Small Changes

Time is a very funny concept. People will live their whole lives chasing the idea of having control of one of the greatest powers in the universe, only to find themselves lost in the realization of powerlessness. Those who believe that time to be the greatest tool available to mankind, passing unnoticed by many, waiting for someone brave enough to wield it, have all taken up masks and pledged their allegiance to the great god Xelor. Whether you want to believe in control over time, it is accepted that everyone grows older. Some start early, whereas other finish later; the great race of one lifetime is brought up with every countdown to a new year, or every wish made on a birthday cake.

It usually tends to be those who have experienced a longer life that wishes for some control over time; pleading with their gods for "one more chance", or "just a little bit longer". Children, however, do not feel the same way. Distracted by a wide range of new experiences, and the promise of an eternity of days before them, kids don't heed too much mind towards time. But what about those who do? Where would a child turn for comfort from the inevitability of time?

Summers in Emelka seem to come and go faster than the townsfolk wish. The children of the town have frolicked and played in the high summer sun for weeks now, and are threatened by the upcoming start of the new school year. The parents of the village are all preparing to return to the continued weekly schedule involved in preparing for the colder seasons, as well as tending to the harvest. For a simple farming village like Emelka, the promise of changing leaves and colder breezes holds a greater impact than lives in the city.

Children know of the diminishing amount of warm weather remaining and intend to enjoy every moment of what they have left. Giggling and laughter can be heard from the park near the edge of town; a collection spot for nearly all the kids of the town. The creaking of swing chains, the crunch of gravel rocks, and bouncing of balls can be heard echoing through the hills.

Despite the enticement of fun, two boys can be seen walking right past the park, towards the hills that stretch for miles. One of the boys, adorned with a blue horned hat, casts a long gaze from his hilltop trail out of town, down towards the park. As they pass along on their way to a wooden archway, the second boy, a white-skinned dragon, notices his companion's staring, and nudges his.

"Don't worry Yugo. Chibi and Grougal will be fine. If you want, I can push you on the swings when we get back."

Yugo turned around and punched the other boy in the arm. "Ad, I'm not a child anymore."

Adamai nodded, smiling. "Right, old enough to push yourself. Gotcha. I'm sure Amalia would be super impressed."

Yugo rolled his eyes. "I'm nineteen. Someone my age shouldn't be playing little kids games. This has nothing to do with Amalia."

"'Someone my age', as if you're already dad's age. And are you sure this doesn't? We're going on a potentially dangerous mission, just the two of us. If it's not to help show how brave and mature you can be, then what is the reason," Adamai asked shrugging.

"Of course, it doesn't! Firstly, it isn't dangerous. We're just going to inspect a very old legend that happens to be inside a very old tomb; perfectly safe. Secondly, if there is any kind of danger, I am certain that we are more than enough to take care of it. Thirdly, I don't need to prove to you, Amalia, or anyone how mature I am. After what happened at Mount Zinit, twice, and the blank dimension…" Yugo balled his hands into fists and stood still, staring at the ground.

Adamai turned around and grabbed his brother in a tight hug. "I didn't mean it, bro. I know what you went through, and I know how you feel about Amalia. Heck, she might be the only one of the brotherhood that doesn't know. I just wish there was something I could do; some way to help you. But you have time give things like this time. If you want it to last, then you can't rush it."

Yugo sniffled and took a deep breath. Smiling up at his brother, he hugged him back. "Thanks, Adamai. It can just get frustrating at times. Let's just try to focus on our mission right now. We take the zaap portal to the dark forest, go in the front door, check around for anything useful to help explain the rumor, and get home before dark."

"So, we're raiding an old burial site, looting anything interesting, and running away? Isn't that called desecration?"

Yugo shook his head. "Not if the rumors are true. Then we have nothing to worry about. There's the portal." Yugo took out a tiny magical bean and threw it towards the wooden archway. A bright burst of light swirled around the arch, covering the blanks space with a silvery water-like mirror. A blurry vision of half-dead trees and dark green moss could be seen on the other side.

