An Epilogue of Finstarnessi - Forbidden City

Epilogue for Finstarnessi volume II

Forbidden City

“Master Gatekeeper, could I ask some more about this prophecy?” Xin asked rather coyly from a cloaked individual, whom he considered anything but human. It had two frightening eyes, which looked nothing like any creature’s he’d ever known. If anything, they reminded him of buttons he had seen on a white western jacket once. The rest of the being’s face had no features, except maybe a hint of a cheekbone. No nose, no mouth, not to mention no eyebrows, or ears, or hair, as far as he could see underneath its hood. Like an incomplete doll, it sat there in the corner, unblinking. Yet somehow, it spoke.

“Yes, yes. Oh! Is that a vase? It is, isn’t it! Look at it, I mean, wow. Not that I haven’t seen vases before, you know, right. But it’s just been so long, right? Never thought vases could be this fascinating. You can hide things in them too, you know. Of course you know. So what’s hidden in this vase?” The creature hovered over to a plain clay vase. Yes, hovered. Or levitated. Either way, it certainly didn’t use any feet, if it even had any. The bottom of its cloak flowed as if blown by a soft wind.

“There is nothing in that vase, Master Gatekeeper, not even water.” Xin swallowed after giving a quick reply. Had someone hidden something in that vase and he simply wasn’t aware of it? Did I just unwittingly lie to the Gatekeeper?

“Oh.” The creature remained hovering by the vase, but clearly lost interest in it immediately. It didn’t even bother to check if Xin’s claim was true or not.

“Master Gatekeeper, who are these people that will be coming here?” Xin finally asked his question.

“Ah, yes. Hmm, let me see…” Seems the creature meant this literally, as its eyes rolled backwards and no less creepy eye whites took the place of the button-irises.

“One… two….three…. yes, three humans are coming. All the way from United Kingdom. Why does all the weird stuff always start from there, do you know? I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but you know, nothing is going to change if I don’t meddle, and I don’t like where things go naturally. So why not meddle, you know? I can hardly see any way things could go worse. This is the last circle after all. If I don’t meddle, this cycle will end and boom, none of this means anything, you know? Not that it’s a bad thing. It might very well be a good thing. I just don’t like it. Ever read a book where you’re left unhappy with the ending? I probably have. More than once too. I just think, that with a bit of, I don’t know….. Free will from things that might think they don’t have all that much free will….. Things like…. Me! Oh yes, who ever said you can’t change your destiny? Sue them, that’s the biggest lie in the universe!” The creature laughed. It sounded like a woman’s laughter.

“I don’t quite understand, Master Gatekeeper…” Xin said. He was now more confused than before.

“Don’t worry, Xin, my friend. Your role is not so complicated that you’d need to understand everything.” The creature said and rolled its eyes back into place.

“All you need to do, is welcome them. Give them a warm, safe place to stay. Maybe teach them some things the teacher wouldn’t allow…. No big deal.” The being appeared to attempt a shrug as it hovered towards the darker corner of the room, seeming to prefer it to the lit areas.

“Teach them what things, Master Gatekeeper?” Xin followed the creature to the corner.

“You know…”

“Not really, Ma-“

“Just call me This One. That’s what I call myself. Shorter.” The creature said and sat down on an invisible chair. The lower part of its cloak formed in a way, as if it had crossed its legs underneath it. So it has legs, they are just invisible?

“This One, I really don’t understand what it is that I need to teach these people…”

“I see, I see. You know, but you don’t know you know. At least I know, you know. Maybe you’ll know later. But I’ll tell you anyways. You should teach them the Paths of Enlightenment.” The last words made Xin’s eyes go wide. That strange being knew about the Paths. 

“Ma- I mean… This One, the Paths are not something I can teach. To anyone. Not only because it is forbidden, but also because I am but a novice. It would be better if we brought this prophecy to my teacher. He could-“

“No-no. It has to be you. It has nothing to do with your level of skill. It has everything to do with who you are. Don’t worry, they don’t have enough time to master any of the Paths. But there’s enough time to let them understand the basics. And once they understand the basics, they will understand the toll they need to pay. The sacrifices they need to make. But only they can make the decision what to do with that knowledge. All you need to do, is provide it, my friend.”

“This One, what do they need to do? What do you want them to do? Tell me at least that, so I might know how and what to teach them.”

“Very well. On the condition, that you will brew a nice cup of tea and let me watch you drink it. This will take a while…” This One said, and Xin saw how a face with only eyes can still express grinning.

Several years later…

Xin pushed to open the heavy door to the main palace. It didn’t like being opened after sitting tightly shut for two years and expressed this by squeaking loudly. Despite the door’s protests, Xin managed to open a gap wide enough to take a look out. Two people - rugged, covered with dirt and some blood, worn out, yet still with hopeful expressions. He’d never seen them before, yet he instantly knew them.

“Ah, Madam Anderson and Master Jones.” He could only hope his English was good enough for them to understand him. Did I get the names right, at least? Would be rude to start off by calling them something strange. Their expressions were confused and then alarmed. Had he really misspoken?

“How do you know our names?” The man by the name of Jones asked Xin. Ah, of course, I’d be surprised too if a stranger addressed me by my name.

“This One knows of many things. This One also knows you have come here to seek help and shelter. And that the world you left behind is not of a forgiving nature. You have come to the right place. I have been waiting for you. I have prepared for you. Please, do come in, and please excuse me if my English is not the best.”

“Are you a-…“ The Lady by the name of Anderson spoke up.

“Demon? Werewolf?” Xin tried to complete her sentence.

“I was going to say psychic, actually.” She corrected him and pushed some stray hairs behind her ear. Xin chuckled.

“Not quite. In this world, I am the closest thing you have to a friend. As this place has no demons or werewolves and I am sure you saw the extent of the warding by the outer walls, perhaps Master Gleeson could also come inside, unless he has decided to pull the trigger?” Xin spoke the last sentence louder.

Frank Gleeson had remained further back, hiding behind a statue of a dragon and was aiming a rifle at the door from underneath the dragon’s tail. Upon hearing Xin’s words, he emerged with a disappointed scoff. Xin knew the two men were going to be more difficult to handle. But it wasn’t a challenge he was afraid of. He pushed again and got the door to open enough for a human to pass through. The two men exchanged a look as the woman was eager to get inside. Madame Anderson, first through the door and there she stood, perplexed. For a moment, she had felt that she was sitting in the dark corner of the room, watching her own self enter from the doorway, amused.

Xin looked over his shoulder at the woman. So it all came down to something as simple as this. I wonder, which one she’ll choose… He looked back at the men, entering. And which path they’ll take after that… I will do my best to teach them, This One. My very best.