Yoae

Poor fear-stricken Alec froze, his hands gripped tightly around the wooden sticks. His pulsing heartbeat reverberated from his palms throughout his body. The idea of leaving his home seemed a little absurd for a little boy but what reassured him was the fact that his family's safety would be guaranteed. He was entrusted with an important responsibility which his parents will never approve of. How could they? It would mean they would have to send their 12-year-old boy out into the world. They threw a fit when Alec had informed them that he was not going alone and clearly refused anymore talk of such nonsense. Even so, Alec grew tired of seeing the pictures of the deceased in the newspapers, visiting mourning widows and passing by warning notices on every wall in the city and without much thought he decided to follow through with his destiny. It was his child-like innocence that threw him into the course of the new path in his life. He might have not chosen this path, but it did choose him, unfortunately.

A warm sensation spread across his thigh. He looked down to see an outstretched hand. Facing him was his brother with a baby wrapped around his shoulders in cloth. He pointed towards the town, nervously. Alec swung around to catch the boat owners running towards them. Panic rose in him as he turned back to his brother, wide-eyed. The sudden appearance of the loud ringing familiar to Alec, his brother, the boat owners and the townspeople made the situation even worse. Frantic yells and quick scuffling sounds of shoes and heels touching the floor muffled the startled baby’s cries. Alec picked up distinct shouts from the furious duo who were nearing their boat. He gripped the oars with as much strength as a weak child might have and pushed forward. 

“I’m sorry, sirs but it is for a good cause. I swear, my brother and I will make things right.”

Inappropriate words and curses spewed from their mouths, expressing their disappointment with hard stomps and flailing arms. Though, the scene was interrupted by the chaos of people desperately trying to find a safe place. Alec finally got the hang of steering the boat when his eyes were suddenly doused with salty sea water. The boat was flooded to their shins with Eric grabbing heaps of the liquid and throwing it out of the boat in a wild manner. The boys were soaked from the massive splashes of water thrown at them from the sides, even the baby who was taken care of so delicately was drowning in its wet cloth. Alec struggled to keep the boat from overturning as he rowed his way through the air strike, praying to the Sky God, Myar, to rain daggers on the enemy airships.

“Hang on , Eric. Keep Laina safe.”

Eric pressed the securely-wrapped baby to his chest in an effort to protect her. Bombs erupted left and right as Alec swerved, evading them. Mildly disoriented, Alec caught the sounds of screaming and buildings crashing in the midst of the explosions. Images of his parents injured and his family crying in agony raced through his mind, making his chest ache to the point his arms gave up on him. He could hear the thumping of his heartbeat in his head. Laina had fallen asleep from Eric’s cradling and shushing. Even with only the waves moving the boat, they were a distance away from the town. The moment passed on in silence as Alec’s aching feeling slowly subsided. Eric provided encouraging nods and thumbs ups every time Alec looked his way. The brothers looked around at the sea surrounding them. They hadn’t the slightest clue on where they were or where they should go, only that they must reach the center of the sea and meet Yoae. 

From the depths emerges Yoae,

He who grants peace and ends war

To observe, to protect and to serve.

For many years and more.

Alec recited the words he remembered from the hooded lady who gifted them the baby. She might’ve just been a penniless showgirl who was unlucky to have gotten pregnant and dumped her baby on them who were too confused and slightly mesmerized by her to have said no. However, seeing as how there was no end to the chaos that war brought and in due time, they would be experiencing the same sufferings that were written in the papers their parents used to burn in the fireplace. They decided to meet Yoae and plead with him to give them peace.

The smooth journey came to a halt. The brothers were still at sea, staring blankly at the empty waves

“I think we hit a rock.” Alec stood up and inspected the boat’s end that resided beneath. Plunging his hand through the water, he found a flat surface. He moved his hand covering the widest range his little arms could make. The flat surface grew wider. It was impossible to get around the ‘rock’ without actually knowing how big it was.

“Eric, I’m going to tie you with this rope and you are going to go down there and take a look at it.” Alec felt bad for pushing his idea on Eric but he was the only one that can swim. Hesitantly, Alec took Laina from Eric and strapped her to himself. He then proceeded to tighten the rope on Eric’s belly. 

“Tug twice so I can pull you up.”

Eric dove into the sea and swam down. He kept steady when he noticed a silvery-white figure moving in the black waters in front of him. It bumped into him, almost throwing Eric away. He traced the skin and noticed the figure continued to extend and grow longer. It had the shape of a large serpent, inching closer to Eric as he swam backwards in order to grasp the real size of the figure. He spun around as his back slammed against what seemed to be a wall. It was hard for Eric to see what it was in the darkness. Placing his hand on it, he noticed it was moving as if it were breathing.

Eyelids blew open, revealing huge yellow irises resembling the Sun. Its slit pupil focused on Eric. The creature might have been big enough to stretch from the beginning to the end of the world. Scared that he had woken up the creature from his long slumber, he tugged on the rope two times and was pulled up instantly. The creature had closed its eye as if knowing that Eric was of no threat and continued its eternal sleep. His belly was hurting from the pull but he managed to witness the creature’s horns lodged in the boat.

Eric’s head popped up from the waves and he hurriedly climbed onto the boat. His body had taken in some of the salt water and he was coughing it up. 

“What is it? What did you see?” asked Alec, concerned that his brother who was the bravest looked exactly like him, a face smeared with fear. 

Thuds could be heard under the boat and the boat lurched along with it. The sea was churning, creating a huge wave that touched the clouds. Alec and Eric rose with the wave. The boat in an upright position, both Alec and Eric held onto each side as they were face-to-face with the serpent-like creature. Distorted eyes were now visible behind the wave. Alec gasped in fright as the creature looked straight at them. The wave then crashed down, causing the boat to be thrown off further ahead. The wave was gone and so did the creature. Returning to continue its sleep undisturbed. 

