It was a hot day when the stranger walked onto the farm. They came from the east, on foot. The Aquilas were hard at work weeding, as per usual, so they didn't notice the stranger until they were on the same field.
They wore a dark cloak with the hood pulled down low. It cast a sharp shadow in the bright sun. If it didn't, all anyone would see was a white clay mask, painted to feature two ouroboros on each cheek. The figure used a gnarled staff wrapped with dirty blue cloth as a walking stick. It was slightly larger than the figure, but that wasn't saying much considering they were... vertically challenged.
"Hello!" the stranger called out. The three sweaty workers looked up from their toil to appraise the newcomer on their property. The figure was waving a hand high above their head energetically, the sleeves of the large robe flapping about to expose a pale, twig thin arm.
The robed stranger ran up to be closer to Amos and his parents. They struggled with the large pack on their back and tried to avoid trampling the sprouting wheat crop.
"Hi!" they said. They bounced over, coming to a stop and almost lost their balance due to the large pack they carried, "Woah! I'm looking for Yakob Aquila. Is this the right farm?"
"Yes, this is the right farm," Leila responded first, "I'm Yakob's mother, Leila. That's Kien and Amos."
The figure nodded enthusiastically. Their mysterious hood began to look not so mysterious as it bounced around. "Leila, Kien, and Amos. I know all about you guys! Oh, my name's Shanty, by the way, I go to school with Yakob. You wouldn't believe the amount of farms I've been to while asking for him along the Armastan River. Like, sooooo many!"
Kien stepped forward, wiping the sweat off his brow. He extended a hand to Shanty in greeting. Shanty looked at the sweat from behind their mask and reluctantly took it.
"So you're a smarty-pants like my son?" Kien smiled, "Give me a fun fact."
"Uhhh, oh! Okay! Listen," Shanty took a deep breath, "Emperor Maur II was originally named Bogik Oodle before his ascension! Bogik! Oodle! Did you know that? I bet you didn't. The Trenmir try to cover it up, but it's pretty easy to find when you're looking at historical texts all the time... Anyway!"
Amos tried not to laugh, noticing that his parents didn't find the name Bogik Oodle amusing. Kien nodded appreciatively, though, storing the new knowledge for later.
"I'm looking for Yakob for a, uh," Shanty continued on, but seemed to lose their line of thought. They pulled out a little scrap of paper and skimmed over it, before their eyes lit up, "school project! That's right! We're working together on a research project at Avidia Institute. Can't believe I forgot... Silly me!"
Kien and Leila exchanged a glance.
"Yakob's not here at the moment, sweetie," Leila said.
"Oh, is he out working? He told me farm work was really hard, like you could get muscly just from doing it all the time. Is that why you look so strong?" Shanty pointed at Amos.
"Ah, maybe..." Amos blushed.
"Yeah, don't be shy. I could tell you work day and night just by the shape of those things. Even if Yakob never gushed about how hard of a worker you are and how nice and strong and brave..." Shanty trailed off, "Anyway! I'm happy to wait for a while. I brought some cards with me so we can all play together if you want! Or, no, sorry, you guys're probably busy. I totally get that, I'll just play by myself - Solitaire!"
In the midst of the heat and their hard work, the fast-talking stranger was too much for the Aquilas' collective brains to keep up with. Shanty walked a short distance away and shrugged off their pack and started digging around in it, searching for cards, presumably.
Leila turned to her husband. "This one's all you, my love." Then she went back to weeding.
Kien turned to his son. "How about you go talk to Yakob's friend, Amos?"
"What! Why me?" Amos said.
"You're the least sweatiest - sweaty? I don't know," Kien shook his head, "I just can't keep up with that energy. Go get rid of the wackadoodle."
"I don't think..." Amos began, before being cut off by a pleading look from his father, "Alright, fine."
Amos wiped his hands on the front of his work apron and approached Shanty. Their walking stick was lodged in the dirt next to them, the large pack laid against it. They had found a pack of cards and were laying them out in the mud and grime. The order seemed random - or at least unfamiliar - to Amos.
"Hey, Shanty..." he started.
Shanty was crouching over the cards, perched on their heels. They looked up at Amos and revealed their mask to the bright sunlight. Up close, the clay was textured with bumps and lines that seemed to be an attempt at smoothing the surface. The mask covered Shanty's entire face, except for two eyeholes which were steeped in shadow, even when facing the light. The design was intricately painted with reds and blues - two snakes consuming their own bodies on each cheek, mimicking a circular blush that Amos thought resembled mimes in his old world.
"Oh, Amos! Can you help me? I don't actually know how to play Solitaire," they said.
"You..." Amos was stunned, "No, I mean, aren't you here for Yakob?"
"Oh, well yeah, but he's not here right now so I figured I'd pass the time by playing a game. He'll be back soon right?"
"Uh, no."
