Chapter Text
Prologue
Mara gently stroked the shell of the egg by her side. It had only been a few months since they had found them, but she could not help but feel a love for this unborn thing. The child of one of their fallen protectors.
The city was still recovering from the night their king went mad and tried to ascend to godhood by slaughtering almost every child in the city. But he was finally dethroned and struck down by their guardian deities, though all but one of the eldest among them were slain in the battle.
As they were picking up the pieces, Mara had found what she and the elders believed to be the home of the Naga Guardians Dawn and Dusk. There they discovered two eggs, their future children. Being barren, but still being considered a mother by many of the children, the elders agreed that it was the will of the gods that Mara and her husband, Pundi, would raise them.
Pundi came in, carrying a basket of fresh biscuits. Even though she knew his jolly self would eat most of them, she could not help but smile as she saw that loving twinkle in his eyes as they met.
"Mara, my love, you have hardly left those eggs' side since they were given to us."
Mara smiled. "I do not want to leave them for fear this miracle may just disappear." She sighed, those dark, sad thoughts returning. "Especially after..."
Pundi knelt beside her and pulled her in gently. "We will always remember them. Even if we never saw their face." He brushed a few tears from her eyes. "The gods have given us another chance."
"And we thank them every day."
The egg beneath her hand began to shiver. Mara gasped and drew back as Pundi stood.
"It is happening!" She exclaimed. Pundi was already in the kitchen preparing a pitcher of water with clean rags. The egg jumped and jostled before a little orange hand burst from it. Pundi immediately wet one of the rags and set it in Mara's outstretched hands. A little shoulder emerged next and soon a little orange head as well. Their head shone like the sun. They tumbled out of the egg and Mara set to cleaning them off. As she was finishing, the infant opened their wide eyes and looked up at both of them.
"Mama and papa?" He asked. Mara nodded, tears streaming around a joyous smile. The infant leapt into her arms. "Mama!" He cried.
The other egg began to shake as well. Mara handed the infant to Pundi, who was received with the same enthusiastic joy. Mara saw a little blue hand break through and begin to part the shell, but as soon as her shadow fell over the opening, it retreated back inside. She knelt next to it and peered inside. A similar infant held his eyes close to the opening, watching her intently.
She extended a hand with a calm, gentle smile. "Come out, little one. We're all excited to meet you." The eyes glanced between her and her hand before drawing away and that little blue hand slowly reached out to touch hers. As soon as their fingers touched, he latched on with rather impressive strength. As she started to clean him off, he slowly began to curl his little tail around her arm. She finished wiping him down and held him close in her arms. He looked at her for a moment before curling into her bosom.
The orange one leaned back in Pundi's arms. "Mama, what my name?"
Mara looked up at the tapestry on their wall and smiled before looking back down at him. "You are Sun." She then looked at the one in her arms. "And you will be Moon."
"Name... Moon?" He asked. Mara touched his little nose.
"Yes, child. You are Moon."
"Am Moon." He said before smiling and curling in tighter. "Moon loves mama."
"My name Sun!" The other proclaimed before wrapping his arms around Pundi's neck. "Sun loves Papa and Mama!"
Chapter 1
After ten months of begging, pleading, and bargaining, you were finally here. Those pencil pushers had put you off for long enough. But you had finally managed to make them listen to you. You had gotten so sick of them refusing to even consider your proposal that you had threatened to resign as the head of the archeological wing on at least three occasions.
Your proposal. A recently uncovered ruin in Northeastern India. The mythology surrounding it was scarce, but it seemed to predate even Hinduism. They were so old you bet they also predated every major empire. What knowledge did this lost civilization hold?
The few large texts that you had been able to obtain about it talked about incredibly powerful anthropomorphic demigods called The Guardians. They were said to be blessed by the gods to enact their will and protect the people. But all of them suddenly stopped around the late fourth century. As if the entire civilization had disappeared overnight.