“That was Simera, the Ancient Goddess of Lapria, Guardian of Yoae. We might be nearing the center.” 

The sky turned grey as the hours went by. The waves had carried them to what Alec had described as not even close to the center of the sea. Hungry and tired, Alec took a quick nap as Eric was on watch with Laina.

“Eric, give me her. You sleep now.” Alec woke up and reached out his hands to grab Laina’s cloth. All of a sudden, a cannon sounded. Alec and Eric froze. The cannon sounded again. It was from above them. Another one sounded and wooden debris fell on their boat. More cannons were heard from above, followed by wreckage. Two enormous ships were battling amongst themselves with cannonballs while our boat was stuck in the middle of it, experiencing the aftermath of their fight. With the mist covering them, it was difficult to notice their small boat on the waves. Terrified, the brothers hopelessly tried to find a way to get themselves out of there uninjured. They were absolutely not going to survive this. Alec’s body started aching again and the pulsating heartbeat returned, throbbing in his head. He held onto the oars and dropped to his knees, calming himself down.

Eric, on the other hand, sprung into action. He grabbed his bag and pulled out his slingshot and rocks. He intended on grabbing the attention of either one of the ships before the fight became worse. He shot upwards with no direction due to the mist. It didn’t matter where he shot though, as long as he was able to divert their gaze from their opponents to them. Eric was running out of rocks and Alec was in no state to help. Tears welled up in Eric’s eyes, knowing that his efforts were in vain and that he and his brother would die an instant death along with innocent Laina. He pushed on, shooting rocks as high as he could, hoping to hit somebody in the head. 

The cannons had stopped and the voices of the crew were silenced on both sides. For a moment, there was nothing seen or heard except for Alec’s heavy breathing. The mist cleared away to reveal a spiked beast with horns and scaled arms and legs. He towered over the magnificent warships, the spikes on its hunched back reaching the clouds. It looked as if it wore golden armor and his fur was as grey as the sky. Its eyes laid on both the ships and the small boat. Eric was too afraid to move. He took his last rock and shot it at Alec’s mouth, hoping the pain might bring him out of his daze. He winced in pain and looked up at the monster. Alec’s fear had grown as he took in the sight of the monster facing him. Water rained from its fur as the beast turned to look at each of its visitors. It couldn’t have walked all the way or they would have heard him, Alec thought. He must have emerged from the sea. His eyes widened with shock as he called out to Eric. 

“This is the center. This is him.”

Both ships began to make noise again, yelling commands to turn around and the ships dispersed immediately, fearing their deaths by the hands of the beast. The beast watched them leave as he knelt down towards Alec and Eric. He looked at them most intently as if he was thinking of whether he should let them live or not. 

“O’ Mighty King of The Seas, we have come to you for a wish. We want peace for our land.”

“What will you offer in return for that peace?” a scratchy, dark voice boomed from the beast’s mouth.

“Ourselves.” Alec held Laina up to the God.

“A leader, a brave-hearted mute and the child of man who has yet to sin. Destiny awaits you three.”

The beast picked the three up in his palms and trudged through the waves, abandoning the boat. Alec and Eric had only heard about Yoae in the tales his grandparents used to tell. The myth had been passed down from the earliest encounter of The Magnificent God eons ago and is considered the Elder God of the people of Lapria. Great God Yoae was a wish-granter. In the past, he used to grant his people one wish for their whole lifetime. Some wished for a long-lasting food source for the people so they would never feel hunger and most women had begged for children. However, his powers come with a price. People had to give up something in order to fulfill their desires. The ones who asked to stop the hunger gave up their thrones. The women had to give up their smiles for their newborns. The brothers didn’t believe this was true since there was no word from the sailors of such God roaming the seas. 

These stories were told as life lessons like how men became greedy for more wishes that they enslaved the poor to use their wishes for their own self. Lord Yoae was ashamed of his people that he left them alone in his world and would never return no matter how much they begged for a miracle or no matter how much suffering was faced. From then on, people had endured through plagues, famine and war, their prayers heard but unanswered. 

Alec became nauseous from being so high above the seas, he gripped his stomach and mouth. Eric held Laina close to him as he looked out at the view from the God’s palms. They were nearing a large cave, supposedly the abode of the God himself. Yoae entered, avoiding the hanging, pointy ceiling. He walked along the glistening path of a stream. Multiple streams raced from the outer parts of the cave, coming together to form a circle. Inside the circle of water, tall, stone pillars guarded the glowing water that fell from a hole at the top of the cave.

“You may place the child in the water,” ordered Yoae, as he gently lowered his hand to the floor. The brothers hopped onto the rocky floor and observed the place.

“We can’t put her there alone. We were going to sacrifice ourselves with her.”

“The boy who guides and leads and the mute who has courage will deliver the sinless child to you is what Lady Janara had told me. She will be the sacrifice for your peace. That is her wish,” Yoae said, pointing at Laina.

“Fine. Our wish is to be able to protect her in exchange for our lives.”

“Peace was always meant to be protected. The brothers will be her protector.” The God thought briefly before pointing his finger at Alec. “You will protect peace with your intelligence and quick thinking.”

Pointing at Eric, he bellowed “You will protect peace with your ability to overcome fear.”

The brothers accepted their new roles full-heartedly and walked in between the pillars. Holding Laina together, they stood inside the falling glowing water. The children evaporated into dust and formed a cradle and a blanket with Laina sleeping in it.

“The three of you will spend your days in this cave for eternity. Mankind might overlook this as a miracle but I am grateful for your sacrifice.”

Yoae left the cave and made his way to Lapria to carry out his part of the wish.