"Okay, explain this all again." Igneous was naturally confused when he woke up in the inn while the sun was still out, but Reina told him not worry and just go back to sleep, so he did. So when he woke up the second time, feeling more or less normal again, and left the inn with Reina to find the campsite outside of the village, he was confused by everything. The group was not only bigger but also included Darren for some reason and Saikur did not have horrible bruising on one side of his face when Igneous last saw him.
Gerben and Leigh both tried to explain it all but he got too distracted by Darren glarig at him to pay attention to what they had been saying. Gerben looked back, noticed Darren in the distance, and transformed suddenly. He stepped into Igneous' vision and stepped close to him, close enough that Igneous could see his own reflection in Gerben's eyes. Naturally, Igneous couldn't see anything else, just Gerben.
"We stopped by this village because of the arena. We decided to leave you at the inn with the ones who couldn't fight, and Darren and his team had a similar idea. Saikur and the mercenary Darren hired faced off, and that's why Saikur's face is like that. It actually looks a lot better today than it was yesterday," Leigh mumbled. "We just decided to group together and share our resources. We have similar goals."
"I suppose," Igneous muttered. He was not looking forward to interacting with Darren at all – he was sure that he blamed him for everything that happened.
"But you feel better now, do you?" Leigh asked.
"Yeah, just a little hungry," Igneous answered with a nod. Actually, he was starving. He wasn't sure when he last ate but it had been at least a whole day. Come to think of it, he could barely remember what happened the night before, and he was sure he probably lost a day somewhere between originally coming down with the fever and the night before. Did he eat then and just not remember it? "We're not leaving immediately, right? I'd like a chance to eat first."
"That's fine," Leigh said with a nod. He was a little confused with how easily Leigh went along with it. He expected that Leigh would make them move forward and he could eat on the road. He was always making them move forward but for once, it was alright to stay for a little. He looked to Gerben, who couldn't speak as in bear form, but he was nodded eagerly.
"Really?"
"Yes, it's fine. We didn't get a chance to eat yet anyway. Will and Orla are out hunting for some fresh meat, so we will are going to be waiting anyway," Leigh explained. Igneous looked around quickly and did found that Orla and Will were indeed gone. They probably had enough money to purchase fresh meat but maybe Will and Orla just wanted to hunt. Will certainly had that look to him and his aim was pretty good.
"So how did everybody else do at the arena?" Igneous, deciding to turn the conversation to a new direction. He was genuinely a little curious though. It was obvious that Saikur lost, and he could tell that Saikur was very much bothered by that. He could tell just by looking at him that he was very upset and wanted to be alone, but knowing Saikur, he was also beating himself up over his loss. It would make Igneous happy that nobody else was feeling bad about any loses.
"Everybody aside from Saikur that participated won. I dropped out to tend to Saikur and Garath dropped out as well, since he was worried about Saikur. We didn't get refunds on what we paid, so we technically suffered three losses but the amount of wins we got collectively was more than worth while. We're trying to get Saikur to understand this but he's not listening to us."
"I'll go talk to him then," Igneous mumbled, quickly making his way to Saikur. He was sitting outside of his tent, obsessively cleaning his axe. He didn't even look up when Igneous approached, whether it was in shame or because he truly didn't notice, Igneous didn't know.
"Saikur?"
His head shot up. He smiled a little. "Feeling better already?"
"My fevers never last long," Igneous said with a shrug. He found it strange but he was thankful for it. If it lasted longer, it would have seriously impeded their journey. "Leigh told me what happened."
Saikur looked down again. "I'm sorry about that. I should have been strong enough to beat that guy. I don't deserve to call myself a guardian of anybody."
Igneous blinked. He couldn't recall his friend ever berating himself like that, so it was surprising to hear. The situation never really came up, he realized, for Saikur to feel bad about himself ever since he relocated to the temple, but still. It was new and horrifying.
