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I wrote this originally as a short story for school, and converted it into a first chapter later. This is over a year old, but I figured I'd submit it. Enjoy! Oh, and I know it's spelled "crimson", here it's spelled "krimzon" for a reason. :)
Saltire Kyaka
“Kyaka! Kyaka! Are you awake yet?” My little sister, Hikaru called out through the closed but thin wooden door that divided out room from the hall. She was the early bird, like my mom. I was the nocturnal one, like my dad was. Or so my mother said, I wasn’t fond of my father. I was awake, but I was completely immersed in the transfiguration I was working on. Don’t ask me why, but I wanted to know more about alchemy. It was far more complex than mage craft, since mage craft was mainly derived from will power. Alchemy on the other hand was a science, taking chemicals, breaking them down, and reforming them into something else. But it wasn’t done in a docile little test-tube, you had to know a lot about a craft a lot like mage magic to transfigure anything. The main law of alchemy was “equivalent exchange.” Other laws that applied were the law of conservation of mass, the law of natural providence, and so many more. Even though, there were too many holes in alchemy to count. They say that equivalent exchange was the one and only true law out there, and that the world was the evolving around it. Mage craft on the other hand, was nearly the opposite in the belief.
The main law of mage craft was the power of heart can bend all. Another words, if you have a strong will to believe, you can use the power of anything, and do what you please of it. Mage craft was more like a religion than a science, since mages even had a goddess and god to pray to. Alchemists? Might was well call them scientist if you wanted to.
Mage craft mainly evolved around the elements, when alchemy covered it all. Most alchemists were arrogant too, they thought alchemy was better, and mage craft was a cheep version of alchemy. Even though in truth, I’d noticed in my own work that mage craft and alchemy had on word that was always the same; that word was AEGLE. AEGLE was always spelled in capitals, in a reason unsaid in all literature I’d picked up. Because of this, there was a divide between mages and alchemists. And it didn’t help that you were born to either be a mage or an alchemist. All alchemists have blue eye pupils, while mages have purple. Mages usually have light eyes, alchemists had dark, aside from the “Children of Atalanta” who all possessed abnormal amounts of alchemistical power and had orange eyes. Mages would call them “Children of Persephone” which meant “Children of Persephone and Hades” if you did the proper research to Gaia mythology. Why the ever so still alchemists looked at something so “mundane” as Gaia mythology? Good question, it was the mythology of a myth. Alchemists laughed at the world called Gaia, or earth.
Even though, there were a few people that didn’t believe in the divide between that alchemists and mages. Some of them blatantly defied it, just like my parents. My father, Krest, was an alchemist, my mother, Ashura was a mage. I had the dark blue eyed pupils of an alchemist, and orange eyes of one. Yes, Krest was a Child of Atalanta. What did that make me? Mages also had a version of Children of Atalanta. All mages were called The Legacy of Gaia, and the god and/or goddess of Gaia. The powerful mages were called “Heirs of Eos”. My mother was an Heir of Eos. So…what does that make me?
I was what they call “Saltire”. A saltire is an X shaped cross, it meant I was half mage and half alchemist. I wasn’t a normal Saltire though, since I was half-mage and half-alchemist but also half Child of Atalanta and Heir of Eos. I was more than a Saltire, and even more unimaginably disgraceful than a Saltire, I was thought of something so sickening I shouldn’t even be aloud to live.
I had heard the term “Incarnation of Cerberus” once when I was very young, though I wasn’t use exactly what it was. I had a pretty darn good idea I would be called an “Incarnation of Cerberus” if anybody ever found the Lost Atlas. Or, the Lost Calling of Amaya. Dayonight was desperately chasing after Amaya.
My father died shortly after I was born, protecting my mother from Dayonight. Even though, it turned out he managed to hang on to life somehow, another hole in equivalent exchange for he was killed with alchemy. He came back for a year awhile ago, when I mysteriously was sent to spend two days away from home visiting a town a very far distance away to buy a few books. I hadn’t told my mother about how badly I wanted those books, but she’d found out somehow and requested me to go since the money I earned always went to the family and not myself. He’d come when I was gone and so came Hikaru. He’d also recently come back, since he was on the run from the Krimzon Force, and now my mother was carrying another. Once again, I mysteriously was sent away, even though this time it was to see an old friend of mine, which would keep Hikaru and me away for a week. She thinks it’s a boy, and said that she’ll most likely name him Syaoran after our father‘s middle name. Hikaru was lucky; she had purple eyes pupils and light, light blue eyes that were nearly translucent. She could pass as a mage, I couldn’t.
The Krimzon Force is a dictator ship ruled by the nefarious mage-hating alchemist, Dayonight. Or at least, he called himself Dayonight; nobody knew his true name or what he was really after and why. He had no mages allied with him, only alchemists. He also had knights and fighters of all kinds, but he had the largest army of alchemists in the history of Everlorn, World of Five Suns. When he first came into power, he allowed mages to live. Only they were stripped of their mage craft with alchemy, than became his slaves. Than he decided to be “nice” and just let mages live in certain over populated cities. One of them was the coastal city-state on the water. Most of them were sent to desert colonies. Everlorn is mostly desert, so giving Ilen to the mages was a plan of his. He had all mages double water quantity, even if it took away from quality. We’d also have to remove the salt so it was drinkable. He’d only want the original water for himself, and give the duplicates to the people of Dykaid, this country in the western hemisphere of Everlorn. Ilen, Vive, and Clax are the only three places that have access to water on all of Dykaid. Making the mages of Ilen an important part of Dykaid. Luckily, the Krimzon Force mainly avoids the mages. Even with their guns and weaponry, mages could kill them easily. If they were alchemists, it was harder, but still possible; vastly possible.