Yugo looked over to his brother, smiled, then jumped through towards the silvery portal. Adamai stood in place for a second and sighed before walking after Yugo.

The world around them darkened exponentially, images swirling above them until they landed firmly with a slight squish. The blue sky of Emelka was replaced with a dark, overcast gray, and the lush green grass had grown a disgusting mixture of brown and olive green. Nearly all the trees had no signs of life, half wilted and barren. The forest seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see. In front of the boys was an old dirt path which drove directly into the heart of the trees.

Yugo saw his brother arrive, waved his arm beaconing his to follow, and started down the path into the woods. As the two walked along the path, Adamai pulled out a map from his side bag strapped to his hip and read over the contents to familiarize himself with the surroundings, with minimal help.

"Bro, I can't make out what kind of landmarks I'm supposed to be looking for. These trees all look exactly like the last one. How am I supposed to tell the difference between these symbols? Where did you even get this wrinkled old piece o- "Adamai was cut off by a sudden rock in the path. Tripping over it, Adamai landed on the dirt with a low thud.

Yugo turned around and laughed lightly. "First marker, the tripping stone. We're on the right path. I can read the map if you're having difficulty." Yugo held out his arm and helped his brother up.

"Yeah, sure," he said handing over the map. "How are you doing about this forest? It seems pretty dark and scary."

Yugo smiled. "Well... promise not to laugh? I trick myself into saying it's daytime, so the sun is out right now; just hiding behind the clouds. Plus, you're here. I know nothing will happen to me if you're by my side. It is why I chose you to come along.

Adamai was taken aback at the kind words his brother spoke. He could feel their strong bond ever since they first met, and ever since, their bond has grown stronger. Adamai found out about Yugo's fear of the dark when he was still little. He noticed how it didn't bother him if there was someone else by his side; the whole reason they now share a bedroom.

Adamai felt a warmth in his chest and smiled. "Dude, that's so nice of you to say."

"Well it's true," Yugo said walking along the path, pointing to a spot on the map. "We're almost there. Just a little bit further."

Walking along the dirt road, trees passing to either side, the boys notice a clearing coming up ahead. They come upon a large circular opening in the trees and can see a vine-covered, mostly crumbled stone building. The highest wall only reached eight feet into the air, with a view of stairs descending into the earth. There are two wall-mounted torches on either side of the entrance to the building, long since put out.

Yugo reached the opening and pulled the torches from their sockets. He handed one to Adamai, who breathed fire over the tips of them. A flash of light and warmth encompassed the boys like a hug. Prepared to continue, they start walking down the stairs, making sure not to trip on any of the large vines.

On their descent, the walls had grown darker, nearly covered entirely in old vines and dirt. About fifty feet down, they reach a landing of a hallway that stretched forwards. The boys carefully continued, following the glow of their torches as they flickered off the ancient looking stones.

"So, run me through this legend again. What' so special about this grave," Adamai said slightly worried.

"The townsfolk of a nearby town say that this building has been here long before their first settlement of their land. There were nearly no hints as to who could have made it, nor any other evidence of someone living within a day's trip of this place. They gathered a small party and tried exploring this place. Not only did they lose six people to the traps protecting the entrance, but- "

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH, SLOW DOWN! LOST… to TRAPS? You didn't mention how this place was booby-trapped!" Adamai sounded annoyed to just hearing about this now.

Yugo nodded, stopping in his tracks. "Would you have let me come if I mentioned it was even a little bit dangerous? Plus, you need to hear the rest of the story. After passing the traps, the remaining adventurers found the first hints as to who built this. They saw carvings on the walls of people jumping through circles and appearing at other parts of the wall. Sound like someone you know?"

Adamai thought for a moment, then widened his eyes. "You're telling me that Eliatropes built this place? Great, so we get to die in a crumbling old grave built just for us."

Yugo chuckled lightly. "You don't get it. If Eliatropes built this place, then it could hold some hints about our people that we didn't know before. I had to check this place out, just to give it a chance. We haven't heard from Balthazar ever since I saw him. I'm growing impatient."

