Chapter Text
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“I can’t stop whatever is going to happen, but I can fix it. I- Grab whatever you can and meet us in town hall!” Rae said frantically, and everything became a scramble to get home. In his panic, the adventurer found it difficult to think, but his mind immediately came upon his allay, Auxreta, and the books from his parents. Will ran as fast as he could to the mysterious building known as town hall with his stubborn friend, who wanted to pick every flower on the way. Will made it to town hall in record time, thinking of something he missed on his way there.
“Can one of you keep an eye on Auxreta? I’ll be right back.” He wasn’t sure if any of his friends heard him, but Will didn’t have time to confirm, racing back home to get the shard of the mask Caspian had broken only days before. In the panic, Will accidentally flew into his mailbox, slightly injuring himself. I’ll take care of that later he thought, not having time to address his wounds. Will pulled the piece of his mask off the wall and flew back to town hall. He grabbed Auxreta, holding them close and sat down in one of the many chairs.
After taking a few seconds to breathe, Will realized he had forgotten something very important. He threw his books at Rae, “Rae, Rae! Can you just- hold all of this? I’ll be back soon. I need to go find my dad.”
“WILL!” Rae shouted, but he was already flying away.
“Dad? Oh gods, what is that?” Will exclaimed flying past the nether portal… or what used to be the nether portal, as it was now completely broken and destroyed. He elected to ignore the ruined portal and flew to the shrine he and Rae had made for Alerion. But the god of space was nowhere to be found. Instead, Will found himself on the edge of a crater going all the way down to Epros. The world seemed to be collapsing around him, but Will kept searching for his father.
“Dad? ALERION?!” He called out in desperation. The pages were screaming for Will to return to town hall, but he ignored them. “I’m not going to leave him, pages! I can’t lose him again! I didn’t know there was anything to lose before. I can’t just leave him. Surely I have time.”
He did not have time. As the Masked one searched for his father, everything went black.
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A page ripped from the fable, and suddenly Will was in a field of cornflowers. He turned around and was greeted by a floating person, who asked “Who are you?”
“I’m Will… And you are…”
Suddenly, the memories came flooding back. Of the library adventures, of purgatory, of the temple of creation.
“Alerion.”
“I remember.” His father said.
“Me too…” Will replied
“Come with me, my son.”
“Where are we going?”
“To find a new home.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea, come on!” After walking a while, Will broke the silence that had grown between them. “Hey dad?”
“Yes?” Alerion asked.
“Tell me about mom.”
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Minutes of walking turned into hours as Will soaked in all the information he could get about his mother, Vivienne. He savored every little detail his dad gave him, lamenting to himself that he didn’t have a journal to write about her in. Soon enough, the sun began to set, and Will commented, “It’s starting to get dark… We should probably settle down for the night.”
Alerion nodded, producing a campfire, blanket, and blue bed from his pockets.
“Where did you get that?” Will asked, dumbfounded. “Oh wait- you’re a deity… they can do that can’t they?”
“Yes. Now sit and rest, my son. We still have to find a suitable place for a home and materials to build with.”
“Why can’t you just give me the materials?”
“I cannot provide supplies in such large numbers.”
“Fair enough.” Will sat down on the blanket, not quite ready to fall asleep yet.
“Will?”
“Yeah dad?”
“I know what happened to your friends… I can tell you if you want.”
“I-I’m not sure if that’s the best idea right now. I mean, I have a lot to process… I can’t go back to them, can I?”
“No, you may not. I will answer any questions you may have, but I understand not wanting to know the full story just yet. It is all a lot and very quickly.”
Will sighed. “Are they safe?”
Alerion smiled. “Yes. They are safe.”
“Good. I-... You’re going to go back to them, right?”
The god of space closed his eyes, “I will, yes.”
“But that means I’ll be alone… I don’t want to be alone again…” Will started getting worried, fearing that his search for his father was the reason he would now be alone forever.
“No. You will not be alone, my son. While I cannot always stay with you, I will as often as possible. I’m not going to leave you.”
“Thank you, dad.” Will smiled, then let out a big yawn. “Man, I should get some sleep… We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“Sleep well, my son. I will be here when you wake.”
The masked wanderer crawled into bed and fell asleep under the stars.
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