Another thing about alchemy, you had to be very, very good at it to hold a stick to most mages. Another reason that alchemists said mage craft was a cheep imitation. They always seemed to think they were so much better, because their art was more complex and harder to master. So few noticed the similarities, only focused on the differences and why mages and alchemists should hate each other. I wasn’t against harmony, but I couldn’t help but wish there was another way to have it without the pain and blood of the Saltires and Incarnations of Cerberus. That is, presuming there were any other Incarnations of Cerberus out there.
I quickly moved about my room calling out,
“One moment Hikaru!” I locked away all the scrambled scrolls in a dimensional mage craft sealed box. Strangely, I kept mage craft and alchemy scrolls in there. I waved my hand over at my dresser and jeans and a no sleeved shirt hovered out as the doors opened and closed on their own. I quickly waved my hand again, over at my bed as it started to make itself and I got dressed. I also waved my hand over my long black-blue hair, which flattened out and untangled the knots. Hikaru had already made her bed, we shared a room. A large dressed below the window facing the ocean, out two beds opposite it, and a night stand between them was the simple décor of the room.. The room was always buried in scrolls and books. They were all mine, and mainly ones I’d gotten for free from contests, book stores trying to unload, and the library. I couldn’t remember what it was like to buy a new book locally. I got all of my books on mage craft and alchemy used. I also used the ones that were mage craft for beginners to teach more of it to Hikaru. If it was up to Dayonight to decide what spells young mages learned, it’s only be the ones cleaning and doubling water. I taught Hikaru parts of the craft that were too old for her, but I had the feeling that she’d need them. In her lifetime, there’s a 99.9 percent chance she’ll need them. I wanted to show her some alchemy, but I was hardly a good student for alchemy never mind a teacher. I couldn’t even transmute simple things. I’d been trained as a mage by my mother, and only had books to teach my alchemy. I got most of them from my fathers’ library that was in the basement. He had a large amount of books, and oddly large amount of them on human transmutation. Human transmutation was taboo to both mage craft and alchemy. I opened the door looking down asking,
“What’s up Hikaru?”
She glanced over her shoulder worriedly, down the small hall that lead to my mothers’ room, Hikaru’s and my room, the bathroom, than the kitchen and living room. She looked weary, her usually bright translucent eyes dulled by fear and worried.
“It’s the Krimzon Force.” She whispered her light brown curls bouncing. When she was afraid, she looked exactly like my mother. I took after my father in looks, which made me more of a Saltire. I instantly tensed up asking,
“Do you know what they want?”
She shook her head, and I was rather glad because a little girl like her shouldn’t have to worry about to the Krimzon Force to such a high degree. I was going to tell her to stay in our room, but I decided she’d just put of a fuss. She followed me down the small driftwood floor that was merely covered in threadbare carpet. Even though I was only thirteen, I was the only one working, always manipulating water for the Krimzon Force. My sister was too young, and my mother was incapable.
When I entered the small living room, which only had one window, making it rather dark my mood darkened even further. Not to mention that there was only a fireplace, three chairs surrounding a table, and a coach as furnishing, they were all well worn too. I saw my mother standing a few feet away from the door way, trying to keep a bit far away from the two large nearly seven foot Krimzon Force guards. They both hard long double-edged swords, and wore the uniform red armor. They didn’t wear the alchemist’s armor, which left their hands and arms bare, but the fully covered armor of the knight. My mother on the other hand, looked frazzled. She was wearing colorful mage robes, like my little sister, and she had long blond hair, that looked poorly brushed. She also had light blue eyes and mage-like purple pupils. From the look in her eyes, I could tell how afraid she was.
“Are you Kyaka the cross-bread?” The one of the right growled deeply.
“That is correct,” I said keeping my tone even so they couldn’t tell I was intimidated, “even though your information is incorrect.”
“Cross bread…” The one on the left grumbled.
“Saltire Kyaka is my title.” I replied curtly.
“You’ve been sentenced to be sealed away in the dungeons for five years under the assault of his Majesty.” The man on the right said looking down at me like a sickening little bug on the floor he wanted to step on.
“What?” I snapped. “I assaulted no lord of a manor. You have the wrong Saltire.”
My mother looked pale, and leaned against a chair for support, while my little sister clung to my arm protectively. “I’ve only used my mage craft as directed, which is still legal if you have forgotten.” I replied coyly. Being a smart mouth was only going to get me in more trouble, but what the heck?
“We are fully aware of the laws. When his Majesty paid a visit to this home seven moons sets ago, he was assaulted and turned away with violence.” The guard on the right said his dangerous and irritated tone never changing.
Suddenly, I knew what he was talking about. Last week, around midnight I heard somebody creeping around the house. My little sister was scared stiff, and my mother was sleeping deeply in the room across the hall. I automatically tensed up, opened the window to our bed room quietly telling my sister,
“If anybody comes in here while I’m gone, attack with all your might.” She nodded, terrified. I hoisted myself up on the room, and crept across it ‘til I saw the prowler trying to break into the living room window. I braced myself, jumping off of the one story shack, and landing with a thud on the ground, quick swiping his legs out from under him with a well positioned kick. A few pieces of chalk fell from his sleeve, and I couldn’t see his appearances since he worse a cloak that covered his whole body and face. I know knew he was a guy, by his voice. He tried to push me off, by a knee in my stomach, but I slashed my knife across him right arm before he got the chance to fight back. I threatened him saying,
“If you ever come back her and try to harm my family, I will kill you.”
