168 Journey for Knowledge

Krish hummed contemplatively while staring at the two kids who animatedly denied his divination. This wasn't the first time someone denied his prophecies so vehemently right to his face. Over the years, Krish had come to realise the juxtaposition of the human mentality. Whenever Krish's divination revealed beneficial truths or facts, the recipients are quick to accept it - overjoyed even. However, the moment the divinations revealed proclamations that run contrary to the recipient's expectations, they immediately reject it.

After a short pause that seemed to extend for a much longer time frame given the charged atmosphere that reigned in the room, Krish sighed audibly. Al took that as a sign of exasperation and immediately nudged Jean from the back, adding on a few expressive signals using his eyes and face to urge her to apologise immediately. For better or worse, Jean was unable to decipher those signals, and even if she could comprehend she wouldn't act on them since her Senior Brother was holding his ground unfalteringly.

"Do you think it could be an anomaly?" Guy spoke up. "I mean, you couldn't see my future until that short blip. You can't see that same future in the fates of my Disciple, students and others around me. It is only a singular and, as far as we know, isolated incident. Right?"

"Maybe you are right," Krish conceded. "Maybe you aren't. If I am being honest it is the first time for me as well, to experience something like this. But I can tell you for certain that whatever the Heavenly Eye sees is absolute. Make out of it what you will."

Guy bit his lips in distress while repeatedly chanting, 'That's not going to happen,' internally. 'That cannot happen!'

"Let's put that aside for the time being!" Krish followed up to redirect the conversation. He knew that nothing good could come from preoccupying oneself with a future so distant. Having lived with such power for such a long time, Krish could ascertain that what some considered a blessing was oftentimes a curse. Like how a thief must constantly look over their shoulders for signs of pursuers, a person informed of their future must constantly doublethink their next step in fear of their dread coming to fruition. Little do they know that their hesitation and overthought can accelerate things further.

"Since your path is now free of obstacles, what are you going to do next?" Krish asked Guy.

"Next?" Guy faltered. "I don't know..."

"That's understandable. The decision was only finalised now. Logistics and action plans take time and thorough analysis to take form," Al empathised. "But I must warn you to not it lightly. Creating a sect may be easy, but maintaining it is where the real challenge lies."

"I had a similar conclusion," Guy affirmed. "It's not something I have done before, after all. I would love to learn more about it, though."

"Do you have any knowledge about sect management - the way sects work in general?" Krish probed.

Guy shook his head in response, evoking a long and contemplative pause from both the experienced mages in the room.

"It isn't easy," Al muttered. "There aren't any books or journals about it either that you could use for reference. It's not like people just go around blurting out the inner workings of sects."

"What about observation?" Guy blurted out. "Do you guys think it might be possible to observe a functioning sect?"

"That's a risky option," Krish cautioned. "Sects aren't like Academies, in that secrecy and sovereignty are of utmost importance. You can't just waltz in, especially with such a flimsy reason."

"Although..." Al said while elongating the last syllable with a contemplative intonation. "Ah shit, I really don't want to do it though!" He muttered to himself.

Right as Al escaped his brief aside, he noticed everyone staring down at him inquisitively. He responded with a sheepish grin an explained, "I might be able to pull a favour, but... the man who owes me that favour is an insufferable human being."

"I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable position," Guy responded hastily.

"No... No, it's fine. I probably will never cash in this favour in my lifetime, given that I will have to interact with that man to do it. Might as well use it up for this purpose," Al said with a twitching smile.

"Anyways," Al followed up while shaking his head of all irksome thoughts. "We cannot make the journey through regular transportation. It is too far away, and also disjointed from regular travel routes. Unless you can fly, the journey will be impossible, I'm afraid. Thus, I shall prepare the transportation accordingly."

"Umm, where are we going exactly?" Guy inquired.