Adamai placed his hand on Yugo's shoulder, trying to show him some sense. "Bro, I know you really want to help Balthazar and our people, but he said he'd show up when you and the World of Twelve are ready. If you try too hard to assist in a plan that you know nothing about, you might just make it harder for them all to come when it's time. And getting yourself killed won't bring them back here any faster."

Yugo could see that his brother was starting to worry. He could feel Adamai's grip tighten on his shoulder, as well as see the look in his eye; Adamai was scared. It wasn't very often that he would show this kind of expression for anyone. Adamai tended to be quicker to anger than worry. "Adamai, please. Just let me look around for a bit. If it gets too dangerous-looking, then we can turn back and go home. I just think that not giving this place a chance would be a waste of whoever built this place. Don't you think it's even slightly odd that a race of people which can be reincarnated would build a grave, so intricately hidden and far away from everything else?"

Adamai thought on this for a moment, realizing how odd it sounded. After a few moments of silence, and Adamai rubbing his chin, he spoke up saying "We'll give it a try. But on the FIRST sign of something wrong…"

"Thanks, Ad," Yugo said smiling.

Reaching the end of the hallway, the two boys enter a large rectangular room. There were burnt markings on the wall to the left, and a giant boulder half-embedded in the floor slightly ahead of them. Adamai looked around at the aftermath of what the previous adventurers had left and glared over at Yugo, who is beaming with excitement. They carefully step around the rubble and cracked tiles strewn across the room, and arrive at a wooden door on the opposite wall. The door looked to be hundreds of years old, at least. The wood was dusty and looked as if someone could get a splinter just from staring at it for too long. The boys put their torches on the wall mounts that were on either side of the door.

Trying to push it open, Yugo grunted with his shoulder pressed against the wood; the door not moving. "It won't budge. Ad, could you try and break it down?"

Adamai had grown bigger and more muscular than his 'younger' brother. As a dragon, he had a few growth spurts ahead of him. He joked frequently that Yugo had the exact opposite effect. Being relatively the same height and size as when he was twelve, only Yugo's vocabulary would give his true age away. Adamai would poke fun at Yugo by calling him adorable nicknames; ones that made him sound even squishier.

"Alright, you jelly bean. Stand back." Yugo narrowed his eyes at Adamai, stepping clear out of the way.

Adamai flexed his right arm, focusing his strength into one good hit, reared back, and punched the door right near where a knob would be. As soon as his fist made contact, splinters flew around the doorway as the old wood gave in, swinging open wildly.

"Ha! A piece of cake," Adamai said, brushing his arm free of wood chips. Stepping carefully around the remnants of the door, the two boys enter a circular room. In the center of it was a small wooden chest sitting on a pedestal, with a crack in the ceiling letting a beam of light shine down upon it.

"No. Hell no. That looks booby-trapped as all get out! This is like every Professor Indiana Hones movie ever," Adamai said crossing his arms, making sure to stand in the doorway, a safe distance from the chest.

Yugo laughed, walking towards the chest. "Except I'm not a sram, and you're not a tall, ditzy dancer lady who's only around to complain about everything."

"Oh Indy," Adamai said in an exaggerated fake whine, while seductively leaning against the doorway.

"Let me try something first." Yugo closed his eyes, breathed deeply, before opening them again; his eyes glowing white. The whole room went dark for him, except for a faint mist emanating from the walls around them. He tried to see if they were from a hole in the wall, but it appeared as if the walls themselves were steaming. He looked over at the chest, and could only see a small circular object inside.

"Anything weird," Adamai asked, keeping his spot at the doorway.

"Yeah, the walls almost look like they're oozing some kind of mist; almost like they're faintly glowing. But the chest is nearly empty. There is something small inside it, but I'd have to open it to find out." Yugo blinked again, his eyes returning to normal.

Yugo kneeled in front of the chest, staring at the old box, wondering which eliatrope would have made such a simple looking lock. He slowly reached out for the small metal latch, taking his time to be cautious. As soon as his hand touched the metal, Yugo reared back screaming and shaking as if he were being shocked.