"That doesn't matter, Saikur. Losing doesn't matter. I didn't choose my guardians based on if they could protect me," he stated. Saikur, Leigh, and Gerben were all talented when it came to combat but for most the time that they've been around, 'guardian' was the wrong word. He thought of them more as companions, people who made his life better with their presence in their own way. Saikur was best friend, plain and simple. They had each other's back and he was fun to be around when he was acting like himself. Leigh was the only person who he could view as a parental figure, since the more elderly priests acted more like caretakers. They fed and clothed him, took care of any of his needs in that regard, but they didn't raise him. Leigh did that. Gerben was just fun to be around too, somebody who reminded people to relax a little and he was wise in his own ways. He was the only person Igneous knew for a long time who came a place outside of Adoss and he was also the only ursurine. There was a lot about him that just fascinated Igneous when he was younger.
He didn't know where the word 'guardian' came from, at least who applied to the oracles, but it was only recently that they ever had to engage in the combat they were trained for. For once, they had to stand up to that title.
"Of course it matters! What if you died? What if somebody killed you because I couldn't do anything?" Saikur was visibly shaken.
"I'm not useful to anybody dead, Saikur. If I die, it could take years for anybody to raise a new oracle. I don't know what they want but surely I have more value alive. I'm more worried about everybody else!" he said, raising his voice a little. "I don't care that you lost, Saikur. You're not any of less of a capable fighter because somebody with more experience and skill beat you. We're both only sixteen, we have a lot of time to get better at our crafts. Use this opportunity to ask for help, ask others for ways to improve. Have them explain your weakness and work on them. This should be a beginning!"
Saikur gave him a strange look, his expression softer, but there was still something dark and wrong. Igneous sat down, crossing his legs and putting his hands on his knees.
"How do you have to improve?" he asked, his voice curious.
"I have to discover more about it. I need to start learning about things on my own. For the longest time, I just took whatever everybody had to say about my powers as fact. There's a lot more to my powers than just seeing the future, I think, and now that I'm out here, I have to try and discover every facet of it. I'm not like the other oracles, so what happened with their powers might not be very applicable to me..." Igneous mumbled.
Saikur squinted, putting his axe down and turning himself to face Igneous. "You wouldn't be saying this if you already didn't discover something."
"Ah, well, I didn't want to really say anything until I looked into it more... but I could instantly read the other language in those tomes. Inabi had to correct my pronunciation all the time but I could look at the language and understand every word of it. It was my first time looking at it too. It makes me realize that I just don't know anything about what I can do and it feels like I don't know anything about myself," he answered, looking down at his feet. He didn't say all the thoughts that came to mind. He didn't tell Saikur that sometimes, it felt like he was only defined by his powers, either because he had them or because he was different from the other two people who had the same powers.
"Just, wow," Saikur mumbled, his eyes wide with excitement. Whatever upset he was feeling before disappeared, or at least it was off his mind for a while. "But speaking of your powers, you never did tell me what you saw when you held my hand back at the temple."
Igneous felt his cheeks burn and he hoped that it wasn't visible. Maybe his skin was just dark enough to hide it. He didn't think it was his place to really tell Saikur what he saw, as strange as it sounded. It would just take everything away from him and he didn't know if Saikur was even ready to hear it. Saikur frowned.
"What? What was it?"
"I think you have to figure it out."
"Figure what out? I know your visions are cryptic sometimes but even then, you would give people more of a clue than that, wouldn't you? I don't even what I should be looking for!" Saikur was always kind of pale unfortunately, so Igneous could see his face turn red.
"I know, I know! It's just that... well... never mind. Forget you even asked!"
"What was it? C'mon!"
"There's a good reason I'm not telling you! I promise you! I think you would be angry if I told you instead of you figuring it out!"
Saikur's cheeks were still burning as his eyes widened and he looked away quickly. "You think I would be mad." It was so quiet that Igneous could barely hear it, so he figured that he was not intended to hear it. He looked at Igneous again and he looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't open his mouth again. Igneous frowned, focusing his attention of his hands and feet. For the first time that day, he realized that he didn't have any bracelets or rings on. He was sure he was wearing only clothes. He ran a hand up to touch his ears.
