Stonegrim

"Quaecumque vera doce me."

Behind the shadows emerged an old man in pitch black robe that seemed to absorb every bit of light that surrounds him. His droopy eyes showed fiery orbs of red as he looked down upon a young man kneeling on the ground before him, shaking.

"I speak the language of the common young man. What IS IT that you seek?"

As the old man spoke, the walls around them rumbled, filling the void of darkness with echoes of his deep rough voice as crows began to gather around in circles.

"I—I want to,—ask y-you no, er— I desire to learn the t-truth of y-your P-path, sire...," the young man responded nervously on his knees with his head bowed down low, touching the ground.

The old man raised one of his grey eyebrows as he watched the young lad, trying his best to act courageous in front of him but instead, was visibly filled with fear facing him. Interesting.

A sudden burst of memories filled his head as he reminisced the past of who he was that made him what he is right now. A small grin etched his face as he turned his back on the young lad. The crows surrounding them seemed to sense their master's mood and started imitating laughs that resembled cracks from jesters and clowns in a circus.

"Rise up boy and show me your face."

Upon hearing this, the young lad jerked his head up, showing his deep emerald, almond-shaped eyes and tanned skin. His squared jaw showed some bruises that link up to his upper lip. The leather garments he was wearing were full of dirt and sweat, showing some stains of blood that might have been from a wild animal he perhaps killed a few weeks ago. Some strands of his copper hair covered his forehead as he looked up. He was visibly trembling but still managed to speak.

"Y-yes s-sire?"

The old man stepped towards him and lifted his hood, showing his grey beard that covered almost half of his face. His dark raven hair was neatly tied up to his back. Dark crimson eyes stared at the young lad intensely as black smoke rose from the hood and creeped down to his hands.

"You... To have the nerve to travel as far as this land young lad. And to have known of me, a being perhaps only known from stories told by your great forefathers..."

Sensing the slight tension in their master's voice, the crows screeched excitedly as they saw him walk closer to the young lad kneeling down on the ground, looking so vulnerable and helpless like a small child.

"To have yourself sought after me... A notorius being only known by myths and legends that brings misfortune and darkness to any path that I..."

The old man sighed and looked up to the sky. His crimson eyes no longer looked as it could kill anything it sees at one glimpse. They seemed to be staring into a faraway land, dreamy yet a bit sad. Suddenly, the crows stopped moving and everything around them went still, except for the two of them, the young lad and the mysterious old man.

A look of confusion was written all over the young lad's face as he looked around him, his breathing ragged. The old man crouched and sat in front of him. He clapped his hand and as he finished, the wind twirled around him until mixtures of air and dust enveloped him completely. The young lad stared with his mouth wide open as he witnessed the old man step out from the twirling winds as a person that turned ages younger than what he was moments ago. His long hair was no longer tied back but was flowing gracefully along the winds. The crimson eyes were still the same but they look calmer and gentler now. His face showed a seemingly perfect, flawless face of a young man in his early thirties.

"You must be in quite a shock watching me reveal my true figure..."

As the young lad was about to give a reply to what he just said, the mysterious man started to walk around him, encircling him, as if curiously examining a new specimen, which is the younger being infront of him.

"To travel to my territory in an abandoned faraway mountain... I am quite certain you are aware of the challenges in facing the structure of the terrains, let alone the monsters along the way. Such bravery you have in there boy," he murmured to himself while observing the young lad intensely. It has been ages since he last had a visitor, and a young one too.

He stopped and placed his palm on the young lad's head and stared intently into his eyes.

"Now answer me young lad as I ask again...What is it that you seek?"

As he looked into those deep emerald eyes that was also staring back at him, he noticed that the fear was replaced by an emotion he wasn't expecting to get from a defenseless guest.

Excitement.

He did not envision that kind of emotion coming from strangers that he wondered why would this boy hold such sentiment towards him, but it was all washed away when the young lad in front of him suddenly touched his face by his dirty scarred hands and burst into crying.

"Quaecumque vera... doce me..."

The words came out from the young lad's voice as whispers before collapsing infront of him. His face was swollen and he obviously used all of his energy in fulfilling his journey to reach the place. Seeing this, the cloaked man sighed and bent down to carry him while thinking about how his curiosity of this young visitor was immediately cut to vain. As he stood up, a piece of paper fell from one of the young lad's pockets. Snapping his finger, everything around him all went back into motion.

A crow wearing an intricate golden necklace, swooped down to get the paper and flew on top of his shoulder.

He grabbed the paper and read it. A very familiar phrase greeted him.

"Capax Infiniti."