Yeah, that’s assault alright.
“He was wearing a cloak, it was night, and hard to see, any person in their right mind would try to chase away somebody trying to break into their house!” I snapped waving my right arm for emphasis. My left arm was losing circulation from how tightly Hikaru was holding on to it.
“Not according to his story. And we’ll take the word of a lord, far faster than that of a filthy cross-bread.” The soldier growled coldly. “Keep talking and we’ll take your whole family, Saltire.”
I tensed even further spitting out, “Fine.” I pulled my arm away from Hikaru, and I could tell my mother was about to object, but I said,
“I’ll come with you,” I said stepping forward covering my apprehension, “but only long enough to prove my innocence.” I looked back at Hikaru and my mother saying,
“Hikaru, take came of mom.” I said as the door was slammed closed and the soldiers grabbed my by both arms and pulled me away. Out little hut was on the beach, so the progress was slow, and the soldiers were the slower ones. I was used to scaling the large and high sand dunes, they weren’t.
Once we reached the town, all the people froze. Merchants rushed inside of their stores, leaving their merchandise unwatched and free for the soldier to pick through. The cheery colorful brick buildings had a were cast with a shadow of fear. Mothers hugged their children close, people rushed into stores, horses and carriages stopped where they were; everybody looked at me scornfully, most likely thinking that I had done something to be marked as a heathen for. I stood tall, ignoring their looks. They all said in their eyes, “So, the Saltire is finally being taken away.” There were a few though, that looked concerned and worried those that my family was friends with. Sadly, that wasn’t very many, only ten families or less. I remembered something about alchemy and mage craft, “Good is evil, evil is good. Living is dying, dying is living. Pure in impure, impure is pure.” It was the concept of alchemy and mage craft together, Saltires. We slowly started to reach the out shirts of the suddenly silenced usually busy town. Less people, less stores, mostly deserted apartment buildings. Things were less clean, and didn’t seem to be cleaned in awhile. I suppose this old town really is right out of the eighteenth century.
The looks from the people in the village were the looks that they gave my father. It made the hair on the back on my neck raise to think that’s how he was dragged through the town. He grew up here; my mother came here on vacation. It turned out to be the worse vacation of her life in some sensed, her parents were killed during a raid of the Krimzon Force. After everything was settled she married Krest, my father. I came around shortly there after, than he disappeared. I’d never met my father, only been told that he’d finally came back for a short time.
Soon, we reached the grassy fields that stretched around the sparse coast. We turned left, or south, and started walked to where the manor was. We could have also reached it by the beach, but the goons apparently weren’t interested in climbing the jetties. The houses were rare, along the large grassy lands. Mostly farms out here, including the ones I part-time worked for. Not only was I a water purifier for the Krimzon Force, I also would run errands for the busy farm families, but they were also poor and usually couldn’t pay with money. Instead, they’d give be a basket of fruit and or some milk. There were cows grazing in the fields in the distance, but the coastal wind was blowing all sound from the town away, to the west, along with the moos of the grazing cows.
We reached sand again, and soon I spotted the front of the large oriental manor. It was a smaller one, only six stories. It was lavishly decorated on the outside, all of the wooden trims carved out into beautiful designs. From the distance I was at, I could see two large lion statues at the large double doors; I could faintly see the carving in both. The reason the manor was on the small side was because it was partly build over the jetties. The build a wooden platform, capable of holding millions of pounds, and than build a manor on top of it. I wasn’t sure the name of the lord, even though I knew he was young. Than again, some people called middle-aged people young if they had mages or alchemists to heal them, or make potions to heal them.
Another thing I knew about alchemy. It had two sides, transmutation which was greatly like mage craft in many senses, and potions mixing. You’d need alchemistic power to finish the potions, so normal humans wouldn’t be able to do it. Everything about mage craft and alchemy is similar, mages also have to obey the law of conservation of mass, and all the others…even if it is to a less distinct degree.
As we drew closer, and the grass grew thinner, ground sandier, I started to see more of this manor build on the water. It was of valedictorian style, and I was sure the fat head that was the lord there made sure it was made out of the finest woods and stones he could get his fat greedy little hands on.
When I entered the manor, still being escorted by the guards, my hands now tied behind my back, I looked around the lavishly decorated entrance hall. All flawless and clean marble, which adorned the stairs too. We entered through two large double doors, made of wood that I wasn’t sure of. The whole room and the elegant doors kept up the valedictorian style.
There was something odd though; nobody was there. No servants to keep everything neat and clean or other nobles walking around. The place was completely deserted.
We walked up the stairs, and they made a right at the top, not entering through the large double doors which most likely lead to a dining hall. The door to the right, which they led me, too was made of wood, and it was hardly carved with designs. I was lead up a few flights of stairs, and yup, you guessed it, they were also made of the elegant white marble. It was rather stuffy, most likely to save all the rare and expensive artifacts from the salty sea air.
