Haru ate patiently, not paying too much attention to Tallyho who gobbled up her food ravenously, or Calliope who was clammed up in the corner. If anything he felt like his attention would have made their nervous behaviors worse, and so he focused on seeming as non-threatening as possible by just staying quiet and eating (not that that helped any.) He pinched away yet another dash of crumbs from his beard. Eventually, he thought, he would be due for a cut. But the days have been so long and preparations for thisā¦ interesting (?) group of warriors had taken up so much of his time that he didnāt get much of a chance to even think about personal grooming.
This groupā¦ They truly werenāt what he expected. Haru thought he would be given a cast of toned and well-weathered individuals ready for battle, especially considering what happened to the last ones. But instead he got a cast of, well, pretty people. The thought of training them made him want to snicker and a part of his soul buckled down for another century or two of waiting for the next cast of warriors because if this dinner scene told Haru anything, these kids might just die.
He hunched down for another snarl at his hen when one of the young men inquired about his book. Scrapes to Scabsā¦ Haru hadnāt picked the thing up in ages and was a little surprised that it was still in the house. Even more surprised that this kid had the balls to touch anything in his house and talk about it.
āItāsā¦ One of the first books of its kind I suppose. Written a long time by this man named Constance,ā Haru paused, not sure how to continue talking about the book without telling everyone that they were in a completely different world. āLet meā¦ Help explain what happened today.ā
By the time Haru sat up to speak an adequate amount of time had passed for people to consume at least one serving.
āI wanted to let you eat first before getting into all of this,ā he sighed. He wrung his callused hands on the table and leaned forward like a father preparing to firmly tell his child that Santa isnāt real and that the pet goldfish died last week. He didnāt speak in the most coddling tone, but he was straining to sound comforting.
āIāll try to answer all of your questions best I can, but I ask that you let me explain a few things first... That monster you saw today, the one that was growling and snarling, snapping jaws at youā¦ Most of you have not seen or read about anything like it. But Iām sorry to say that there are more of them. A lot more of them. And somehow, someway, maybe because weāre all just really unlucky, itās our job to get rid of them before they destroy everything and everyone.
Itās weird to say, but youāre not on earth anymore. Today you are in Aires. And I wish that I could tell you itās as simple as ābeing on another planet,ā but itās a little more complicated than that. Aires is nothing like earth. It doesnāt run on the same fabric of time or development. It has none of the technologies most of you are familiar with. Itās a different line of reality with a different set of physics, and when you crossed that path of stars back there you were dumped right into this universe.
While Aires is very different from Earth on a fundamental level. What you all witnessed back there wasnāt normal for your world or mine. These monsters have been appearing in small numbers across our world, and it looks like theyāre about to infiltrate yours.
We call them cyclopean. They havenāt been seen in hundreds of years around here, and that was because we had a full line of defense against them. And at the top of this defense was an elite group of 12 warriors named for the months of the year. They were given special abilities that were activated by the gemstones they wore. And with those powers they were given the task of protecting humans from the cyclopean. They failed their mission and were all killed a very long time agoā¦ And now, coincidentally, all of you are wearing their gemstones. Donāt ask me how they got to your world because I donāt have much of a clueā¦ But they are lodged into the necklaces and bracelets and rings from your grandfathers, and fate brought them to you.
Thereās a prophecy that says that the stones will find kindred souls to finish the work that the original warriors started, and as much as Iād like to tell you that you can simply give them away and walk away from this, I need to be frank: You are the next set of warriors and the powers that those stones possess, can only be unlocked by you and no one else. Iām sure you felt your stones burning in confirmationā¦ It was the spirit in your gem telling you that you are chosen and that you are not alone. That the people you are meant to embark on this journey with all happened to be in the right place at the right time. I donāt know why any of you are chosen, in fact if I had the choice I would ask for a moreā¦ A stronger group to be generous. But you are who you are.ā
Haru exhaled quietly. He realized how ridiculous it all sounded, and halfway through he had already committed himself to all the hell he was about to get for it. But if he was being fair, there was no other way for him to give such a complex explanation for āhereās why youāre at my dinner tableā in a simpler way.
āOkayā¦ Now you can ask questions,ā the redhead grumbled before reaching over for another slice of hen. If he was going to be roasted by a bunch of super powered, baby-faced infants, he might as well reward himself with more food.
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