"Yugo!" Adamai had reached for his brother and pushed him aside, out of reach of the chest. Yugo fell to the ground laughing out loud, making the dragonling confused.

"Got you, brother," Yugo chuckled.

Adamai huffed slightly angry that his brother would mess with his emotions. He turned, and stomped out of the room.

"No, please stay. It was funny," Yugo called after his brother. "I'll open this thing without you then…"

After a few seconds, Adamai returned with his arms folded, leaning against the doorway once more; glaring at his brother.

Yugo moved back in front of the chest, unhooking the latch that kept the chest closed. As soon as he opened the box, a cloud of dust flew out at him, covering the eliatrope, making Yugo sneeze. Yugo's sneezes were high-pitched, and often marked by his friends as being 'totally adorable'. He sneezed a few more times, hearing laughter from behind him. He looked at Adamai who was holding back his laughter, trying to stay angry about before.

"Serves you right Yugo. Call it karma," Adamai said with his hand covering his mouth and nose as to not breath in the hundreds of years old dust.

Yugo brushed off the dust from his face and reached the bottom of the chest to pull out a necklace. Holding it up in the light, he could get a better look at the treasure. The necklace was made of a very thin string holding up a small glass circle with a golden border.

"It looks like some kind of oculus. Try looking through it," Adamai said, staring at the object.

Yugo brushed his hair out of his face, and held it up against his eye, in Adamai's direction. "AHH! You look hideous; all kinds of deformed and gross… Oh wait," Yugo took it away from his eye. "Never mind, that's how you normally look."

Adamai gave Yugo an unamused look. "Try it on the walls."

Yugo held it up again and noticed the walls were oozing a bluish mist in different spots along the walls. He closes his eyes again, concentrated, and opened them, turning on his Wakfu sight. With the combined effort of his magic and the oculus, pictures started to form on the rock walls of the room.

Yugo stood up slowly, walked closer to the pictures, and ran his hand along them. It seemed as if they were magically written into the stones. There were pictures of portals, and people with pointed hats jumping through them. Further along the wall, there were scenes of another world beyond a portal, full of grass and flowers, where all the people were collected.

Yugo jumped slightly to the feeling of his brother's hand on his shoulder. "What do you see Yugo?"

"It's our people Ad. I think these pictures tell a story of how they got to the other world; the one they're at now. I think there's a way to get there again. But I don't see anything about the cube."

"Could that mean we don't need it to get back there?"

"I don't know. I need to keep looking." Yugo was reading the pictures as best as he could. Some of them were faded from the stones being chipped away, or from years of staying dormant.

Adamai noticed how the light shining from the ceiling was starting to fade. "Hey, we should get back. It's going to be dinner time by the time we get home. We can come back here again another time."

Yugo rubbed his eyes, returning them to normal. Using his powers for elongated periods of time tired him out. He had tried to train with Adamai, but without a real teacher, they could only do so much. He put the necklace over his head and tucked it under his shirt. Nodding at his brother, they leave the room, pick up their torches, and continue back out the way they came in.

The entire trip back to town was filled with rantings from Yugo about what the pictures could have meant. Adamai knew better than to interrupt, so he just let his brother talk on and on, clearly excited about the possibilities of being able to return to Balthazar and their people. Yugo rambled about the rumor of the stone building being true, and how it was probably one of the Council of Six eliatrope leaders who built the place. He continued talking about how he would have to return to draw each of the pictures, and study every inch of the circular room just to make sure they didn't miss anything.

Adamai would smile and nod whenever Yugo would turn towards his direction but quietly thought to himself about what this discovery would mean. With the holiday season approaching, Adamai hadn't planned to be anywhere but home. This newfound knowledge of some secret portal to the other dimension would certainly mean another adventure would soon follow.

Once they passed back through the zaap portal, they were nearly blinded by the contrast in colors from the dead woods to the grassy hills of Emelka. The sky had been splattered with hues of orange and purple as the sun fell below the horizon.