As we reached a landing, the guards stopped out side of a door. I could hear two nearly identical voices arguing, both male but rather young, most likely around my age. I strained to hear their argument, even though all I could make out was the following:
“You can’t stay here! I told you what’s happening because I’m being a fool; you don’t have to take the airship.”
“Did you ever think,” The other voice retorted, “That I don’t want to leave, and that I’m going to stop you?”
“I’ll kill you before I let you do that.” The first voice replied.
One of the guards slowly knocked on the door three times saying in a gruff voice,
“Kyaka Saltire here.” Why can’t they ever get proper grammar right? It was always never name than art name; it was always the name of the art, than person in proper titles. I wasn’t ‘Kyaka Saltire’ in proper title; I was ‘Saltire Kyaka’, such fools knights are. Like puppies being trained not to yap at passer-by.
I heard a clipped sigh and a haughty and irritated voice say,
“About time. Bring her in.”
The one knight opened the doors saying,
“Here she is, my lord.” The knight said calmly and bowed.
“You my leave.” the young lord snapped. I looked at the two who had been arguing, and I blinked realizing they were twins. They both had deep blue eyes, and blond hair. I guessed they were both about fourteen, or fifteen. If they were fourteen, that’d make them my age. One fit right in with the lavishly furnished valedictorian room, he was dressed in elegant robes like a noble. Complete with freaky black shoes and white knee socks, which they would never just call freaky-knee-socks. He also had his blond hair long and braded down his back. I inwardly thought, his hair is longer than mine… I couldn’t tell if he had any shoulder and upper arm musicales under all his overcoats.
The other twin, had short messy blond hair, and looked calm and more open-minded. Did I mention Hair-Boy was scowling in irritation? The other twin’s clothes also made it look he didn’t fit in, since he was wearing faded jeans torn at the knees and a white short sleeved shirt that looked have once been long sleeved, only cut off. He looked a little older, and had a few small cuts on his arms and hands. He also had a little musicale on his build, like he’d grown up on the streets. His ratted boots supported the guess.
I also noticed there was a bandage on the noble’s right arm, it was off-white and part of it dark red with dried blood. They were both staring each other down, neither of them winning. There was a coffee table in-between them, and I got the feeling that if the noble brother hadn’t been taught that fighting physically was improper, he’d be jumping at the chance for a fight.
“Took you long enough.” Hair-Boy spat at the knights, “Leave, now.”
“Yes, my lord.” They both said ducking out of the room, heads still bowed as they closed the doors behind themselves.
“You may leave now, brother.” The noble, Hair-Boy, said coldly, saying the word ‘brother’ like a foul curse he wished wasn’t there.
“Picking on Saltires now, brother?” The other brother asked calmly.
“This does not concern you, Zain.” He snapped back, waving his hand for an added effect of annoyance.
“Well, seeing as you’re my brother I think it does. And she’s a cute one.”
I scowled, and was about to interrupt, but the lord of the manor cut in saying,
“Zain, I don’t need any of your meager hassle that you call helpfulness. I should have those knights executed for taking so long too.”
“Don’t be so hard on them.” The brother who I took to be Zain said, “They’re only like little kittens being trained to use the litter box.”
“I said I didn’t need you here, with your crass comparisons.”
“You mean you think you don’t need me here. And I really like that comparison; it’s fitting to nearly all of those goons you’re always setting on people.” Zain said waving his hand idly.
“Zain.” The noble brother growled.
“Kain.” He replied just as stubbornly, even though he didn’t look very annoyed.
“I’m still here you know.” I cut in giving them both angry piercing looks.
“Yes, you.” Kain snapped. “You’re the one responsible for this.” He said lifting his right arm up, and pulling up the sleeve, which reviled white and thick bandages. “You assaulted me, correct?”
“Hey!” Zain said with a lop-sided smile, “So you’re the one who popped a bit of his ego bubble! ‘Bout time somebody asides me did.”
“Zain,” He growled again, “I do not need your help.”
“Uh-huh.” He replied flopping down in one of the expensive easy chairs decorated with embroidery; I could see Kain, the noble brother wince, most likely wishing he’d been wearing cleaner and newer clothes before sitting on one of his elegantly chairs.
I got the feeling that they could both be short tempered, but Kain, the noble, was just cruel. I guessed that Zain most likely also got angry easy, even though he seemed to be more trustworthy. I had the habit of reading people, even if I didn’t have a good reason to. I’d always had the ability to look into any person’s eyes and reading them like an open book. I got the feeling I wouldn’t want to look into Kain’s eyes.
“Yes, I was the one who assaulted you.” I said calmly. “Mainly because you were trying to break into my home, where my younger sister and nearly defense mother were both asleep.”
“I do not care to hear your excuses. You assaulted me, the lord of this manor, and that is all I need to know. I was only trying to ask you a few questions in the first place.”
“Well, maybe if you hadn’t been trying to break in to my home. So, what did you want to talk to me about? Why not now?”
He turned away arrogantly saying, “That is of no matter.”
“Apparently it is,” I replied coldly adding, “if you tried breaking in ready to use alchemy.”
“I said it was of no matter.” He snapped.
“Jeez, Kain, you’ve always been a Krimzon Fart, but c’mon, this is just bad, even for you. And trust me, that’s saying something.”
“I don’t appreciate that nickname, Zain.”
“And I don’t appreciate the fact that you’re now picking on Saltires. Isn’t that pathetic for you? Pending that is…”
“That isn’t relative, Zain.”
