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Dell Clawthorne was the last of a long line of palismen carvers. There are many secrets and lost knowledge that he had ended up the keeper of, - old age can do that to a person, and so can a sharp memory.
Even so, he wouldn't have suspected that there was something out of the ordinary with the sweet young man who started apprenticing with him. He was a fast learner and a diligent worker, and Dell had known that he was the right fit when Toast landed on the boy's shoulder and rubbed his head under his chin. That was all the encouragement he needed to teach the boy everything he knew.
They spend most of their time in the Bat Queen's forest. The palistrom saplings are making great progress, soon they can have a grove and expand out from there.
Dell worried about how the meeting between Hunter and the Bat Queen was going to go. After all, the Bat Queen was known to not take kindly to strangers. But with Dell there he assumed that the worst she could do was send them away.
To his surprise, the two of them seemed to already know each other.
Later, when it was only the two of them, the Bat Queen admitted that before Hunter asked Dell for an apprenticeship, he turned to the Bat Queen's blessing first. He wanted to know why but he wasn't sure how to ask.
The Bat Queen gave him an unimpressed look. "Ask, if you want to ask," she says.
"I'm not sure you would answer," Dell told her. Toast left then, he wanted no part of the conversation. Or was it because of a sense of respect for the Bat Queen that he excused himself? Either way, he was off to chitter with the other palismen in the branches.
"There were a lot of things to say, all of them in the past."
"You have known each other?" Dell was surprised. There weren't many outsiders the Bat Queen willingly associated with.
"Him and I have been-... know off each other for a long while," she said. "There is nothing to be said of the matter, not anymore. And what was discussed is between us two."
Dell nods. "I understand."
The Bat Queen stares into the distance, to the shrubbery where her babies are playing carelessly.
It was a heartwarming sight, to see children be so joyful after so much hardship. Dell allowed himself to not wonder about the strange conversation for a minute. He has learned to let things go when they didn't concern him. However, it seemed that the Bat Queen had something else in mind.
"You know a lot, Palisman Carver," she suddenly starts.
"I do," Dell agreed because it was the truth.
"Even off things, your kind forgot."
"One needs to know first before they can forget."
The Bat Queen frowned. It was obvious that she was displeased with his answer but Dell wasn't going to back down. She nods eventually, she too knows how to let things go.
"Do you remember Grimwalkers?" she asked in a hushed tone. As if it was a terrible secret nobody should know about. Dell shuddered. They were free of the false Emperor's iron rule. Wild magic wasn't outlawed anymore. The Covens system is gone. The only Titan left in this world just so happens to be his grandson. What else could there be left in this world that was worthy of whispering about?
Then he thought. Grimwalkers. It didn't ring a bell.
He shook his head. "I'm afraid not."
"Lucky witch."
"What are Grimwalkers?" he matched his tone to his companion. The children were still playing in the bush.
"Witches," she simply says. "And demons. They are creatures created through wild magic."
Dell frowned. He and her both knew that wild magic wasn't inherently evil or even harmful. Sure, magic can be wielded in many ways, both good and horrendous. But creating something, a witch or a demon, that didn't seem too bad.
"I'm afraid I do not understand."
"People are not good, witch," the Bat Queen continued. "Not always. The mere act of creation entitles them to cruelty and respect. And obedience," she added with a bitter tone. "As if they were the first to ever bring life into this world."
Dell bowed his head. He couldn't say he didn't agree. There were many palismen who suffered thanks to such attitudes.
"Were Grimwalkers the same?"
"Sometimes."
People are not bad, not always.
"There aren't any Grimwalkers left," the Bat Queen continues. "Sometimes I believe that knowledge was better forgotten. That was until I met a certain man. I continued to meet the man, a version of that man, over the centuries."
"What do you mean?"
"They are clones, Carver," the Bat Queen looks down at him for what feels like the first time since they started this conversation. "Made from bones of ortet. Ment to replace the dead."
"Is such a thing possible?" a part of him doubted it. Replace the dead, seems like a horror novel rather than real life.
"No."
Dell blinks. He half expected to be told that the is wrong. That magic is the root of everything and with magic - even with heavily questionable magic - everything is possible.
"The dead are gone," the Bat Queen said with confidence. "Exceptions happen, I am aware. But there is no cheating death, not like so."
"And this man you met, he was a clone? A Grimwalker?"
The Bat Queen nods. "Was. The others as well. A cruel man created them."
There were many cruel men on the Isles, but one particular often came to people's minds nowadays. Dell sighs, and he starts to feel his age. The bat babies chase a fairy in and out of the bush, their hair were full of leaves, and they chirped loudly in their play. Toast is still in the branches, happily chirping with the other palismen.
"Belos."
"Indeed. Right on first try," she allowed herself a small chuckle, despite the topic.
"And this- these young men?"
"His Golden Guards."
It is such a beautiful day. Dead Emperors are the last thing Dell wants to talk about. But he guessed he was going to. Because he could get up and walk away, or ask to talk about something else. He doesn't. He will trudge down this path now that he is already on it.
He doesn't need to say, that Hunter used to be the Golden Guard - Eda accidentally blurted it out and asked him to not repeat it. It's better if the public at large doesn't know. The kid deserves a second chance at having a normal life, he doesn't need all that following him around.
"What happened to them?" he found himself asking instead.
The Bat Queen looks into the distance again. "Never saw them grow old."
There you have it.
The sun shines down between the branches. The children are playing and the palismen are chatting and flying above. Dell and the Bat Queen sit in silence in the shade of a great tree.
They aren't talking about Grimwalkers anymore. Nor about the past.
In the future, they will have plenty of time to talk about it more. Dell had a feeling that they weren't going to let it rest - or to let it be forgotten. But for today, they can enjoy the sunshine, and knowing what they know, they can head into tomorrow more prepared.
Dell will return back to his workshop. Hunter will be coming over tomorrow and they are going to begin practicing.
He will not look at the young man differently. And maybe one day, he will tell him what he knows. And maybe they could talk if he so wishes.