No earrings either.
Saikur caught him. "Seriously, you look fine without all of that stuff."
"But I like that stuff!" He couldn't say why he focused on vanity so much, it was just something he liked to do. It was fun to dress himself up and he liked looking pretty. He knew that even without all of the jewellery, he didn't look exactly plain, he only looked plain to himself.
"It won't kill you to not have all the stuff for a day. You look fine the way you are."
"I suppose," he mumbled, mostly because he didn't even know where his bag of jewellery was. If it was packed away in the wagon, then his vanity wasn't exactly the best excuse to make somebody dig it out. He didn't want to inconvenience anybody like that.
"Hey, you two," Gerben muttered suddenly, coming up from behind Igneous. He was back in his human form. "Breakfast is ready. You should get something to eat, Iggy. And try to eat if you can, I guess, Saikur."
Saikur scoffed but they got up together and headed to the fire pit with Gerben. The fire pit was awkward, in that everybody seemed to be forming plans in an effort to keep Darren and Igneous from talking to each other. He was sure that not everybody was in on it but they also didn't allow for silence. Darren glared at him and Igneous returned the glares. He could figure out why Darren wasn't fond of him and he didn't appreciate being the scapegoat for all of his problems. None of it was his fault anyway.
Leigh just kept talking. Amaryllis, a blonde man that Igneous didn't know, and Charlie were all talking about all the best spots to pick up mercenaries. By the looks of it, they were going to the capital but there was something about the capital that just didn't sit right with him. There was something wrong but there wasn't one thing he could think of that was wrong, just it was. Maybe it just wasn't the capital though. Maybe the fact that he was out there at all just felt wrong.
He wished he had more than just a vague feeling.
Getting a four-year-old ready for the day was hard enough but it was a little different when you lived in a desert. Feia wasn't the most cooperative child in the world, though most children were far from cooperative anyway. She didn't want her cloak and Flint felt like part of that was seeing her mother go without one, since she was a Silcyian native and her family had a rich history in Silycia. She was fine with covering herself in the soft, translucent fabrics that Silycia was known for. On the other hand, Flint was not. He moved from Adoss to Silcyia when he was young, not young enough to forget his time in Adoss and most importantly, why they moved to Adoss.
So he needed the cloak. He was pale and didn't tan very much despite being in Silycia for more than half of his life. He just burned instead. His daughter ended up looking much like her mother, with her dark hair and her darker skin, but her skin was lighter than her mother's, thanks to Flint's foreignness. She may not need the cloak after all but it was a precaution.
"Don't you want to see Grandpa?" he asked.
She lit up. "Grandpa!" she shouted excitedly. It was much easier to manoeuvre a little cloak over her head after that. When she finally ready, he threw on his own cloak and lifted her up, leaving the home he shared with his wife and heading down the busy street into his father's home.
It was quite the walk and he never got tired of it. He lived in Menfer, which was where the royal palace was in Silcyia. As such, it was a busy town. The city was set up right beside the largest river in Silcyia, with the palace on one side and the city on the other side. Some of it was diverted into the city itself somehow, but Flint wasn't sure how it worked. The central part of the city had the diverted river run through it and it was also where marketplace sat. Flint passed by many stalls, selling all sorts of different things that were mostly native to Silcyia but he could see things that reminded him of Adoss too.
Beyond the market were all the houses, which were close together and made of tanned stone but somehow, everybody made it look cozy. They were two stories, square in shape, with windows and doors carved out and curtains put in place, curtains made from fabrics of a quality Flint couldn't remember seeing in Adoss. The fabrics were one way to separate your house from others, but people also used paints, urns, and beaded decorations that hung from the outside of house. His wife was especially fond of paint, a bright fiery red.