“Isn’t it?” Zain asked raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Zain, you’re an alchemist too!” Kain snapped, “You should hold no mercy to such scum as Saltires. They are accepted by nobody.”
“I told you,” Zain shot back letting his temper show a little, “I’m not one anymore.”
“You were born one, Zain. You always will be an alchemist.”
“Kain,” Zain said standing up, completely sincere, “don’t tell me you’re still chasing after those old hopes. She’s gone brother, and you know you can’t try again.”
“Let us not speak of that matter when an outsider is here.” Kain said in more of a command than anything else. “For your punishment-”
“Punishment?” Zain cut in scowling at his brother, “Punishment for self-defense?”
“And a death threat.” Kain snapped back.
“Because you were tying to break into her house. You’d kill anybody who tried to come into this shack of sh-”
“Zain.” he growled again. “This matter does not concern you.” He looked back up at me saying, “I don’t plan on having you killed, I have sentenced you to five years in the dungeons.”
Zain scoffed coldly saying, “You of all people should have a soft spot for Saltires. After all…”
“It would have worked if I’d incorporated both of the arts!” He snapped in a sudden out burst of angry, more than that he’d been expressing before hand. “It would have worked with another Saltire!”
“Why do get the feeling you’re getting restless and preying after an innocent Saltire for a forbidden reason? Not just reminiscing?”
“Zain…just shut up. And it’s improper to hurt a lady.”
“And you’re just fine sticking her in the dungeon, for how long? Five years?”
“Zain, this has nothing to do with you.” He snapped, hateful memories coming back reflecting in his eyes.
“The only reason you always are avoiding me and ignoring my present most of the time is because I remind you of that night. And when you failed.”
“Don’t you have some merchant to steal from?”
“The merchants can wait.” Zain reply coyly. “Why don’t you just leave her alone?”
“Assaulting the lord of a manor is punishable by death, frankly-”
“Look,” I cut in, “I don’t care what happens to me, I just want to know that my family is being taken care of.”
Kain looked away when I tried to meet his gaze. He walked forward, and lifted my head to look into his eyes.
“You look so much like her…” He whispered. His eyes met mine and I saw pain in his, and after hardly ten seconds he looked away. I could see Zain standing unmoving, watching his brother as he seemed to simmer down a little. He walked away from me, and not facing either of us. I wasn’t sure when I inwardly started thinking of Zain on my side, by using “us” and not separately. Than again, I guess I owe him, sine he just most likely saved me from five years in the dungeon.
“Just go.” He said emotionlessly. “Both of you just go.”
I could tell I’d brought up some bad memories, and by their argument I had a cloudy idea what was going on between the two.
Zain walked forward, as I put my finger on the ropes binding my arms together, and with a slight fizzle of light the ropes that were binding my hands fell to the floor. We walked out of the room, me following Zain. The guards were sanding out side of the door and I could see that they were about to ask questions when Zain said,
“It’s been decided. Ask the Krimzon Fart if you don’t believe me. Which I’m sure you don’t.”
We walked down the marble stairs in silence, and through the entrance hall, when we were outside of the manor I asked,
“Mind telling me why you helped me?”
He smiled and shrugged saying, “No particular reason I suppose.”
“The reward, right?” I asked idly keeping my attitude calm but distrustful.
“Partly, I suppose.” He replied with a lop-sided smile.
“I knew it’d be only for the money.” I sighed, as we walked across the dirt path that was starting to be overgrown with grass. “It’s going to take me awhile to be able to pay you though. I have medial bills to take care of first.”
“Metical bills?” He asked sounding a bit surprised, “Is somebody in your family sick or something?”
“My mother is pregnant, my father ran out, and my sister is in school, I’m the only one working, and the Force doesn’t pay very well for my services.” I said trying not to be rude, and most likely failing.
“Working with the mages? Do they know you’re a Saltire?”
“No.” I replied shortly.
He paused before asking, “Would you be irritated if I asked you something about your father?”
“Yes, what is it?”
I saw a flicker of a smile pass by his face as he asked, “Was his name, Krest Ravenzi? An alchemist?”
I was silent a few moments than I lied, “No.”
“Alright. I was just wondering I used to know a Krest. He taught my brother and me alchemy, and he once said he had a wife, a mage to return to. I doubted it, but I thought I’d ask. He was also the one who planted the seed in my brothers’ head about human transmutation.”
“Not surprising…” I muttered to myself, “Let me guess, he tried it once and failed?”
“Now who’s snooping?” He asked with a smile.
I scowled as he continued,
“No matter. He’d pass a stone if I told you this, but, what the heck? With what I think he was planning on doing to you, I think you should know. He fell in love with a Saltire, canceled off his original betrothal plans, and was to marry her when she got ill. He had too many alchemists and mages trying to heal her than somebody could count. Nothing worked; she died a year after getting sick. And he tried using alchemy to bring her back. I was the human sacrifice for it too. It failed, so theoretically, I should be dead.”
I was surprised at how calmly he talked about it when I asked,
“Exactly why are you telling me this? You’ve hardly known me for an hour; you have no reason to trust me whatsoever.”
He shrugged and smiled saying, “Eh, I’m not too sure. You just seem trustworthy.”
“If you’re so trusting, than one day it’s going to cost you your life.” I replied shortly.
“So what? I’ve already cheated death once. They way I see it is that I have nothing to lose.”
