Serapis

Recieved from a contest
* Need to change eyes to faceted
* Symphonia gave him the Strawberry Noggle since he joined the clan on Valentine's Day

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Serapis sat facing a bottle of eggshell pieces. The only light entering the room came from a small crack in the wall that let the moonlight in. He didn’t need light to know that there were exactly seven fragments, all that he could recover from his second hatching.

A second hatching. It was constantly on his mind during the nighttime hours when the rest of the household was fast asleep. His nest siblings were aware that their birth wasn’t through normal means, despite an alchemagical ritual being beyond their understanding, but they didn’t seem to recall anything from before.

Sometimes Serapis would see a different world overlaid on his own. It seemed to trigger when something in his present life matched up with something he’d done previously. The earliest time he recalled it happening was when his brother, Zagreus, convinced him to try fishing when they were only a few months old.






It was true. That was the first day Serapis had been fishing. When he tried to explain what he’d seen, Zagreus thought it had something to do with the strange eyes Serapis had been born with. Faceted and unable to have his sight concealed by his eyelids, they were indeed a mystery. A doctor examined him after he was born and just concluded he could see in many directions at once like a fly. Like a fly. Those words hurt, but not as much as the reactions most people had upon seeing his face. Even members of the household were unnerved by his appearance, so Serapis began walking around with his eyelids down since it made no difference to him.

Maybe his eyes were the cause of these visions, but he felt like they were more of a side effect. With his very essence being some sort of alchemagical amalgamation it was no surprise his eyes were fragmented. Eyes were the windows to the soul after all.



“Sera? Can I come in?”

Deep in his thoughts, Serapis hadn’t noticed the soft glow behind the curtain to his room. “You may enter, though isn’t it a bit late for you to be walking around?”

Zagreus pushed open the curtain and stepped inside. Whatever light source he’d been using was left behind. “I overheard something and the thought of it was keeping me awake. Since you’re always awake I…” Zagreaus trailed off. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…”

Serapis held up his hand. “It’s fine.” He’d long lost the energy to be jealous of those who could sleep, though when they were younger it was something they constantly fought about.

“Father would probably find more doctors if you asked.”

Serapis shook his head. It was more than mere insomnia; none of the doctors who examined him could figure out why he hadn’t expired from exhaustion. He was convinced that this malady was also connected to whatever seemed to have gone wrong with his unnatural birth. “You had a reason for visiting?” He prompted.

“Ah!” Zagreus took a step closer. “I heard you asked for Father’s permission to leave! You didn’t even mention it to me! Where will you go?!” His indignant tone turned into a sullen one. “And you know you don’t have to keep your eyes closed around me.”

“Habit. You know it doesn’t matter to me.”

“But it matters to me.”

Serapis raised his eyelids. “I will send a letter when I’ve arrived at my destination.”

“So you don’t even trust me enough to tell me that much?”

“Zagreus…” Serapis sighed. “I don’t have a particular location in mind. I’m just going to travel around wherever rumors of unorthodox magics take me.”

“You promise you’ll write?”

“Yes. Does that mean I’m forgiven for neglecting to inform you of my departure?” Serapis hadn’t intended on keeping it a secret, but he didn’t think it was anything worth seeking out Zagreus to mention either. They hadn’t seen each other in a while; Zagreus had important duties to attend to while Serapis spent most of his time keeping out of sight.

“On one condition: you have to call me Zag. You ALWAYS call me by my full name and it’s just so formal.” He made a face as if the word itself tasted bitter. “We’re brothers! Besides, I don’t let just anyone call me Zag - only my favorites.” He winked.

“Alright, Zag,” his brother grinned as he addressed him by the nickname, “now get out of here. Can’t you see that the morning’s light has replaced the moon’s?”

Zagreus looked at the warm light spots shining on his arm in surprise. “I guess it’s good morning then!” He exited through the curtain. “Remember you promised!”

Serapis continued to stare at the curtain and smiled.