His father's house was rather plain. It was almost like he didn't have the heart to really call Silycia his home. He pushed the curtains aside, expecting to find his father drunk but instead, he was sitting down in a chair in the main room, reading a book. His father was not much of a reader, so it was a surprise to see him reading instead of drinking, which he normally did this time of year. The main room was kept the same from when he grew up in there, completely functional and almost nothing else. There was a table and chairs in the living area and a table and chairs in the kitchen area to prepare and eat food. He had a single, potted plant by one of the windows and that was it.
"Ah, Flint... and Feia!" he put the book down and jumped out of his chair, kneeling down on one knee. He lowered Feia to the ground and she ran into her grandfather for a hug. "What brings you here, Flint?"
"I thought you would be worse," Flint mumbled. "Last year, you were too drunk to get off your bed. Actually, that is mostly you the same time every year since I moved out of the house. Jade tells me everything!"
Father smiled sadly, petting his hand through Feia's hair with one hand and lifting her with the other. "I know... it was bad. I hope you never to have feel the pain of losing a child, Flint. It's an awful feeling. And to lose your wife at the same time."
"They never found Mica's body, right? Maybe he's still alive?" He wasn't sure how much of the conversation Feia could actually understand. He hoped it wasn't much. However, she didn't look like she cared much. She had her hear resting on Father's shoulder, like she was being rocked to sleep.
"He was barely a toddler. I doubt those bandits would have kept him, so he was probably abandoned and left for dead. I would love it if he were alive somewhere but I know the chances are low and I don't want to get my hopes up," he answered softly, settling back into his chair with Feia still wrapped up in her arms. "Was there an actual reason for you to come here?"
"I know you're not busy, so I was hoping you could watch her for a bit while I ran some errands." It wasn't a complete lie. His wife, Rana, worked as a guard in the one of the noble houses, so she was gone for most of the day. Flint mostly stayed home with Feia, earning an income by repairing or fashioning bows and selling them to a noble, but he had to acquire supplies and buy everything their household needed. He was the domestic one after all.
"You thought I would be moping around and you brought her to cheer me up, no?"
"That's true too. But I do need to run errands. You're retired anyway," Flint said with a shrug. His father earned a living as a trainer after training himself for many years. It wasn't a hard jump to go from cutting down trees for a living to cutting down people instead. He retired a year ago after obtaining an injury that took him out of the action, although he still offered some advice to those who sought him out. He made a great babysitter.
"Off you go then," Father said, waving a hand dismissively. Flint waved goodbye and walked outside. He automatically steered himself towards Vakyli's residence. He knew there was only a small chance of seeing her, she was the only daughter of a nobleman and she kept herself busy with her work as a merchant. However, she was also his go-to person when he needed materials, since she offered a good price for him so long as he exclusively sold his bows to her – either for her own use or to sell.
Vakyli was usually more than happy to see him or his sister, Jade, since she was always asking for herbs or medicines outside of Silcyia, but it was hard to get through the guards and even you got through the guards, then you had to deal with Zael. He always seemed to be around whenever it seemed like somebody might want to speak business with Vakyli and he was her bodyguard, so he supposed it made sense in a way, but she was usually on her own property. He wasn't necessarily needed then and yet, he was there.
Flint always got the feeling that Zael didn't like him, or like anybody that Vakyli dealt with anyway. He always looked a little annoyed.
Luckily, she was only outside by the time he arrived, setting her horse up for a trip. Vakyli was a beautiful girl, with her deep red hair, her skin tanned lightly, and her bright green eyes. She was wearing chain mail under a tunic, pants, and plates that covered her shoulders and legs. They weren't what she normally wore but it was what she wore when she was leaving the country. She usually wore flowing, expensive fabrics, the translucent, and airy kind of fabric. It was exotic looking outside of Silcyia but inside of it, it was normal. Not every woman wore them but a good portion of them did. She had a sword on her hip but she also had a quiver on her back.