"You said you wanted to see how a sect operated and learn. I'm taking you to one."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

____

Three days after the enlightening meeting between Al, Krish, Guy, and Guy's students, an alarming shriek accentuated with a low bass growl of a large feline thundered over Twilight Village. The villagers cowered in fear as a majestic aura descended upon them, battering down in waves with periodic pulses of forceful gusts of wind.

"What is that?"

"Is it a bird?"

"Is it a lion?"

"Why is it flying down here?!"

"RUN!"

The crowd entered a frenzy as they rushed to enter the "safe" confines of their mud and wood homes.

"It's not coming to the village," a panicking kid pointed out. "It's going to the orphanage."

The villagers stopped for a moment and observed the trajectory of the bestial shadow covered in blinding sunlight. Just as the kid said, it swerved away from the village and moved towards the orphanage little ways up the mountain.

"Should we go help?" The kid asked.

"Do you want to die?" The kid's parent blurted out. He then coughed audibly to catch his faux pas and said, "T-They will be fine. Did you forget? Mages live up there!"

The man's words implied assurance, however, his intonation was filled with uncertainty. In fact, the man had gained a clear look of the majestic beast flying above them. Through his travels to the town nearby, he had heard a few adventurous mercenaries describe a similar creature which they had encountered during their travels.

"They will be fine..." The man repeated, more so to satisfy his inner anxiety than to calm his lad.

In the mercenaries' story, he learned of the most gruesome creatures to ever walk the face of Gaea. The mercenaries had told him that their group used to be a hundred strong, but only 10 managed to make it out alive, of which only five had all their limbs intact.

The beast killed first, feasted after. Highly territorial - it chased the party for many kilometres out from its nest. Ruthless - it eviscerated and disembowelled those that it killed with its talon-forelegs and beak.

The man shuddered at the utter carnage that the mercenary described. The man was inclined to believe the mercenary as the group shook visibly while they recounted those events.

"They will be fine... It will all be fine..." The man muttered repeatedly.

____

Up the mountain, at the orphanage, a similar reaction as the villagers was elicited from Grace, who reflexively hid behind Guy. In turn, Guy had to try his hardest to hold up a brave front, when in reality he too was extremely petrified at the sight of a beast he had only heard of through myths and legends in his past life.

"Wow!" Dora exclaimed excitedly as she hopped over to the beast that had fully descended to the ground in front of the orphanage. Al leapt off its back and immediately reached to stop Dora from approaching any further.

"Careful! He's a finicky little one," Al said.

"Little?" Marie blurted out. "That's not little!"

"Is that a-" Markus started.

"-Gryphon!" Guy finished.

"Oh? You've heard of gryphons before? Although, this one is still a juvenile chick. It will grow much larger," Al expounded.

"He's not an 'it'!" Dora corrected. "He's a he!"

Al bit his tongue apologetically before narrowing his eyes in confusion, "Wait! How did you know that?"

"He told me," Dora answered innocently before ducking underneath Al's hands and rushing up to the large four-legged creature with a pair of wide wings.

"Dora!" Grace exclaimed, but her voice was cut short when the creature dipped its neck and nudged Dora playfully with its hooked beak. Dora grasped the creature's golden-brown feathers around its neck and whispered into its ears while giggling intermittently.

"That's odd," Al commented. "He's not really so pleasant around other people. Not after I yanked him away from his parents..."

'Did he kidnap this thing?!' Guy cried out internally.

"Anyways," Al immediately said after. "Guy, come! Get on!"

"Excuse me?"

"Get on! I'll help you hop on to Garrud's back. Make sure that you don't pluck his feathers, he does NOT like that."

Guy's eyes darted to the creature's extended talons, which were nearly the size of bison horns. The claws of its feline hind legs weren't anything to scoff at either - every time it flexed and retracted them, they left a visible dent on the hard ground. The beast's eagle eyes exuded an aura of inescapable danger. Yet, this ferocious beast had turned into a yearning kitten in front of Dora, who barely reached its shoulders.

"Do we really have to travel using a Griffin?" Guy inquired meekly with an audible gulp.

"Unless you can fly," Al shrugged. "Now stop wasting time!"