Along with all of this, there had been a recent development that turned all of these beliefs on their heads. Medical records for patients who had been transferred to a Union hospital for serious injuries that had been sustained while exploring the forest surrounding a small township near the ruins. Almost all of them reported seeing some kind of anthropomorphic entity bringing them back. There was no way it was a coincidence.
You took a deep breath and opened the file. Most of it was the usual convoluted high society bull. Fine print, yadda yadda, and there. The budget papers. Your brow fell as you saw the total amount. You bit back a curse. What did they expect you to do with two thousand dollars?! Those fat snobs had set you up to fail. It was the only logical explanation. You checked to make sure it wasn’t a typo. But all the numbers added up right. They had only allotted you two thousand dollars for an expedition on the other side of the planet. You’d be lucky if you could afford a one-way plane ticket and food with that.
You sunk into a bench that sat in a hall in your department, holding your forehead in one hand and the letter in the other as it hung low, the paper now somewhat crumpled in your grip. A sigh left your lips, your body feeling hot with anger and heavy with hopelessness. What now? Where would you get the funds for this, and before someone else made a grab for an expedition of this place? Your temper hit high enough that you were about to stomp straight to the board of directors' office and give them a piece of your-!
Your phone rang. You jumped at the sudden noise and reached for the phone from your back pocket, nearly dropping it once you had pulled it out. You didn’t recognize the number on the screen. You adjusted yourself, clearing your throat, before answering.
“New York’s archeology department,” you greeted the caller.
“Bonjour,” you heard a woman’s voice on the line, her accent heavily French. “This is Daina Moreau. How are you today?”
Moreau… that name sounded familiar. From an article you had read not too long ago.
“F-fine, fine! What can I do for you?” you responded.
"Are you still interested in the Fazbaru ruins?"
You froze in surprise. What a coincidence. Lady Luck has some impeccable timing, to say the least.
“Hello?” you heard from the phone.
"S-sorry, yes! Absolutely!"
"Excellent! My aunt may have an interesting proposal for you, then.”
A private flight to Paris? Who was this aunt?
Exiting the plane, you saw a sharply dressed man with a cravat tie beside a spotless black Cadillac. He called you by name and opened the back door. Fine leather seats and the faintest smell of cigar smoke.
They took you on a scenic drive through Paris, coming close enough to the Eiffel Tower that you had to crane your neck to see the top. Up through the busy streets and into the wealthy parts of the city. The car finally stopped at the gate to a sprawling palatial estate. For all you knew this may very well have been one of the old palaces of France. The long driveway took you past immaculately trimmed hedges and a few sculptures that rose above them.
The front door opened as the car came to a stop and the driver quickly got out, stepped to your side, and opened your door. As soon as you entered, someone took your coat, while you kept a satchel at your side, as you just stared around the awe-inspiring lobby. Luxurious plush, red carpeting graced the floors. Polished mahogany lined the walls, floors, and railings of the stairway in the middle of the foyer. Gold-encrusted porcelain vases with beautiful bouquets residing in them decorated the shelves. Antique cherry red chests and chairs stood against the sides of the stairwell. The chandelier itself was a masterpiece, with crystal clear glass hanging from its golden frame and shining brightly from the lighting within.
A maid approached you and curtsied. “Welcome to the Moreau residence. Right this way.”
She led you up the stairs and into a luxurious study on the interior of the manor. While it was not as exuberant as the rest of the mansion, it had high, vaulted ceilings and an ornate fireplace. At the far side of the room, an eight-foot-tall Krishna statue stood, his arms spread wide, almost invitingly. The chair that sat behind a sleek mahogany desk turned and an older woman with sun-kissed olive skin greeted you. Her silvery hair caught the light coming from the alcove the statue was set in, giving it a halo-like glow.
”So, my niece has told me about you. I hope she was right.” She stood and floated over to you. “I am Nadra Moreau.” Despite her apparent age, she moved with a flowing grace. She extended a hand. You hesitantly took it.
She moved back to her desk and took a seat. She crossed her legs, resting her wrists on her knee. You took your seat in the armchair across from her. The seating was so plush you couldn’t help but be distracted by it for a second. You introduced yourself as well, stating your name.