As the boys passed the playground, they motioned towards Chibi and Grougal to follow them. As the two younger boys were walking towards the road, Adamai turned to Yugo and said sternly "Bro, I know how awesome this all is, but please, for my sake, just take your time. There is no need to rush into this. If you promise to slow down, then I'll promise to help you any way that I can."

Yugo thought it over for a second, then smiled extending his hand. "Deal." Catching his breath for what felt like the first time since they left the tomb.

Adamai shook Yugo's hand right as Chibi and Grougal arrived. Paying no mind to what deal the older two boys just struck, the younger boys continued their conversation from the playground; something about dragons being better than magicians.

Once all four boys came into the kitchen, they saw their father cleaning up from the dinner rush, and preparing the table for his sons. "Hi papa," the younger boys called, running towards their father for a hug.

"Oh, hey there little ones. I was just about to come find you." Alibert noticed the dirt on the small boys' clothes, as well as the dust on Yugo's. "It looks like your guys' day was filled with excitement. I'll run a bath for you all after dinner. Please wash your hands; it's almost ready."

The five of them all sat down and regaled their father with what they all did; Grougal proclaiming his proficiency in aerial somersaults, and Chibi with his story of following ants to a nearby anthill. Yugo explained what they found, as well as showed off their newest treasure. At the mention of treasure, Chibi and Grougal imagined chests filled with gold coin, or jewels as big as their fists. Seeing such a tiny trophy, they were disappointed. Alibert however, was more than excited to hear about all that they found.

Alibert was a very supportive father to Yugo but worried constantly whenever he would go off on adventures. He reached the same conclusion that Adamai had, about how Yugo would want to rush headfirst into his next big adventure over this discovery. He also knew full well that once Yugo made his mind up about something, there was almost nothing in the world that could stop him; not his father, or brother, or The Brotherhood itself. Accepting how his son was growing up, and old enough to make his own decisions was the hardest step for Alibert. Being a slightly clingy parent, letting go was the biggest challenge for his so far.

Once they were done with dinner, the children helped clean up as their father drew up a bath, setting four towels by the tub for them. Ever since they were little, the boys liked to bathe together. They didn't seem to mind, and it saved a bit on the amount of hot water. Grougal especially loved to play in the bath, using his boat toys and pretending to be a fearsome sea monster. Being a young dragon, he had often tried to act as if he was older than he was. This got him in trouble frequently. But thanks to Adamai, he could have a supportive older dragon to teach him what not to do.

The boys deposited their clothes in a hamper and jumped into the steaming warm water. Chibi tossed his hat aside, but Yugo kept his on. Chibi had grown innocently comfortable with his own body, not ashamed of the tiny wings adorned on his eliatrope head. Yugo, however, did not have the same feeling. He felt different ever since he was little, and didn't want to be pointed out as being the one child with something special. During baths, while he slept, and even around his own family, Yugo kept his hat on. He would often forgo cleaning his hair until it was too matted and dirty; in which case, he'd wash by himself, in the comfortable privacy of a shower.

The kids all enjoyed a hot soak after their long day, soaping away the dust and dirt from their travels. Alibert would offer to wash their hair, making sure not to get any suds into their eyes. The one time he allowed the boys to wash their own hair, Grougal spilled half of the soap into the bath water to make more bubbles, nearly flooding the tiled room with suds. It took Alibert hours to clean up after the soap residue. Ever since then, he would wash their hair.

Once they were all cleaned, dried off, and dressed in their pajamas, the kids all brushed their teeth as Alibert chose a story to read to them. Alibert went around the room tucking each of the kids in before sitting in an armchair facing the boys. It was only about a quarter of the way through the story that the kids had fallen asleep. Alibert quietly kissed each of the boys on the head and tiptoed out of the room.