Zael was beside her, preparing his pegasus for the trip but he looked odd standing beside Vakyli because while she was attractive by most standards, Zael was not. He was quite plain looking, with brown hair and tanned skin, except for the fact that his arms seemed longer than they ought to be, his sunken cheeks, and the fact that he seemed too thin for somebody his height. Flint was a little taller than average but Zael was still tall enough that Flint had to look up to meet his eyes. He was lanky, that was word Flint decided to settle on. He wore the same sort of outfit that Vakylie did – a green tunic with short sleeves, brown pants, plates on his shins and shoulders, and he seemed to wear chain mail and leather to protect himself. He had a leather pouch on his hip, one that was booked shaped.
However, there was also somebody else that Flint never saw before. People in the desert may not necessarily know each other but they recognized each other, so foreigners and new people stuck out like sore thumbs. Flint knew what it was like to be on that side all too well. The newcomer had dark messy hair, dark brown eyes, and grey armour. He was pale and a little sunburned by the looks of it, so Flint figured he wasn't in Silcyia for long but he had to wonder why this man didn't protect himself with a cloak like Flint did. He was also lanky but he seemed to be of average height at least. Beside him was a black wyvern who seemed to be a bit on the small side. They seemed to just be there though, they weren't preparing like Zael and Vakyli were.
Vakyli noticed him immediately. She stepped away from her horse and walked over quickly. Zael didn't move but he watched carefully. "Ah, Flint. Good timing, I was just about to leave. Do you need me to get you anything?"
"I was hoping you had more steel or silver for bows."
"I will have to pick some more up. I'm assuming you want your usual amount?" she asked, quick and to the point as she usually was when she was speaking of business.
"Of course. You usually don't leave the country this time of the month, though. Did something happen?" he asked. She usually left at the end of a month and return at the beginning of the month, so it was odd for her to leave in the middle.
She nodded. "According to a spy of the royal families and to Alvis," she gestured at the newcomer, "Zahan invaded Adoss and killed the king and his children seemed unaccounted for. Apparently they haven't changed anything yet but I have to see what's going on with my own eyes. It wouldn't take much for Zahan to change something and make trading harder for everybody else. It's a shame, Adoss grew a lot of grain."
Flint blinked. He knew Zahan was desperate for some new land and they seemed freakishly patriotic at times but he didn't think Zahan would actually invade anybody. He hadn't lived in Adoss in years but he was born there so he still cared about what happened to it. "What the heck do they want with Adoss?"
"Yeah, Alvis, what does Zahan want?" Zael asked dryly.
"I... don't know. They were just going to conquer The Barren and then suddenly, they were invading Adoss. I didn't wait for a reason," he said, throwing his hands up in front of him defensively.
"Whatever the reason is, we have to figure out their rules and try to abide by them or else, things will get a little messy," Vakyli stated. She looked a little worried, although she also looked like she wasn't trying to get worried. "At any rate, we should get going."
"Vakyli, might it be possible that I could stay here?" Alvis asked suddenly.
"If you're not here to work, what the heck are you doing?"
"Calm down, Zael. I would prefer if you came along, since your wyvern could be very useful," she mumbled as she jumped onto her horse. "However, since I may not actually end up trading anyway, then you can stay here and do as my father says. I'm sure he could use you two for something."
With that, they left, with Zael's pegasus trotting beside Vakyli's horse. Flint felt awkward standing outside, on her property alone with Alvis but he was curious about him.
"How did you end up getting work with Vakyli and her father anyway?" Flint asked.
"I offered to work for room and board!" Flint could believe that one. Many would make that offer too but Vakyli would be the one to see potential in anything, so he was sure that neither her father or her would agree unless they thought Alvis was useful. However, he couldn't help but to notice that he seemed rather jumpy and his gestures seemed on the defensive side. "And thankfully, they said yes."
"I see," he mumbled. "Well, I hope it goes well. See you later."
With that, Flint left quickly. After all, he still hard other errands to complete.
