Mercenary Base
Inside the dark tent, Kian wakes up startled, gasping for breath.
Once his breathing calms down, he slowly gets up.
Then, he recalls the dream he just had. In his dream, a young woman appeared and when his eyes met hers, his heart suddenly started beating rapidly. Like river water gushing out of a dam, a surge of emotions burst out from deep within his soul and engulfed his entire being, overwhelming him.
When Kian tries to remember the young woman's face, everything becomes hazy as if his mind is doing it on purpose to irritate him. So he tries to compare her hazy face with the faces of his short list of friends, colleagues and acquaintances, but none of them felt right.
He's certain they had known each other before; otherwise, why would the young woman in his dream feel so familiar to him?
Thinking about the young woman again makes his calm heart beat faster again.
Kian puts his hand on his chest and straightens his back; he takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. He repeats this a couple more times until his heart settles down again.
Since he couldn't go back to sleep, he put on his boots and walked out of the tent.
It was still dark outside.
The cold evening air blowing on his face helps clear his mind a bit.
*****
Kian arrives at the east gate then walks straight out of the base after exchanging silent nods with the nightwatchmen who are already familiar with this kind of thing as none of them questioned him for leaving the base at this odd hour.
With only the moonlights as his source of light, Kian unhesitatingly walks through the trees. After walking for about ten minutes, he arrives at a treehouse that belongs to an elderly sorceress.
Sorceresses are people who are born with immense power that no ordinary person could possess or replicate no matter how much they try or what unorthodox method they use.
Aside from their power, sorceresses are regarded as wise person because they supposedly know some truths about the world that no ordinary person can fathom. As for whether they would share that knowledge, it depends on the individual's temperament and personality.
The elderly sorceress living in the tree house is Madam Po or Granny Po as she prefers to be called.
Granny Po has taken roots up in the tree house for decades and has witnessed the growth of the Mercenary Base that the elderly sorceress has long since regarded the mercenaries as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Whether it's a trivial matter or an important matter, the mercenaries would come and see Granny Po for advice. And now, it's Kian who has come to seek her for advice.
Up on the deck, a gentle-looking elderly woman with grey hair tied up in a bun is lying on a recliner chair and gazing up at the stars. When she hears footsteps, she doesn't turn to look at who the visitor is and casually says, "You pick an odd hour to visit this old lady."
Kian approaches closer and stops just a few steps before Granny Po.
"Sorry for disturbing you, Granny."
"Kian," Granny Po calls out his name upon recognising his voice. "This is an unexpected surprise. Are you here on behalf of your chief or as yourself?"
"I came because I had a dream."
Granny Po waits for him to say more.
"In the dream, I saw a woman but when I woke up, I couldn't remember her face. I only remember feeling that she's someone I'd known before." After describing the dream he had, Kian pulls up his sleeve and says, "I don't know if the dream is related to this but this mark appeared after I returned from the forest."
Under the moonlight, a barely noticeable red mark around Kian's wrist reveals itself.
Granny Po takes a glance at Kian's wrist. It takes her four seconds to realise what she's looking at before her eyes widen in disbelief.
In a swift motion, the elderly sorceress stands up from the recliner and pulls Kian inside the tree house where the room is brighter so that she can see the red mark clearly.
"My eyes are not deceiving me," Granny Po speaks softly, almost in a whisper as if she's afraid someone would overhear her. "Never in my life would I be fortunate enough to witness this with my own eyes."
"You recognised it, Granny? Is this a mark left by a sorceress?"
Granny Po glances up at Kian with a gaze reminiscent of a grandmother looking affectionately at their grandson and says, "No child, this is a blessing. Lady Fortune has not abandoned you after all."
Kian looks at her, not understanding what her words meant.
"Is a mark of blessing supposed to look this…ordinary?" He inwardly thought as he glanced at the thin red line around his wrist.
Granny Po lets go of his hand and goes to a room. During the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, she returns with a book with a thick cover.
