June – Chapter Four

We started to move again, and it took us only another few minutes of uninterrupted grassy travel to reach the ship, which was a darkened wood and steel combination that reminded me of a shield curved to an extreme. It bobbed up and down with the motion of the sea, almost reminded me of the way I was taught to rock Allie to sleep when she was smaller. I supposed that this was the only dock on this island, as there were a few specific things around the area that common sense told me were here to guide the ship to this spot. The wooden structure and the spire of a boulder I’d seen from the hill were closer together than it looked from up high, but the closer I got to the spire, the more I noticed it was intentionally textured and carved. Symbols I couldn’t read decorated the base, and there were structures at the bottom holding it upright. It sat directly against the wooden building, which was a shabby looking log cabin that had a single door and a single window, with no glass. Instead, it seemed like it was a counter of sorts. This was partially on land, with long wooden legs holding it up as it hovered just slightly out to sea. I made note of the sound of the ocean, and the smell of the salty air as the adrenaline left my system. It smelled like home, but a lot stronger. I’d never really thought about the smell of the air until now, but I guessed that the trees of the forest blocked off a lot of this scent, and then my excitement followed by fear from earlier made it the last thing I’d care about.

Finally, I saw a man who matched the description Sir Mirroheart gave me earlier. He was a few inches taller than me, sporting a long brown coat with a feathered cap, the brims folded in and secure on three sides to form a triangular shape pointing straight outward from his face. I did note that his hair seemed to be constantly wet, and had an odd texture, almost like wet grass, but I didn’t linger on it too long as I then noted he had very tall boots that had a matching color to his coat feeding into them from a belted pair of slacks, which had itself a white button down shirt feeding into it. I assumed all of this was standard sea clothing, and thought nothing further about it, aside from seeing his fins twitch as he greeted us with an intricate gesture in his left hand. Sir Mirroheart replied in kind, and I cluelessly bowed instead.

“June, this is Ike.” Sir Mirroheart said to me, before gesturing some more to Ike, which the man seemed to respond to with a series of his own. The two of them could tell I was lost, and so Sir Mirroheart began to speak to me again. “This is the Quezariel language for communicating with non-Quezariel. You’ll learn it, don’t worry. It’s a required class, as are the basics for communication of other cultures too. You won’t be fluent or anything, but you can at least trade and find your way around when you talk to anyone.”

“Wait, this is only how they talk to non-Quezariel? How do Quezariel talk to each other?” I asked,then realizing I hadn’t properly introduced myself to the man yet, and my fire was replaced with embarrassment – a trend I didn’t realize would be all the more common today than most days. Before he could answer my first question I, admittedly rudely, asked another.

“Can you teach me how to say hello?” I asked, to which Sir Mirroheart raised his left hand and configured his fingers into a familiar symbol as before. His thumb rested against his palm with all of his fingers extended fully outward, which he then moved to the left side of his face and flicked outward while curling his ring and pinky fingers inward and extending his thumb.

“Doing this with your left hand is considered a greeting. Doing it with the right is a farewell. Most signs use both hands together, but simple things like greetings and single words only use one hand each.” he seemed so naturally fluent in this, which made sense given his age. “Just remember that left is hello, right is goodbye.” I nodded and did as he showed. Ike nodded and returned the gesture, which got me very excited. However, my excitement was only to increase, as Sir Mirroheart gestured to the water next. “As for how they talk to each other, typically, sound waves get carried through the water as vibrations. Quezariel feel these vibrations and have made their own long-range language out of it.” 

“That’s so cool!” I near-shouted. The thought of talking to someone over a long distance was very appealing to me, and I began to fantasize about chatting with my mother and the rest of my family from Magnum campus. I couldn’t understand the two of them talking anyway, so I filled in the gaps with what I assumed it was; A lot of talk about the journey, and when Sir Mirroheart revealed the creature parts we were carrying, a lot of surprise and discussion about the nature of the entity. All the gesturing ceased after a moment though, as Ike headed onto the ship and Sir Mirroheart waved me along to join. We both boarded, with me barely standing up straight at first and occasionally losing my footing on the rocking wood, before I heard a voice. Since only one other person on the ship was speaking I didn’t have to guess who it was.

“You’re going to man the sails for the short trip. It’ll be good training.”

“Sure.” I agreed. “I’ve never done it but how hard could it be?”