Alibert loved his kids but secretly wished that they would stay this young forever. It was easy now with the kids all understanding their roles, curfew, and rules. But he knew that once they were older, the moody arguments and teenaged rebellion were a possibility. He just wished that they stayed as sweet and innocent as they were now. As Alibert fell asleep, he said a silent prayer for Yugo and whatever secrets the ruins had to offer.

The night was peaceful and quiet, with a light breeze gently preparing the clouds for the next day. Summer was counting down its final days, and soon it would start to get colder. The forecast called for rain for the next few days. This front would remove the remaining grasp of temperature that Summer had to offer.

As the sun rose upon a new day, the animals of the land sprung to life, embracing the light's warmth fully. The boys, however, did not. Alibert had always woken up before the children and needed to assist in waking them up. The two little ones woke up groggily without much opposition, but he always had to ask twice or three times to get the older boy up. Alibert drew the curtains to the children's room, asking the sunrise to assist in waking the kids up.

One by one, they would roll out of bed, and make their way downstairs for breakfast. "Get up lazy butt," Adamai jested as he left Yugo alone in their room.

Yugo tried rolling back to sleep but felt the subtle pain of hunger set in. Food was more important than sleep on some days, and Yugo loved to eat more than his fill of it. Ad had often joked at how similar Yugo's eating habits were to that of a hibernating animal, to which Yugo would rebuttal with a joke about winter being around the corner.

Yugo half-awake stepped over to his dresser, and changed out his pajamas to his daily clothes, making sure to keep his new treasure hanging around his neck. He wasn't going to part with it for a long time. He had noticed how loosely his shirt and pants had felt, and inspected his belly and hips puzzled. Interrupted by the sound of his grumbling stomach, he grabbed a spare cloth belt and tied it around his waist as well as his rope belt for his pants, and tightened them slightly further past usual.

On his way to the bathroom, Yugo reached out for the doorknob to the bathroom, missing it with his hand, but catching it with his shoulder. Wincing, he grabbed his shoulder and continued to the sink. While brushing his teeth, he stared at himself in the mirror, feeling something was slightly off. His reflection would normally be centered in the mirror, but today, he was lower than normal. After thinking through what would possibly be the cause, he remembered his electrocution prank he pulled on Adamai yesterday and wrote off these weird happenings as Ad trying to get back at him. He would have to press his older brother for an explanation later. Washing his toothbrush off, he rounded the corner and ran towards the kitchen.

Once downstairs, he saw his father preparing for lunch for the restaurant, while the boys were preparing their own breakfast of grains and fruit.

Adamai saw Yugo and smirked. "Nice change of outfit. I love the new you look."

Yugo rolled his eyes. "For some reason, my clothes are looser than I remember. I'm not exactly sure why, though. They were fine yesterday…"

"Well, maybe you're finally losing all of that pudgy 'baby fat' that you so desperately held on to. I can't tell if you look taller. Maybe it's a pre-growth spurt."

"Funny you mention growing taller. You wouldn't have done anything with the doors or the mirror would you," Yugo hoped for an easy answer to this morning's happenings.

Adamai shook his head. "Haven't a clue what you're talking about. Both seemed fine to me today."

Yugo squinted his eyes, sure that something was up. He was shortly interrupted by a tugging at his pant leg. Looking to his left, he saw Chibi pointing up to a taller shelf where the bowls were located. Nodding, Yugo reached for one but came up short. Standing on his tiptoes, he could just barely reach the stack of bowls. Pulling them slowly towards him, he nearly fell trying to balance, pulling the four bowls to the floor.

Luckily Adamai was nearby watching. He dove for them before they shattered, and caught the three that were about to crash. He looked up at Yugo holding a single bowl, looking just as confused as he was.

Yugo stared at the higher shelf, then down to the bowl. "Something feels off…"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: And I'm back! I've finally settled into my new home in a far, far away country. With some extra time, my friend Mizu and I have been working on a story concept together. Instead of throwing it onto the pile of unfinished ideas, I decided it would be great to work alongside someone for a change. Mizu has been such a great help so far, and I look forward to working with him for the rest of the chapters.

Characters and setting belong to Ankama, Story belongs to Mizu and I.