“Your niece, you said? She told me over the phone you had a proposal for me, concerning the Fazbaru temple ruins?”
Nadra nodded. “Yes. She told me you were highly interested in going on an expedition there. Tell me, have you acquired any funds to go on it?”
You paused, gritting your teeth a bit as the numbers on the letter you got back at the museum flashed through your mind.
“Yes, but not nearly enough. Only two thousand dollars from the museum I work for.”
Nadra looked flabbergasted. “Two thousand? That is horrendous. Definitely not nearly enough.”
You nodded, your hands tightening into fists as they rested on your knees.
“Indeed,” you muttered.
“And I don’t suppose they even offered a team either?”
You shook your head.
“Humm. That is rather disconcerting. Any idea why they are not willing to get you the proper resources for this?”
You exhaled, leaning back in your seat. Then you went for your satchel that you had sat on the floor in front of one of the armrests, pulling the file out with the museum's letter and flipping it open, setting it on your lap.
“Well, they said I wasn’t experienced enough in the field, and I’d be going there for the wrong reasons. There had been odd happenings going on there, which I spoke to them about, and they took it as me just being a myth chaser. I’d be going there to study and find traces of an ancient civilization that vanished from there during the fourth hundred A.D. That alone should be enough for them.”
Nadra shrugged. “And yet, you could not convince the museum board. Why do you continue to chase something that is so clearly a dead end?”
You swiftly shut the file and stood from your seat, waving the folder in your hand around.
"Because I know there's something going on there! To hell with the museum. I will get to those ruins and explore them on my own, even if I have to rent a bicycle!"
A broad grin crept across Nadra's face. "That, cherri, is precisely what I wanted to hear." She stood, sliding a thick file into her grip. "But no worries about a bicycle." She handed you the file. "A five-week expedition has already been arranged. The best crew my wealth could afford." You started flipping through the file. It had everything, down to finances and your expected payment. Complete transparency. You had never seen that many zeros on a check in your entire life. "All we need is an archeologist. Of course, you will receive a generous compensation. And the discovery of a lifetime."
Your breath had been taken away, needing to seat yourself again as you processed everything. Your brows furrowed as you wondered if you were dreaming, and if not…
"Why are you doing this?"
"It is my home. I was raised near those ruins myself. There is a lot of wonder there, but there also has been great tragedy. I’ve been told stories as a child, and want to see how true they are. What better way to do that than to have scientific professionals investigate?”
You rested your jaw in your open hand, your brows furrowing again. Yes, she has a great point, but there are plenty of more renowned candidates more fitting for this position. So the question was…
“Why me?”
She softly smiled at you. “Because you believe. You believe there is more to those ruins. That alone makes you trustworthy. In my eyes, at least. I don’t think anyone else would show it the respect it deserves. I want it in safe hands.”
Nadra lifted herself from her chair and stepped towards you, kneeling before you and taking your hand in both of hers, gingerly and warmly.
“The question is, do you accept my offer?”
You stepped off the plane onto the tiny airstrip, thinking back to your meeting with Nadra. Of course you took the offer, without hesitation, since you were here in Northern India now. The airport you landed in barely had anything to it, only a checkpoint station, the airstrip, and a chain link fence around the perimeter of it. Most of the surroundings were just an open valley surrounded by jungle-infested hills. Only a mile or so beyond that, to the east, was the city next door.
Luckily you didn’t need to walk there, since there was someone with a cycle rickshaw waiting for you on the other side of the fence. He held a piece of cardboard with your name written on it above his head. The trip was smooth enough, save for maybe a few bumps. Once you arrived in the city, you hopped off onto the sidewalk and handed the man on the bike a US twenty dollar bill for a tip. He looked shocked and asked you something in Hindi, holding the bill out to you. You told him it was for him, then he shrugged, smiled, and thanked you before taking off.
The streets were busy and full, with vehicles of all sorts going to and fro on the dirt road. There were a good amount of people walking on the paved sidewalks as well. Not as loud and bustling as New York, but close. You went for your satchel, getting a paper out with directions on where to go scribbled on it. You weren’t walking down the streets for too long, but already you were lost. The chicken scratch on the paper was confusing and hardly readable.
