been ordered to go out and find him. 

When he walked into the chamber room, though, he stiffened when he saw it wasn’t only his mother there, but High King Malrik himself. His father stood at the fireplace, hands behind his back, posture perfect, his face in a serious frown. 

His mother sat at her social seat, two couches facing each other with a table in between. His mother was sitting back with a letter in front of her face. Nokon walked in quietly, making sure the bracelet was covered and looked down at the papers that spilled over her table. 

Maps were scattered through letters. He could read places on those letters and names, names he knew. Wrena and Walric, his older siblings and other names being attached to them. He suddenly knew why he had been summoned. 

“What in the gods….” Lioraen said looking over her paper to her son. “What happened to your suit?” 

Nokon looked down to see that his nice black suit he had put on to attend the ball was now almost gray with dust. “I…encountered some dust.” 

Lioraen put down the letter entirely. “I can see that. Where?” 

Nokon looked over at his father, who was also staring at him. “Mostly on the sleeves.”

“Nokon.”

“Mother.” 

Lioraen sighed, giving up one of many bickerings she often had with her son. “Well I suppose I should thank you for gracing us with your presence.” 

What Nokon really wanted to say was ‘You’re welcome’, but decided it was better to be silent and take the guilt his mother was throwing. 

“I wanted to get a feeling for what interests you.” 

“Interests me?” Nokon asked. 

“Yes, what is something that you would find purpose in?” Lioraen asked. 

Nokon looked at his siblings' names again, of their futures being mapped out, it was as if his whole body realized just how much danger he was currently in and began to shut down. 

“Perhaps military?” Lioraen asked. “You do well with your weapons training.

Nokon looked down at his feet, begging him body to give nothing away. 

“What about your father’s council? Do you find interest there?” Lioraen brought up. 

“Not particularly.” Nokon stated, doing his very best not to look at his father as he gave a long sigh and turned. 

“Do you intend to do anything with your life?” Malrik hissed as he stormed out of the room. The door slammed behind him, which made his shoulder want to rise but he kept them down, along with his eyes to the floor. 

“Administration?” Lioraen continued as if her husband’s fit had not happened. “A governorship, eventually?”

“I don’t think so.” Nokon said. 

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Then perhaps you intend to remain at court…” 

Nokon felt the grumble hit much later than his mouth did. “Doing what?” 

Lioraen looked at her son with a sly grin. “That is precisely what I am attempting to discover.” she stared at him for quite some time, making it hard to keep his gaze on the floor. “You rarely lie. You simply make the truth work very hard.” 

Nokon gave up on the floor and looked directly at his mother. She knew his game, more than anyone else. If she was going to call it out, he might as well make it harder for her. 

“Travel?” Lioraen asked. 

Nokon’s right eyebrow turned against him as it raised a little. Lioraen’s posture changed. “You would like to travel.” 

“I didn’t say that.” Nokon said defensively. 

“You rarely do.” Lioraen’s attention had already begun to shift internally. “My son, please go get some rest, thank you for coming to see me, even if it took all night to do so.” 

Nokon wanted to argue, if he had been a few years younger, he probably would have, but instead he bit the inside of his cheek and bowed to his mother, turned and left her chambers. 

He wasn’t alone in the hall once he got out, Thyren was leaning up against a wall in a robe that he must’ve put on once he was summoned to go find him. “Were you waiting for me?” Nokon asked. 

Thyren kept a straight face. “No.” Nokon eyebrow shot up again in disbelief. “See? We can both do it. You know, say one thing, but really do another.” 

“I get your point.” Nokon said and started to walk to his chambers. 

Thyren walked quickly to be beside him. “How bad was it?” 

“Apparently I have no direction.” Nokon sighed, not really wanting to get into the conversation or his father storming out, which he was sure Thyren saw. 

“Well…” Thyren shrugged. “You’ve been walking in the wrong direction all evening, so maybe they have a point.” Thyren waited for a smart comeback from his friend, but Nokon didn’t seem to be paying attention anymore. “I heard they found you in the lower sanctuary…” Nokon lept out of his thoughts at that name. “what happened down there?”

Nokon hesitated, he grabbed his wrist, the one the bracelet was on, hidden underneath his dusty suit. He looked at his friend and wondered if telling him was the best idea, if he knew there would be a chance he would suffer consequences he himself didn’t even know yet. “I found something.” 

Thyren’s face turned more serious. “Something bad?” 

“I don’t know.” Nokon was honest, he knew so little of what he just dove head first in. 

Thyren stopped this time in the hall. “Dangerous?” 

Nokon didn’t stop, he kept walking to his rooms. “Probably.” 

“Of course it is.” Thyren said to himself more than Nokon. Nokon was getting farther away. “Do you need me?” 

Nokon didn’t stop, but he slowed and turned to Thyren, farther away than he thought. “Not yet.” 

Thyren nodded and began to walk back to his own room. “Call for me when you do.”

Nokon locked his room when he got in. He didn’t do this every night, but occasionally, when he really could not handle the social games the entire castle played. He looked down at the bracelet, lying loosely on his wrist. He turned it to see the gold embedded diamond, the design looked like a chain, the same chain from the book he had hidden in the lower sanctuary before he made it to the more public areas of the castle. 

“Hello?” Nokon said and waited. “I know you’re there.” He sat in the quiet, looking at the flames in his own personal fireplace as he sat on the side of the bed. “I’m very patient.” 

“You are many things. Patient isn’t one of them.” 

Nokon smiled. “What are you?” he waited for the voice to speak, but none came. “What is this?” Nokon spun the bracelet, but again there was only silence. Nokon sighed. “Why is your symbol in books from other countries?” 

“Other countries?”

  Nokon cocked his head. ‘Interesting’, he thought. He didn’t know, but how much does he not know? “What’s your name?” 

There was a good amount of silence again, much longer than the last. Nokon almost gave up when he heard it. “Why do you want to know?” 

Nokon’s response was quick. “Because I am talking to you.” 

There was a pause again, and then when the voice spoke again, it was much quieter. “Seyren.”

Nokon said it, “Seyren.” he sat quietly with that information. 

“Do not go looking for more, Nokon.” Seyren told him. 

Nokon froze, he knew his name, was this entity listening to everything that was said? He pulled off the bracelet and held it in his hands. “Goodnight, Seyren.” 

He walked over to his wardrobe and opened the door. “Nokon.” Nokon froze as he bent over to hide it. “You need to destroy this bracelet.” 

Nokon put the bracelet down under his nicely folded laundry and stared at it, stared at the single gold diamond and the empty spaces that somehow yearned to have pieces themselves. “No.”