Three months ago, seventeenth of the month of Leo (August), two days after Arsen and the others boarded an airboat to journey home from Laochyro. Lyra had made up her mind to come with Anastasia and meet with the old man she talked about. They ventured to a deserted area still part of the World Academy. It was an address that the old man gave Anastasia if they decided to meet him.
The two of them were anxious, passing through a wooded area rich with greenery yet feeling a sense of solitariness made them in such a state.
After walking for around an hour, Anastasia and Lyra reached an open area with a wooden hut at the center. In front of the hut was a wooden table and a stump of a tree close to it. The two approached the hut, Anastasia gulped before she raised her hand and was about to knock on the door when they heard someone speak,
"Come in, it's open."
Anastasia stopped her hand from knocking, "Excuse us," she said before slowly opening the door.
Inside, they saw the old man lying on his side. His closed left fist supported his head while he read a book with his other hand. The place was filled with stacks of books, some tattered and covered with dust. All genres currently available could be found in the old man's collection. But, it was mostly research journals and informative books. There was no bed, nor any furniture inside.
Lyra and Anastasia were impressed and admired the old man as researchers. Admiration immediately plummeted once they saw the 'Erotica' labeling in the book the old man was reading.
The old man closed his book and cleared his throat, "I was just curious about these new genres of literature," he said as he slid the book away to a pile with the same labeling. He then sat up and stared at the two.
"Sit, make yourself at home."
Anastasia and Lyra stared at each other. 'Where do we sit?' They both thought. Lyra was also questioning her decision to go with Anastasia in a solitary place after meeting the weird old man. Even so, the two of them sat on the floor with their legs crossed.
"Do you know who I am?" The old man said with a serious tone.
"Yes. Ana explained it to me. You are Silas Sylvanus," Lyra paused and took a glance at Anastasia before returning her stare to the old man, "A Zeal-bearer of the Wise Serpent," she continued.
Silas was staring at the two of them, they were confused as his eyes weren't directed at theirs, it was a bit lower. Lyra and Anastasia had been researching the Zeal of Ophiuchus for years. They have come up with the hypothesis that its power might have something to do with vision. After deep thought, Lyra realized where Silas was staring.
"You perverted old man!" Lyra shouted as she picked up a book and threw it at Silas. Surprisingly, the thick book hit the old man in the head.
Anastasia was stunned, "Ly?! What are you doing?" She asked as she stopped Lyra from taking another book to throw.
"The old bastard, he was staring at our bosoms."
"What?"
Anastasia looked at the old man who just sat up. His head was a bit red, and blood was dripping from his nose. Shivers went down Anastasia's spine when she saw the creepy grin of the old man. Her instincts took over as she threw another thick book to the old man. This time, Silas dodged it with ease.
Silas stood up, "Okay, enough with the fiasco," he said while chuckling. But the two were pissed and continued throwing a lot of books at the old man. None of which managed to even touch the edges of his worn-out clothes.
Chasing their breaths, "I told you this was a mistake," Lyra said to Anastasia.
"I guess you were right. But not in the way we both would've guessed," Anastasia replied.
The two were still out of breath and regretted the decision to step inside the hut.
"You're crippling him," Silas said all of a sudden.
Lyra glared at the old man, "Disgusting old man, what are you saying now?" She said.
Silas became serious, "Your boy," he replied.
Lyra's furrowed brows relaxed. She took a deep breath, "What do you mean?"
"You're a researcher. You know exactly what Zeals are."
It was a consensus among researchers that Zeals function similarly to any human body parts. Zeals are referred to as a fifth limb, like a gronkey's tail. The more you practice, and use your Zeal, the greater its strength becomes. Similar to a muscle. In Aeneas's case, he didn't know that he possessed a fifth limb, yet in times of crisis, he unknowingly overuses the power of his Zeal which results in great strain to it. The times when Aeneas's eyes bleed were because of that.
Lyra's lips were quivering, "T–then, what was I supposed to do?" she said.
"You should have told him from the start."
"Told him what? That people will hate him for bearing a Zeal he didn't wish for? How was I supposed to protect him against a world that calls his Zeal a mark from demons?"
"Ly…" Anastasia whispered as she tried to calm Lyra down.
Silas stared at them. Then, he removed the patch he had in his right eye. Lyra and Anastasia realized that the scarring on the right side of his face was far more severe than they thought. It was deformed. The old man touched the same area of his face, "I did this myself," he said with a wistful smile.
"They tried to sell me, but I ran. Tons of misfortunes and bounty hunters came after. 'It was all this demon's mark's fault' – that was what I thought while I damaged my face trying to remove it."
The old man opened his right eye, it was a grotesque hollowed socket with the Zeal of Ophiuchus formed from blood vessels. Both Lyra and Anastasia gulped and couldn't look straight at it.
"As you can see, I even pulled my eye. But once you've been 'gifted' with a Zeal, you'll have it even on the day you die. That's what makes it unique."
Lyra fell to her knees, "So you suggest my baby experience the same misfortune instead?"
Silas sighed, "Clearly, you've misunderstood me. I showed it to say that there was no other way than to accept it or your child will forever live with pain continuously being greater the more he strains his Zeal," Silas returned his eye patch, "Destroying my face helped me conceal my Zeal. I didn't have anyone like you who could make a material to hide it, your child is fortunate. But, where you're wrong is that you should've told him from the start."
Tears fell from Lyra's eyes. She immediately wiped them away took a deep breath, and stared at Silas,
"What do I do now?" She asked.
"Tell him. Better yet, bring your boy to me. I will guide him on how to use his Zeal."
Lyra turned to Anastasia then back to Silas, "I will think about it."
Silas sighed once again, this time it was much more exaggerated, "I already said you're crippling him yet you're still going to think about it? Your boy spent all his life oblivious to the fact that he bears a Zeal, if I'm guessing it correctly, even if he learned of this fact today, he wouldn't be able to use his Zeal at will for you have relieved him of the feeling and thought of someone who bears a Zeal."
Anastasia looked Lyra in the eyes, and with a smile, "I think you should do as he suggests. It's for Aenie's sake," she said.
Lyra shook her head, "I will think about it. There must be a way to remove a Zeal that even you do not know, old man."
In Lyra's head, she still has a few months till the end of the year. She plans to oblige with the promise she made with her eldest son – they would tell Aeneas about his Zeal once the new year starts if Lyra didn't find a way to remove it.
Silas thought how nice it would've been had he been born from a mother similar to Lyra. He smiled and said, "You're stubborn. Do what you want. You know where to bring your boy if you change your mind."
***
In the present, the same time when Aeneas found out that he bears a Zeal. Lyra and Anastasia were arguing inside Lyra's room in the Caspius manor. Anastasia has been persuading Lyra to tell his son about the Zeal and to let old man Silas train him. She had been doing it since she witnessed that Aeneas could see chaos itself back in the Great Verdant forest.
Anastasia argued that Aeneas's power would be a great help to their quest to figure out the origin of the maddened beasts.
"I told you, I still have time to find out how to remove it."
"But isn't it a waste? Didn't you see how your son's power greatly helped us in the expedition? For all we know, none would've survived had Aenie not told lord Nireus the behemoth's weakness."
Lyra and Anastasia heard a knock in the middle of their argument.
"Mother? It's me," Aeneas said.