Her visit to Adoss was long overdue, to the point where she left Erin behind when she wanted to scour the libraries a bit more. Asteria knew that but she could not exactly help her schedule. She and Erin were moving as fast as they could but with meetings she had to handle in Zahan, making sure that the people she left in charge were on the same page as she was, she had to spend more time in Zahan than she wanted to. She was beginning to get the feeling that she wasn't going to see much action though.
Asteria didn't exactly what to leave Zahan alone. Her only family left was her uncle and her cousin, people she ended up leaving in charge but she didn't exactly trust them. They kissed up to her father and they were kissing up to her. She wasn't sure if they could handle a crisis when it came up, even with her advisers with them. Her advisers were just that – advisers. They gave her their opinions and she decided what should happen from there, even completely disregarding what they said sometimes. Asteria had a feeling that she would be bouncing between the conquered countries and Zahan.
However, she was proud of what she saw. She knew Demitri was capable of getting business done. The soldiers at the palace were well trained and disciplined, bowing at her feet as she walked by them with purpose. She made her way to the throne room to find that Demitri kept the throne warm for her, not that she minded.
"I assume everything has gone well, Demitri?" she asked.
"Of course," he answered, sitting up and out of her way. However, she didn't feel like taking the throne immediately. She was tired and she actually just want to sleep for a while but she first had to make sure that everything was in order before she could actually settle down long enough to actually fall asleep. "The king is dead and I had the sad excuse we call troops trained. I haven't said anything to the Adossian people, so I doubt most of them know that their king is dead and that their prince ran away."
"I see. I will make sure to address to the people then," she said with a nod. "He had a daughter too, though, didn't he?"
"Ah, yes, the daughter," he mumbled. "She should be cleaning the kitchens right now. She begged for her life, made a really pathetic show of it. I stripped her of her title so she works as a servant here now. I didn't think you would care that she was alive, so long as she didn't try to anything against Zahan."
"I see." However, she didn't see Demitri as the kind of person to really spare anybody, unless he thought that making a spoiled rich girl work to the bone was amusing. Maybe he did think it was amusing. She liked the irony herself.
"All of the bedrooms should be clean, so rest anywhere you want."
Most people wouldn't speak to her like Demitri would, she realized but she wasn't upset about that. He didn't seem to bother with titles, like he didn't really care, but she cared more that he followed orders and got the job done, not the fact that he left her title out. Besides, she felt like she needed somebody like Demitri anyway. Weinstrad seemed rather intelligent but he was also seemed off-kilter. Russell seemed barely tamed. Erin was awkward at times. Azalea was somebody she didn't know too well personally but she had to be her own kind of crazy to indulge in Weinstrad's interests and Daphne was unnerving in her silence. Somewhere in there, she needed somebody with a good sense of order and Demitri fit that bill.
"I think I will turn in for the night," she said with a nod. She turned and walked away quickly, looking in each of the bedrooms for the one she wanted to sleep in. It wasn't that late at night but still, she was ready to call it a day. She stripped herself of her armour, sticking to her underarmour for night clothing. However, before she went to sleep, she stepped out onto the balcony.
She wasn't used to seeing so many, large trees with broad branches and wide leaves. She wasn't used to seeing so many flowers around, flowers that were there because they had the extra space for them. The only kind of trees she saw in Zahan were the ones with the needles for leaves and could grow by the mountains in soil that wasn't quite fertile enough for farming. Her people needed all the food they could get, so not even most of the nobility wasted land for plants that didn't contribute to their food supplies.
The palace in Adoss wasted a lot of land that could be used for farming for flowers that were only pretty for a week or two, she bet. Oh well. They could have their flowers if they had so much land. Surely, they wouldn't mind sharing some of their food.
Wow, this chapter is weird in that it jumps a lot. But I realized that at this point, if I don't throw some jumps like this in, then it will take forever for the Silcyian characters to be introduced. So it seems weird, especially Flint, but it's important to for later.
Any guesses for what Igneous saw?