“You still have your life, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but I’m not supposed to, am I?”
I shook my head asking,
“And what do you mean by ‘with what I think he was planning on doing to you,’ exactly?”
“Didja notice it when he said that if he’d used both of the arts it would have worked?” I nodded as he continued, “Another words he thinks it would have worked if he used another Saltire as a sacrifice.”
“Are you saying…?”
“Yup. It’s been nearly a year, but he’s always researching alchemy and working with mage craft at times too, he royally sucks at it though.”
“Alchemy and mage craft usually don’t work for a person that’s not a Saltire. For the most part it’s one or the other.”
“Exactly.”
“Alright, now, why the heck are you telling me this?”
“You’re not very trusting, eh?” He asked raising an eyebrow.
“Thank my father, and the Krimzon Force.” I replied shortly.
We were getting to the outskirts of town, where the path was grassless and there were a few scattered and spread out stores and houses. There were usually a few people walking around, but none were there now. As we continued on in silence, we reached where the street was couple stone and I noticed something odd. Ilen was small, but not quite so small that everybody knew each other. Town was usually bustling today. Merchants, people, shoppers, school students, delivery boys, you name it, it was bustling at noon on a normal day. This wasn’t natural. All the store fronts were abandoned, and the houses had curtains drawn and doors dead bolted.
“Krimzon Force…?” I muttered to myself.
I heard Zain curse beside me saying, “No wonder you invited me over brother…you just wanted to keep me busy…”
“What?” I asked when suddenly I heard a loud deafening, bang! It sounded like the firing of a cannon, and I broke out in a run through the abandoned town. The store fronts’ light, faded, and cheerful colors were far away from where I was. I knew where that sound had come from; it’d traveled on the sea bound breeze. Zain was running beside me, and grabbed my arm suddenly jerking me to a halt. I didn’t except it, or else I would have just outrun him in the first place.
“What the heck is wrong with you?” I demanded.
“Are your crazy?” He shouted, “You can seriously be thinking of going to face off the attack!”
“My family is down there!” I yelled back, surprised at how tightly he held on to my wrist, making sure I didn’t keep going. “They’re in an old sea shack on the beach; I can’t just let them be killed!”
He shook his head saying, “This’d better be fast.”
He let go of my arm as I said, “You don’t have to come with me. You might as well run.”
“We were put in this together for a reason, might as well stick together.”
I shook my head saying, “You’re an idiot.”
“Arigato.” He replied promptly as I took off, I was surprised he could keep up. I was a fast runner, and I usually left people in my dust.
The cobble stones were a cheerful yellow-orange, along with the bricks that made up many of the store fronts. As we got closer to the edges of town, the breeze grew stronger, and you could almost see the think layer of dust-like sea salt that was building up on all of the wood and brick buildings. We kept running until the buildings thinned out once again, and I part slid, and part ran down the sand dunes, I was also surprised that Zain was keeping up with me even on the dunes, it takes awhile to get used to running up and down them. And get used to all the sand you get in your shoes. The dunes were nearly fifty feet high, so about twenty feet down I could see the ocean. What I saw same my blood run cold.
A huge, metal, battleship was slowly drawing closer and closer from where it rested on the horizon. It had cannons allied in neat rows coming out of the side, a jutting bow, and could most likely fit all of the village of Ilen inside of it. The ship was huger than any other water vessel I’d ever seen, and that was saying something living by the sea. There were no sails, even though I could hear the loud rumbling of engines.
“No…” I whispered.
Zain cursed as he caught up behind me, as he said, “Kain said things were tightening up between Dykaid and Resuvuair… I can’t believe they’re finally after Ilen though!”
“Resuvuair?” I asked turning around and looking him in the eyes. “The revival movement? They have weaponry like…that?”
“Resuvuair is being funded by Tomejea. The mainly coastal country to the south. Bit cold down there though.”
“That’s impossible…Dayonight profits greatly from trading with Tomejea. He’d go on a war path, and flush everything out that got in is way of that money…”
“Yeah,” Zain concurred, “But Dayonight doesn’t know. Tomejea is very technologically advanced; this ship is nothing to them. It’s downright primitive. As you know, Tomejea has lots of fresh water and lots of mineral resources, but hardly any growing land. It’s why they get meat and fruit from here, Dykaid, and in return trade with Dykaid their tech and all of that. But recently Dayonight has been getting skimpy with them, and demanding more for less.”
He took a breath than continued, “Resuvuair has been dogging them for years about giving them funding, and telling them that Dayonight is talking shlat.”
“Shlat?” I cut in a bit off-topically.
“I got sick of my brothers’ lectures on cursing.” He replied than saying, “Anyway, Tomejea’s been getting ripped, so now they’re funding Resuvuair.”
“Tomejea wouldn’t risk that.” I shot back. “They’ll starve without Dayonight sending them so much food.”
“They’re hooking up with Lieoglyph to the north. Once this ship is once is done here, it’s of to the rendezvous point with Lieoglyph.”
“How do you know all of this?” I asked truly disoriented.
“Because I’m working for Resuvuair.” He replied calmly, “Now we need to hurry, your family is in danger.”
I nodded, still confused as we continued down the sand dunes. My mind was in overdrive, Tomejea is against Dykaid now, Lieoglyph is taking sides now, Resuvuair is trying to kill off Dykaid by its weak point, and the brother of a lord of one of the three manors that control all of Dykaid’s water is with Resuvuair…what the heck is going on here? And it’s all under wraps!