You stopped and looked around in vain, not knowing what exactly to look for in the first place. You did a double take at another piece of cardboard with your name on it, being held over the crowd. It was on the other side of the road. You hesitated, looking both ways twice before crossing the street, trying your best not to get hit. It wasn’t that bad, thankfully, and you made it in one piece. Flipping around in place, you tried to spot the sign again.
“Are you the archeologist they sent over?” you heard a man’s voice say behind you, and you twisted around to face the source.
“Y-yes, for the Fazbaru expedition,” you replied.
A tall, broad man greeted you, the sign you saw earlier in his hand. He held out his other hand to you. “Clay Tonne. Security and weapons. Here to make sure you get back in one piece or ship them back if there’s multiple.”
You shook his hand and tried to chuckle at his dry humor. He just grinned. “Hey, don’t worry. Your superiors paid good money for me. Nothing’s gonna happen.”
A very tall and thin woman came up to you from behind Clay, as she adjusted a pair of thick round glasses. Her ebony hair bounced behind her as she trotted down the steps of the shop behind her.
“Ah, hello. You must be the archeologist.” She shook your hand and bowed her head. ”I am Daina Moreau, the cartographer.”
“Moreau? Are you the niece that Nadra was talking about?”
“Oui. And you are?”
You gave her your name. Her head cocked slightly, repeating your name.
“Didn’t you write an article on the northern province of Japan? Hokkaido I believe it’s called. The article concerned a folktale of the Ainu people. ’The white wolf god’ was it?”
You perked up upon hearing this, recalling this article, and then remembered the one you recognized her from.
“Y-yes! And you wrote one on the Kyteler’s Inn, correct?”
Her face brightened. “ Oui! You read that?”
You nodded. “It was such a good read!”
She covered her mouth with one hand, now bashful as her cheeks tinged with a blush. Her other hand took a hold of yours in a handshake.
“Not only a thorough archeologist, but with such good taste as well. I knew you’d be the best pick.”
Clay rolled his shoulders and looked around. “Next, we have to secure our transport. The file said there was supposed to be a dealer around here who was going to lend us some vehicles.”
Daina pulled out her map and studied it. “My aunt said we are looking for Hassi’s Used. If this is Rhinna Street, then it should be in…”
She looked up, to point it out, but Clay was already gone. They noticed him a couple dozen yards away, already trying to talk with locals. He was clearly not having any success because two of them shrugged and shook their heads and walked away. You decided to join him before he started scaring them too much.
Clay slapped his forehead and snarled in frustration. He spoke very slowly, clearly enunciating each word. “You. Know. Where. Find. Van? Big. Car? Carry. Many. People?”
The person simply shrugged and shook their head before turning and walking away.
"Car- Agh! This was so much easier in Guam." He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.
"Hey, uh, how's securing transportation going?" You asked carefully.
"Oh, not good. No one here speaks a lick of English. I'll take Mandarin at this point."
"Wait, you can't speak Hindi?"
"Never needed to."
“Well, I can. Just watch my back.” You suggested.
Clay sighed and rolled his eyes before nodding. The two of you went to the nearest shop owner who was selling what seemed to be extremely sugary cakes. You could almost feel the grit of it in your teeth. Your stomach started to growl a little.
“ {Ah, hello! May I interest you in some sweetcakes?} ” The cheery man asked in Hindi, his cheeks shining in a well-practiced, friendly glow. “ {Only 300 Rupees for five!} ”
Daina cleared her throat behind you. “I’ve determined our directions. Cartographer, remember? You only needed to wait a moment, Monsieur Clay.”
“Well, of course, lead the way.” Clay cleared his throat, trying to play his obvious blunder off.