That was probably the first time I can recall believing in jinxing oneself.We set sail shortly after, and Sir Mirroheart would shout a few commands here and there to help me understand what it took to control the sails of the ship effectively. The waters below were new to me, and my footing was nervous, but after a long stagnation due to the sails not cooperating we did manage to move forward. I would hold the sails in place , my arms feeling exhausted already and the rope feeling like it was burning my palms every time I loosened my grip even slightly.  It only took a moment or two for land to come into view, and then another for it to fill the horizon.

“That landmass there is Magna Varia proper. The home continent for almost all life on this planet, which it shares a name with.” Sir Mirroheart made sure I would hear this before we landed, as he seemed to have a knack for the dramatic timing of his words. 

“How big is it?” I asked, feeling my grip fail me. In a panic I reached for the rope again, but instead it was handed to me by Sir Mirroheart.

“Consider the size of your little town in the woods, and imagine that a few tens of thousands of times.” he said, calmly returning to where he was. “You won’t see it all in a human lifetime unless you’re a nomad, that’s for sure.”

“That’s insane.” I commented, both at his speed in saving my mistake and the size of the landmass. “Where will we be landing?”

“We’ll be making landfall at a fishing spot right outside Magnum City. Not really a town, but a place commonly recognized as a trading outpost.” he replied quickly, gesturing outward with his free hand toward the east of us. “This island is just off the mainland, so the sail hardly takes any time with favorable winds. Once we’re there, we’re going to get ourselves some new equipment and then make our way into the city.”

I had to take in that word again, without context for what it really represented. A city was a place far larger than I’d had understanding for at that age, so in my mind, it was about twice or thrice the size of my town with the same tree wall, and the same mulched terrain. Maybe it would have one or two more businesses too. Looking back on my naivety, I feel at once embarrassed and nostalgic. In this stupor of thoughts, I’d nearly missed the moment where Sir Mirroheart handed the rope back to me, but he was sure to snap me out of my thoughts with a literal snap of his gauntlet in my ear. For a moment I wondered how he managed to snap his fingers through armor, but I decided such a mundane curiosity was nothing compared to the wonders I’d find on this new landmass and took the sails under my responsibility once more.

Indeed, it was only a few more hours of agony in my palms before we made landfall. The specifics of each time I’d tripped on my own weight and had to be assisted feel like a nonissue to discuss, so you’ll have to pardon me for leaving that sort of thing out. Besides, the port was much more interesting. The entire location was corralled behind a wall of rock that formed a natural barrier, with a singular dirt path leading out via a slope that led up. I swore I could see a large tower in the distance as well. Back to the pier, blue striped stalls for vegetables and fish lined the wooden pier toward the shore, with people human and Quezariel reeling in new catches along the walk itself in a roped off zone that I concluded was designated for that purpose. It was about three people wide for the actual walkway, but at least ten or fifteen stalls deep on each side from the dock we left from. As quickly as I’d noted the structures, I noticed the people around me were mostly Quezariel, but I picked out a few others I’d never seen before either; very tall people with curled horns on their heads who seemed to be conversing with a Quezariel using gestures  were a few stalls down from us, and a person that was shorter than me with longer, drooping ears was delivering papers to those at the stalls with minor stops for chatting in between. This person I assumed was a Lopriel, of which were the founders of my hometown, but the horned people I was unsure of. I guess I’d been staring however, as Sir Mirroheart interjected.

“Donnriel. They’re usually subterranean people, very hardy with excellent hearing and eyesight. However, they are also some of the most reserved, private folk you’ll ever meet.” he explained, as I nodded, curious about what sort of secrets a culture that was so private could hide. At the same time, I realized that assumption to be rude, and shook it off; They may be reserved because of interference of others, not because they were secretive. There was no way to tell at my current level of knowledge so I decided it didn’t matter. The thought of discussing it with them was strong, though, and suppressing it was a visible challenge as my eagerness to learn was plastered on my face. All at once, they managed to  vanish into the crowd of people heading toward the piers’ edge.

At the very edge of the pier, I noticed another ship that was about to leave. This one was of a similar color to ours, but the sails had some kind of crest printed on them that depicted two red birds, talons locked together atop the pommel of a dagger that had no crossguard, the point of the blade obscured by a lizard’s body. The people I could make out moving along the deck of the ship all seemed to be wearing matching uniforms. I’m no super-seer so I couldn’t make out much at the time, but I guessed they all worked for that group.