"What do you mean? Is he gonna be ages?"
"He's not here, Shanty."
"Yeah, I know that, goofball. I said I'd wait."
"No, like, he's not here. At all. Anywhere."
"Oh my Stars, where's he gone off to now?"
Amos thought back to his first day in this new world, "Um, I think he was going to Tarton. Leila asked him to go past Botre Village to pick up cake or something."
Shanty went still. Dead still.
"So, he's going to be back in..." Amos counted in his head, "another week or two?"
"No."
"Huh?"
"No, he's supposed to be here now."
"Well, he hasn't come back yet."
"Something's not right." Shanty left the cards in the mud and turned to the large pack. They rummaged around for a few moments before pulling out a leatherbound journal and flicking through the pages. It had a symbol pressed into the front that Amos recognised...
The wax seal from the letter!
A Pisces symbol with twelve stars!
"She definitely said now..." Shanty mumbled to themselves, "her divination's never been wrong before..."
"Shanty," Amos interrupted their train of thought.
"Mmm?"
"What does that symbol mean?" Amos pointed at it.
"Oh! It's from school - you know the Avidia Institute? I'm in Pisces house. You weren't actually supposed to see that. Xae-" Shanty caught their tongue, "My teacher says that its not good for normal people to know about us."
"I've seen it before."
Shanty went back to their journal, scanning the pages. "Really?" They said disinterestedly.
"I got a letter. With that symbol on it."
"Oh, that's weird. Did you read it?"
"Yeah. It told me to 'watch for the eclipse'."
"Yakob told me you couldn't read."
"When?"
"Oh, you know. We talk all the time, so, things come up."
"Whatever."
"Whatever yourself."
"You know something about the letter."
"Yeah, alright," Shanty looked up at him, "I sent it, you goofball."
What! Shanty sent the letter? They know my secret! I don't even know who they are, they could be dangerous!
And now they're looking for Yakob - what if they tell him everything? I'll be ruined!
Amos reeled. "Who are you really?"
"Uh, I told you. They call me Shanty. 'Cos I get stuck in your head. Like a song, y'know?"
"What did the letter mean? Why did you send it? How do you know my name?"
"Dunno, dunno, and Yakob told me about you." Shanty - not caring for the interrogation - stowed the journal and got up, "I didn't write it and I didn't read it. Whatever's in there is between you and the stars."
Amos sighed inwardly.
So they're not the one I need to be worried about. There's someone else at work here - their teacher? This Xae- person?
"Look, if Yakob's not here, then I have to go find him," Shanty continued, shouldering the pack, "Just do whatever it says. We have your best interests at heart."
We?
"Wait, I have so many questions."
"I'm sure you do. I have to go, though. Oh and one more thing," Shanty turned to stare at Amos. Something flashed within the pits of darkness that made the eyeholes in that clay mask, "don't go in the forest."
"Why?"
"There's super scary Drai in there!" Shanty made noises like a ghost to mock Amos.
"Drai?"
"Yeah, like..." Shanty stopped messing around, "do you not know what a Drai is?"
Amos just shook his head.
"Huh. I guess not everyone can be as educated as Yakob, especially out in the backwaters of Mauria like this."
Mauria! My country is called Mauria! Finally!
Wait, was that an insult?
"Wow, I've never had to explain this to anyone before," Shanty said, "Basically, they're regular people that have been changed by an eclipse. They hear the Gods and go insane, blah de blah. Oh, and every single Drai is evil. Suuuuper evil! Apparently, anyway."
They go insane... the madness?
Should I try and become a Drai? Will the powers help me restore this body to its soul?
"What do you mean by evil?"
"Oh my Stars. It's just what the Trenmir say. Go ask them if you care so much."
"But they hear the Gods? What does that mean?"
"Look, I have to go. Like, right now," Shanty stepped back a bit, "Just don't tell anyone about what you're about see. And remember: Do not go into the forest."
Shanty pulled the blue cloth covering their gnarled staff down to reveal squarish markings carved all over its surface. They tapped two in quick succession, then breathed out slowly. As they did, the carvings filled with a blue plasma. It appeared to be leaking from the wood like sap, rising from its innards. When the symbols were full, they didn't overflow, but glowed brighter.
"Look at me," they said, "Stay away from where?"
"The forest?" Amos guessed.
"Good!" Shanty gave Amos a quick wave, then turned and sprinted away.
They moved at an inhuman speed - almost incomprehensible to Amos - causing the air to crack as they left. Their legs were a blur and they kicked up a trail of dust that traced their path east.
The wind buffeted Amos as he watched Shanty go. It played with the dark robe and threw back their hood. Amos squinted against the sun, and he swore he saw two little horns poking out against the stranger's silhouette.
"What was that noise?" Kien called out from where he was working.
"Shanty just left," Amos shrugged and returned to work.
Only one thing was on his mind:
Watch for the eclipse...