“Ah, but first…” She began to speak with the stand owner. Her Hindi was so much faster and more fluid than yours. But you were able to pick up that she was negotiating the price. She held up a couple hundred Rupee bills in what you realized was a rather ingenious tactic. The man’s eyes would dart between the bills and her eyes as the price seemed to go down and the quantity seemed to rise a bit. He seemed almost desperate to get the bills, his hands twitched a little as he furiously negotiated. Finally, the sweetcakes came off of the griddle and the man slipped about a dozen into a small bag that Daina accepted before handing him the bills.
She came back over to you and plucked a few cakes from the bag before handing them to you. She gave you a knowing grin before gingerly biting into one and taking the lead.
With her in the lead, it didn’t take long at all to reach the dealership. It was a small lot with a single low building set before a metal-sided shop. About a dozen vehicles sat in the lot in alarmingly various states of function. Your group pushed through the lot to the building. Opening the door, you were met with a high counter with a nice wood top. The overweight Indian man at the counter wore black suspenders and a clean white shirt with even whiter teeth that he flashed as soon as the bell above the door rang. He tucked his thumbs under his suspenders in an oddly American fashion as he stood and puffed out his chest.
He gave a well-practiced, hearty laugh and extended a hand. “Hello there! I am Hassi, the proud owner of this, the finest used dealership in the entire city. Are you looking for a vehicle, friend?” His English was actually very good, despite the thick Hindi accent.
Clay took the invitation and shook his hand. “We are. I believe you received a special request for two vehicles.”
“Oh? Under whose name?”
Clay looked to Daina, who pointed over to you. Clay gestured you forward. “I believe they were under my teammate’s name.”
Hassi asked you for your name and place of residence, which you carefully gave. Hassi pulled out a clipboard. “Alright… NY…M… Oh, there you are. All the way from New York, hmm?” He chuckled and squeezed his ample gut through the comparatively tight gap between the counters. ”Let me take you around back. One of your team wanted to work on them personally.” The man took the lead as your group followed, with Clay at the front of it. You were led into the garage, where two forest green 12-seater vans sat. The air was heavy with the pungent smell of oil and burned metal.
Both of the vans had their hoods open, one being occupied by someone covered head to toe in welding equipment: green overalls with an orange welding jacket underneath, huge grey gloves, black steel-toed boots, and a welding mask. The only part of this person you could see was the back of their neck, their sweat-covered skin a terra cotta brown, and their black hair tied back in a wolf warrior ponytail. The welder finally pulled up to look upon their handiwork, shutting the hood. Then they turned their head towards your group once they caught a glimpse of you. Their figure was wiry and seemed to be male judging from the flat, broad chest.
The welder lifted his welding mask, revealing and confirming himself to be a man. “Ey, hola amigo, y amigas! You must be the rest of the folks I was supposed to meet here.” He pulled off his thick welding glove. “Pedro Garcia. I’ll be your engineer. I’m here to keep these rust buckets running. I’m impressed the chicos knew what they were doing, but they don’t got my magic touch.” He shook hands with everyone, wiping his hand on the back of his overalls before doing so. His hands were damp still, but he had a firm grip.
“Glad to have you on the team,” you commented, once it was your turn to shake his hand.
“Well, let’s see that magic in action then, shall we?” Clay piped up, heading straight for the driver's seat. He hopped on in and held out his hand for the key. Pedro whipped it out of his pocket and handed it over, Clay now inserting the key into the ignition and turning it. The engine sputtered and Pedro groaned.
“ Ay. Chicos, noh .” He popped the hood and bent down inside. “C’mon mi amore … work for Papi, por favor …” He muttered as his socket wrench ratcheted a few times. “Okay, try it now.” Clay rolled his eyes and turned the key again. The engine immediately roared to life. Pedro slammed the hood closed and pecked a kiss on the front. “That’s it, mija.”
The dealer came in with a broad, toothy grin. He adjusted his suspenders and rubbed his hands together. “Your work is finished, yes?”
Pedro wiped his hands clean with a rag. “ Si, the repairs are done.”
“Excellent! Shall we discuss the payment now?”
You and Daina looked at each other and she shrugged. Clay turned off the ignition and you all started following the dealer into the office. The dealer slipped behind the counter once again, going through the paperwork.