My home was up high on ten feet of dunes, we reached it fairly quickly, and I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw Krimzon Force there.
I stopped short, cursed and tried focusing. When it came to my power, I was always in control and knew exactly what was going.
“Feogu obsuritae!” I called out called out reaching my arms up to the winds.
“Rioja Kry!” I called out feeling a small amount of winds collecting around my hands. I jerked the forward, summoning the winds to start gusting only at the front of the house, where the Guard was trying to break in. It worked better than I hoped, the gusts that suddenly strengthened only by them blew them a few feet down the dunes.
“Omekeddjed rioune!” I called out sweeping my hand over the sand. I felt it rustle with the hunger for the power of movement in a non-human way. I sensed that it would work, and that the element would cooperate.
“Rioja Kry!” I called out as two sand dunes down the sand came alive, burring the five Krimzon Force soldiers alive.
I rushed forward, a bit star-struck Zain following. I didn’t have any keys, and I had the feeling the door was dead bolted. The door was half covered in sand, but it opened in so it wasn’t that much of a problem. I wasn’t sure my family had heard it was me so I quickly called out,
“Tenjoyeika. Rioja Kry.” The locks broke off with a dull thud and I pushed the door open. The small sea shack was nestled in the jetties. Part of the roof was jetty, and so was the wall facing the manor which was at least ten miles down the beach. I scanned the room, and I rushed forward when I saw a trail of blood.
“Now die you wench!” I heard a gruff male voice call out.
I cursed loudly and ran into the hallway to the right, and to my mothers’ room. All I saw was a tall Krimzon Force soldier in full crimson armor holding a double edged sword high over my mother in the corner of the room.
I cursed loudly calling out full of rage,
“Onan dae mioto! Kry!”
The Krimzon Guard soldier froze in place, his arms falling to his sides. He dropped his sword and fell backwards. Dead.
I stood there shocked a moment, one thing rang out in my mind, “I just used pure alchemy!”
I shook my head, breaking for the thoughts when I saw my mother. She was wearing all white, and she was covered in blood. She had a cut on her forehead, both arms, and a few lashes on her legs. She was also cut on her right shoulder. She was barely hanging on to life; it was obvious she’d die.
“Mom…” I whispered running to her side.
“Kyaka…” She whispered. “Is Hikaru alright?”
I heard her calls from her room, where my mother had apparently locked her in.
I nodded saying, “Yes, she’s okay. And so am I. Now just hang on, don’t strain yourself.” I said trying to sound calm and calming.
Her eyes were already losing focus as she whispered, “Kya take care of your sister for me…okay?”
“Don’t worry,” I assured her, “I’ll always take care of Hikaru.”
“Kya…I never told you about your father, but…” She said than took a deep shaking breath, “He’s part of Resuvuair, I didn’t want you to live your childhood on the outskirts of a battleground…so I took you here, to Ilen. Kya, please find Krest and tell him that the baby and I have passed… Please, Kya, find Krest…”
I nodded saying, “Don’t worry. I already think I know how to contact Resuvuair.”
She smiled weakly saying, “That’s my Kya…always completing something before I tell her…and always has information on something, even if she doesn’t understand it…”
I hadn’t noticed Zain in the door ‘til he said,
“Umm…Madam Ravenzi? I know where Krest is. I’m part of Resuvuair too.” He said stepping a bit closer, but stopped a few feet away from the fallen Krimzon Force soldier. “You just need to hang on; I can make sure Krest comes here to see you…”
She opened her eyes a moment looking Zain over and smiled weakly when she believes he wasn’t lying. I saw a bit of recognition in her unfocused eyes as she said,
“You’ve grown a lot, Zain. I didn’t except to see you again. That’s kind of you…but I know this is the end of the line for me.”
“Don’t say that…” I whispered holding back my emotions.
“I was hoping you’d find a nice young man like him someday…never thought it’d be Zain though…” She said her eyes closing.
My hands were shaking, not only was a worried, and afraid, I was also confused.
She opened her eyes saying. “I love you Kya, I love Hikaru too. Please tell her that…and please find Krest and tell him ‘I love you…sayonara’.” With that she closed her eyes, and was gone.
“No…” I whispered. “You can’t die…” I said feeling tears building up in my eyes. Even in her last moment, she couldn’t forget Krest…the man who had brought her so much pain, brought us so much pain…she still stayed by him, and still loved him.
Zain stepped forward, putting a hand on my shoulder saying,
“C’mon Kyaka, we’ve still got some things to do before Resuvuair sends a boat out looking for the escaped agents.”
I stood up not looking into his eyes saying,
“I need to get Hikaru. And a few things.” I walked over to my mother’s dresser and picked up a box that held letters she never could send to my father. She’d always told me that she wanted him to read them, and I felt responsible.
I wordlessly handed the box to Zain, and stood up in front of my mother‘s body, pulling the soldier I’d killed aside.
“Enidoko minoieto. Shealu lemataent. Entikayo.” I whispered as the blood from my mothers’ body disappeared and her clothes repaired. I noticed that the white dress she was wearing was her wedding dress. I shook my head, wondering why she didn’t warm me if she knew this was going to happen. She always said the best days of her life were her wedding day, the day she met my father, the day I was born, and the day Hikaru was born. I took a deep breath and said,
“Sayonara, rest in peace.”
