Visualizing the squadmate in his small mental cage, Wokor was not sure how to proceed from now on, but to remain silent and follow the same vision that Qurnuk was seeing.
There, the archer could see countless black-crowned trees swinging their leaves as the nightlife wind hit their surfaces, recognizing that the starry sky was not the only thing filled with hidden universal vastness.
Thousands of thousands of living beings reigned over that scenario that breathed existence before the pair's eyes, shining through countless sequential chemical reactions, flying from one branch to the other in incessant natural exploration, or singing melodies of a love that they felt approaching.
Wokor let his attention be consumed and carried into a cauldron of mystics as latent as the small feelings that awoke in his soul, even though he did not know how to define what that sensation was.
With the same movement as the Moon, small scintillations in that sea of life captured the focus of the archer in a single second. His eyes began to map a modest lake nearby, and his face tilted to demystify why those waters were somewhat disturbed.
"You can see them, right?" Qurnuk asked with a serious tone when he noticed that Wokor was curious about the lake.
Without listening to the black-winged moth-boy, the archer simply concentrated on exploring more of that scene that he saw before his eyes.
Even though it was a little distant, and at an elevated height, Wokor saw two silhouettes embracing each other within those crystal waters that the moon shone. The shapes and the colors of those bodies aroused a certain familiarity in the viewer's memory, and it was not long before he soon connected the dots.
"Dallus and Liriak are lovers, rookie," Qurnuk said as he looked at their moment of affection at the lake. “They come here whenever they can. It's forbidden, you know? Warriors cannot become attached, not even to the priestesses who choose them to mate.”
With the advent of another adventurous breeze in his spiky hair, the archer let one of his hands squeeze his heart. He tried to calm the beats that Dallus and Liriak's embrace aroused in his frozen core as if a distant flame could send a wave of heat through his soul's glaciers.
The black-winged moth-boy noticed Wokor's curious reaction, and realizing that he was giving in to the moment, Qurnuk smiled slightly.
"This is our secret, Wokor," Qurnuk said the name of the archer for the first time. “We can escape to this corner whenever we want, away from the Sacred Soil's chains. As long as we show some results, nothing prevents us from staying here, even if just a little while.”
The archer was still mesmerized by Dallus and Liriak at the lake, but Qurnuk preferred to get up to say the next words.
“Dallus showed me this place when I joined the squad. He said that we should all have confidence in each other to defend ourselves from the deadliest battles. Including the newbies.”
Hearing what Qurnuk was saying, Wokor looked at his companion at that moment. There, they exchanged a silent look that lasted in time.
Until Qurnuk spoke again.
"Yes," the black-winged moth-boy said with a serious tone. “They know that we are here. They trust our judgment, so we’ll either live together or die together. Just like one moth with four wings.”
The archer kept every word his companion said as if it were some great teaching. Despite understanding that the moth-men could not have certain privileges of the High Clergy, Wokor was beginning to formulate his own judgment regarding the squad.
He recognized the importance of his teammates dedicating their reliance on each other's abilities, and how this could be reflected positively on the battlefield.
Dallus' memory of defending Liriak came to Wokor's head, and the sermon the leader had given him shortly thereafter was not for lack of ability - it was out of concern for his lover's life.
Things were starting to make sense in the young archer's mind, and allowing himself to have more thoughts about that kind of joint relationship, Wokor looked back at that lake.
His feats had reached the High Priestess' ears and his ascension ceremony welcomed him with open arms.
Assigned to the strongest squad of Nathroryos, Wokor will attempt to prove his worth as a true hunter of monsters and heretics in the name of the Lunar Doctrine.
Along with Dallus, Liriak, and Qurnuk, the archer will experience a vast number of incredible events, awaken frozen feelings from inside his cold heart, and conquer his space in the existence among many intertwined fates of Gaeath's world.
Join the Eclipse Squad and pierce through your deepest fears.
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