Several hours later Serapis stiffly got up and stretched. The market would be open by now and, despite what he told Zag, he hadn’t actually been away from the residence recently to hear any rumors.

He had covered his head with a cowl and kept his eyelids down. This was a larger market further away from their residence, but his father was very famous. It wouldn’t surprise Serapis if somebody recognized him even out here.

He walked around the stalls of trinkets and then clothing. The only discussions he could overhear were about the weather and market prices. At the apothecary they were only talking about supply delays. Eventually Serapis ended up at a melon judging competition.

A snapper wearing glasses was leaning over to inspect a melon on a pedestal. “I think this must be the heaviest one here. Does anyone have a scale?”

A tundra sniffed a different melon. “I don’t know… I think you should weigh that one too. It’s a bit smaller, but I remember they’re usually really heavy.”

“We have less entries than last year. I knew we shouldn’t have moved the competition up by two weeks.” A fae hovering by the snapper complained.

Serapis walked away wondering if maybe the market wasn’t the right place to go for gathering intel. He could try a tavern or outright ask his Father what he knew…

"You think your crimes are funny?"

Serapis looked in the direction of the raised voice. A nearby snapper was confronting a skydancer who was also hiding his face.

Serapis promptly turned around and headed back the way he came. If a fight broke out he didn’t want to get dragged into it. There was still time to look elsewhere for rumors if he hurried.

“Leaving already?”

The voice was right in his ear. Serapis spun around, but nobody was close by. A few feet away an imperial waved at him.

“Sorry!” She called out as she moved closer. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to catch you before you left.”

“Can I help you with something?” Serapis asked, noting that the spot they were standing was suspiciously clear of anybody else.

“I saw you while I was talking to your twin,” She pointed at the covered up skydancer. “And just had to meet you!” She laughed. “It took me a moment because you're harder to read than most, but I have an offer for you. Do you have time to listen to it?”

He nodded, listening to her voice instead of her words. The way she spoke was very rhythmic, almost musical.

“I’m glad you’ll listen!” She clapped her hands together. “I only took a quick peek, but you’re another one of those whom I can’t see their future. There’s four of you now since I can’t see the shadowy figure in your recent past either. I think it’s your father? That’s not important though because you’re the first one I’ve encountered with two pasts! So I was hoping you’d be interested in…”

Her words sank in, canceling whatever spell her voice had woven. “What exactly do you want?” Serapis asked coldly. This imperial knew too much about him.

“I was getting to that! Come with me back to my clan and we can investigate your existence together.” She grinned.

Serapis turned and continued to leave the market.

“Wait. Wait. WAIT!” The imperial ran in front of him to block his path. “Alright, I wouldn’t have been very convinced with that either.” She took a deep breath and then spoke quickly. “There’s this jerk of a coatl back home who has stronger abilities than me, but don’t tell him I admitted that, who can probably help you with your bag of problems.”

“Why would you offer me aid?” He had the feeling she’d follow him back home if he ignored her.

“Officially my clan is seeking distinguished lineages to join us for… reasons you’ll learn about if you join. Personally I find your existence very interesting and would like to learn more about you. Can I see your eyes?” She eagerly leaned closer.

Serapis wasn’t sure how to respond, so he just raised his eyelids.

“Oh wow! They really are just like gemstones. They look better in person. I bet they sparkle amazingly in the light, is that why you hide them? Does it hinder your vision at all?”

“You aren’t repulsed by them?”

“Repulsed?” Her musical laughter blocked out all other sounds. “If you want something repulsive then come try my clanmate’s soup, though not too much because it’s legit poison. She has quite the talent for turning the most delectable ingredients into toxic sludge! Anyways, don’t you know it’s rude to ask questions without responding to mine first? I’ll let it slide this time though because I’m sure we’ll see each other again in Festerfell!” She hopped back a few steps and flew off.

"Like gemstones..." Serapis found himself smiling for a second time that day. "Now where's Festerfell?"