I turned around quickly and walked out of the room closing the door behind me.
“I know there’s no point in asking if you’re okay, but we need to get out of here, okay?”
I opened my eyes saying,
“I know.”
I looked at the lock that locked Hikaru’s and mine room locked, that my mother sealed with magic to make sure Hikaru wasn’t killed by the Krimzons.
“Tenjoyeika. Rioja Kry.”
Hikaru was sitting on her bed, still crying.
She looked up when I entered, Zain following.
“Kya!” She called out surprised. “Is mommy okay? What happened, Kya?” She asked her eyes swollen from crying and wide with fear and worry. She was wearing her “lucky skorts” as she called them, which were stained with paint and a white sleeveless shirt. She only wore white when she sensed something bad happening, it was something all mages could do. Since I was a Saltire, I couldn’t fully relate.
“Mom said we need to go meet with Resuvuair and that we must leave this house, and never look back, okay Hikaru?”
She looked at me, her eyes wide as she asked,
“Is mommy dead?”
I smiled at her weakly saying, “You can only bring something small with you, and we need to go.” I said bending down on my knees so she was nearly at eye level.
I stood up as she grabbed on to the edge of my shirt demanding with tears in her eyes,
“Mommy’s dead, isn’t she?”
“Hush, Hikaru. You can only bring one thing, we need to get going.” I said trying to calm her down. Our room was rather small, only enough room for a dresser, two nightstands, and two beds. She rushed over to her bed, and picked up a stuffed animal, it was a white, gray, and black tabby, which she’d named Twinkles, and ran, picked up a locket from her nightstand. It was the one our father gave her as a baby. She knew I never wore to locket I was given, but she still hurried over to my nightstand and took out the locket I was given that day too. I just walked over to the dresser, which doubled as a desk, and picked up the box on the table, that was the size of a small jewelry box that held all my scrolls on alchemy and mage craft. And my theories about the connection, and that entire sort. I looked around the room for one last time, with the multi-colored wood walls, clean white sheets on the beds, beaten up furniture, the room which I did my best brainstorming in.
Zain was silent as I lead Hikaru out of the house we’d grown up in.
Hikaru stopped turned around asking,
“Kya, will we ever come back here?”
I smiled at her saying, “One day.”
“Kya, I didn’t say goodbye to mommy.” She said looking worried and sad.
“Don’t worry.” I said with a weak smile. “She knows you wanted to.”
She stopped a moment and looked at the old house, wrapped up in her own thoughts.
“Zain, where is the rendezvous point with Resuvuair?”
“You’re coming with?” He asked a bit surprised.
“Don’t have much of a choice, do I?” I asked flatly.
“You always have a choice.” He replied calmly than adding, “Even though keep in mind, you’ll forever be an enemy of the Krimzon Kingdom if you join Resuvuair.”
“Well,” I said calmly, “I was never exactly on their good side, now was I?”
He didn’t say anything till he put a hand on my shoulder than asking,
“Are you sure you want to do this? Once you‘re in Resuvuair, you stay, or you‘re killed trying to get out. Resuvuair’s come a very long way since they started out at the beginning of Dayonight’s rein. They can’t take risks anymore, especially with Tomejea on their side. It’s a good thing, and a bad thing for secrecy.”
“Yeah.” I replied. “I’m sure.”
“Alright then.” He said stepping away. “What about your little sister? Are you okay with her being treated as a civilian? She won’t be told anything at all, only what she needs to know about watching out for herself.”
“She can handle that. I just don’t want her near the fighting. I’m used to it by now, but she’s still too young for that.”
He nodded saying, “When she’s older, do you think she’ll want to be a full member of Resuvuair?”
“Most likely.” I replied flatly. “Would it be possible for to be adopted by a Tomejean family maybe? I’d rather have her as far away from the fighting as possible.”
“Yeah.” He replied. “That’d work.”
“And one more thing…” I added, “I don’t want her to meat Krest.”
“You really don’t get along with your father, do you?”
“No.” I replied calmly. “He’s the reason Hikaru is now an orphan and isn’t going to be able to grow up with her real parents.”
“You don’t count yourself in that, are you saying you really plan on erasing your past?”
I closed my eyes saying, “Maybe. It’ll be easier to start off in Resuvuair with a new name and indent.”
I paused before asking, “Hey Zain…think you could take Hikaru to the beach itself? I don’t want her to see what I have to do.”
He nodded as called out to her. She looked up and said,
“Mommy told me never ever go with strangers!”
“Go with him Hikaru. I’ll be there shortly.” She stood there a few moments, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She finally walked forward saying,
“Only cuz Kya wants me too.” She gave Zain a look of distrust and walked in front of him, ignoring the hand he held out to her. He shook his head, and I think he muttered something along the lines of “just like her sister…” and followed. I waited until I was sure they were far enough away, and I took one last look at the old house. I stepped forward, spreading my arms wide saying,
“Vesto imperamenta. Rioja Kry.”
And it that said, my old home erupted in flames, burning my old life there with it. All ties severed, I’d change my name, find Hikaru a new family, and then find Krest. I’d deliver him the letters, but not as Kyaka Ravenzi or Kyaka Leitaca. I’d do it as a new person. Who had nothing to do with the Krimzon Force. Who I’ll be from today on; Kikyo Xero. I opened my eyes and looked at the house immersed in flames for one final time saying,
“Sayonara.”
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