“Now given the amount of repairs and modifications my own team has put into this build, I’m afraid that will cost a bit extra. But I’m a generous man and I’ll cut you a deal. 80,000 for both.”
“80,000 rupees? That’s not bad…”
“Oh no, you misunderstand. You are American, right? That is in American Dollars.”
You knit your brow in confusion. That was a ridiculous offer. There was absolutely no way they cost that much, even in the American market.
Pedro set a crate he had brought on the counter with a heavy clank. “No, you misunderstand, señor.”
“What do you mean?”
“I had to rebuild one of the transmissions and most of the overhead on the other’s engine.” He lifted a jagged, broken gear out of the box. “Ten thousand for both and you can have your engine back.”
“But my crew put a fair amount of work on-”
Pedro cut him off. “Ten thousand or you pay me. And you don’t want to know how much I charge.”
Your group was finally on the road. It took a while longer than intended to get there since the dealer tried a couple more times for Pedro to be ‘reasonable’ and pay the asked amount and even bartered it down to 40,000. But the mechanic didn’t even budge an inch, and so the deal was struck in Pedro’s favor, though hesitantly.
It was one thing to see the traffic of the city, but another when you were stuck in it. It wasn’t too congested, but it did make Clay grumble under his breath. He was also scanning the sidewalks while in the moments of being stuck.
You noticed this and piped up, “What are you looking for?”
“We have two more passengers to pick up. They should be here by now, but the damn- Wait. There,” he pointed towards the crowd, having spotted the people he was looking for. He radioed Pedro in the other van that they needed to pick up a few more passengers. It took a bit of elbow grease and a bunch of angry honks from the vehicles next to you, but Clay managed to park the van aside. Pedro followed suit right behind him and parked as well.
The vans came to a stop and Clay disembarked, walking towards two figures in the crowd. You followed him, Daina and Pedro coming up right behind you. Clay instantly approached one of them, a stocky man with a buzz cut, heartily shaking his hand. That left both you and Daina to greet the other one, who happened to be a squat, rotund Korean man. He bowed deeply to you and Daina.
“The two researchers, I presume. I am Doctor Huu. I am honored to meet you. I will be the lead physician for this expedition.”
Pedro did a double-take, a grin growing on his face, and he approached the doctor.
“Dr. Who, eh? Where’s your Tardis at?” he snickered.
Huu pursed his lips in a stiff smile, obviously unimpressed.
“Ahh. A funny one I see. Not like I haven’t heard that one before,” he retorted, then turned and walked away, heading for one of the vans.
Clay clicked his tongue. “How was it, Harrison?”
“Found the Doc without any trouble, but we had some trouble navigating and ended up getting a little turned around.”
Clay raised a brow. “A Recon Marine got lost?”
Harrison bowed his head. “The- the map got lifted. I’m sorry, sir.”
Clay just grinned and shook his head. “Better go introduce yourself. You’re on Number 2. We’ll rendezvous with Chaney at the outskirt village. He’ll take her from there.” He gave him a pat on the back as he made his way back to the first van.
Harrison, Clay had called him, came up to you now. He wasn’t as tall as Clay, but indeed wider. He extended a meaty hand and shook your hand. “Lieutenant Dale Harrison. I’m the second in command for security.”
Pedro piped up. “Running a big security team. Any reason why?”
“Intel says the site’s got a few hazards, wild animals among them.” Dale answered.
“Surely three is a bit much for some wild animals,” Daina interjected.
Dale put his hands on his hips. “Ain’t just animals, unfortunately. Locals have been saying there’s a kidnapper on the loose and the town’s police branch hasn’t been able to track ‘em down yet.”
“Oh…” You all said in unison. Dale put a cap on, tipped it to you all, and headed for the second van. With that conversation over, you all looked between you and shrugged, breaking up and separating into the two vehicles.
Clay started up his van and leaned out, giving a thumbs up and Dale backed his van out of the alley with Clay right behind him. Soon the sounds of honking and shouting gave way to rushing wind and crunching gravel as the vans left the city behind. The adventure had finally begun…
~ • • • ~