The elderly sorceress invites Kian to sit next to her before asking him, "Have you heard of Fated Pairs?"
"No."
"Those who have heard the story of Fated Pairs treat it as a myth, but we, as sorceress, know them to be true," Granny Po begins her storytelling as she slowly turns over the pages. "There were once two souls that were inseparable. However, no matter how inseparable they are, the two souls still have to face the inescapable fate of being born into the world. Once the two souls are born, they will live their entire mortal life forgetting about the other soul's existence until a seemingly coincidental encounter leads to their reunion."
Granny Po pauses then recites a phrase from memory, "'An instant that felt a lifetime'."
Kian's eyes flicker. Her words remind him of an unusual encounter he had by the lake in the forest yesterday and unconsciously clenches his fists to control his emotion.
The elderly sorceress continues as she pretends not to notice his subtle reaction, "No matter how far the distance and how many lifetimes, fate will eventually bring the two together, hence the name Fated Pairs. And when the two souls reunite as two mortals, a matching red mark or symbol will appear on their body."
Granny Po stops turning the pages at two pages filled with illustrations of red marks and symbols. Out of the elaborate illustrations, the simplest one catches Kian's attention - the ends of red strings from two pairs of hands tied together into a ribbon, symbolising the link.
Kian compares the illustration with the one on his wrist. The little bit of doubt in his head vanishes completely. Although he didn't have any intention of doubting Granny Po's words, he just wants certainty because he doesn't like the feeling of not knowing especially when it's about things concerning him.
"These drawings are only what the painter imagined and heard from others what the marks of Fated Pairs are like, no one has actually ever seen it with their own eyes."
Before Kian could ask, the elderly sorceress answered it for him, "Because no one has ever admitted to having the mark of Fated Pairs. To be able to meet your Fated Pair in the same lifetime, or soulmates as the romantics like to call them, is the greatest fortune and a wonderful blessing one could have, but not every reunion comes with a happy ending. It is rumoured that for a soulmate to lose their other half is the most heart-wrenching pain that could ever befall on a person."
Kian clenches his loosened fist again.
At a young age, losing both of his parents at the same time is the most painful thing Kian has been through. On the surface, it might look like he's no longer grieving but it still doesn't make their absence any easier.
When he thinks of losing his soulmate, whoever she may be, he has a strong feeling that he would break down completely with no possibility of recovering.
Sensing his downcast mood, Granny Po closes the book and gently covers his hand to give him a comforting warmth. "You're no longer the same powerless boy when we first met. You've grown now, healthy and strong just as your Ma and Pa wished."
Granny Po's comforting words are effective as Kian recovers from his low mood.
"What should I do now, Granny?"
"Find the wise elder of the Forest People," the elderly sorceress advises. "As you know, the tribe of Forest People are favoured by Sacred Beasts, they are more informed of rare and forgotten knowledge than we, sorceress, do."
Kian nods in understanding. Whether he does as she says is entirely up to him because finding the wise elder and going to where the Forest People live are two different matters. The former can be done by simply asking while the latter requires going past the safe limit of the boundary in the forest, deep into the Land of the Blessed.
Granny Po takes a long strip of fabric from a wooden basket and wraps it around Kian's wrist, covering the faint red mark entirely. Then, she looks Kian directly in the eyes and says in all seriousness, "You must not let anyone see this mark, especially those who want to do harm on you. Remember, to lose a soulmate is to lose oneself."
Her underlying meaning is that his life is now tied with the other person, that he should take more consideration before making any decision or action that could potentially be life-threatening.
Kian takes the warning and advice to heart.
After getting his answers, he doesn't want to overstay his welcome; he thanks Granny Po and leaves the tree house.
"Most people spend their entire life never knowing who their true soulmate is," Granny Po sighs as she remembers some old memories. "May Kai and Anna's child no longer suffer in loneliness and to quickly reunite with his lost happiness."
From up on the deck, Granny Po whispers her earnest wish to the stars above.