“That’s the banner of the New Creation Empire.” Sir Mirroheart spoke, probably seeing my confusion. “Aside from this port, the island colonies, the Redwings, and the territory directly surrounding Magnum City, they are the government for this whole world. Technically, you’re not a citizen of the Empire as your village is considered neutral and independent. They really want or need the land so they leave you be.”

I was a little insulted that this Empire didn’t feel like my town was worth it, but kept that to myself.

“They’re generally good people. Peacemakers and soldiers of the Empire wind up working together in defense of others, and the Magnum Neutrality Act prevents the Empire and Magnum from fighting over land. Right now, the Redwings are at war with the Empire over resources, but everyone else is peaceful save for the untamed wildlife on the outer rims of the Empire’s sphere of influence. That’s where we-” I cut him off.

“Where the Peacemakers come in to back up the lesser defended towns! I remember that part. And about how the reason for the peace treaty was due to the mysterious assassination of Magnum’s ambassador. His name was…” now he cut me off.

“Saint Foxtail.” he crossed his arms. “And you’re right. Nobody has figured out who killed him yet, but as he and the Emperor were close personal friends, the situation is being handled fairly diplomatically. No blood was shed over it, and the peace treaty was the Empire’s idea to demonstrate good will and innocence. In effect, both sides surrendered before a conflict even began, and the efforts of both sides are being put towards a better united world instead of fighting over a mystery.”

I thought about this as we made our way through the stalls, both of us keeping an eye out for armor stands and arms. Being a small pier, it was fairly clear exactly how little in that market there was; a single stall, outside of which stood another of the Donnriel. She looked to be about my age, or perhaps slightly older. I noted at this distance that the ears of these horned individuals were pointed and elongated, with their tips toward the ground. She had short, blackened hair and wore glasses with rims just thick enough to make it hard to see her eyebrows, with an admittedly beautiful color of purple in her eyes, and the slightest tint of pink to her lips that I could tell was unnatural and likely makeup. It was also at this point that I could make out the same emblem of the Empire against her shoulder, embroidered into an expensive looking jacket that landed just below her lower back, trimmed with the same red of the birds in the emblem, and resting atop a white blouse. She also wore black trousers with red stitchwork atop white boots with small heels, pristine in their own right despite the pier being slightly less so. Even without knowing military rank, I could tell she was someone important to the Empire and as such chose to try and avoid conversation, feeling slightly inadequate.

“Oh, is that you Lady Ald-” I heard Sir Mirroheart speak up before quickly being silenced by the woman in question.

“Mirroheart, you old coot!” she nearly shouted in a voice equally soothing as it was unexpected given the description of them I was given earlier. I supposed that not every individual was exactly as their norm stated though, considering for a human I was apparently abnormally strong and kind. I thought about this as she continued speaking, smiling at the juxtaposition. “Here to escort me to the city?”

“No ma’am, though you’re welcome to join us.” he responded, then gestured to me. “I’m just dropping off my new pupil at school.” I think he expected me to speak up at this point, and I started to, before she cut me off.

“Really now?” she kneeled down to my eye level, which I felt a twinge of annoyance at until I remembered that before this she stood nearly three feet taller than me. “And that must be an amazing honor for a rookie! What’s your name?”

Shrugging off the feeling that I was being spoken to the same way I’d speak to Allie, I muttered, “June Kohma, ma’am.” She seemed to smile quite a bit more than she had before at my name, which I thought was odd, but brushed aside as more babying. Sir Mirroheart spoke up after that, which made her stand up to her normal height again.

“She’s got promise. A little slow but stronger than most of those I’ve had tested right away.” he patted my back. “Still, was that your ship that just departed? Why are you going to the city alone Lady Ald-” she kept cutting him off before he could say her last name.

“Just a quick proposal for the Archive, nothing serious.” She  adjusted her glasses. “Dad found an old tome in the library back home, and he wanted me to deliver it to the archive with some notes he took about it.”

“What kind of tome?” he asked, to which she retrieved what looked like the most ancient book I’d ever seen, with a lock sewn into the cover and the binding nearly at the end of its life. 

“This is a tome about Primal Names. He says he thinks it could have the Primal Name for whoever that deity that killed his grandson is, and he wants to get their help translating what he can’t.” All of this was way over my head, and the two of them began to realize that, so Sir Mirroheart began to introduce me, finally.

“June, this is Lady Arceia Aldritch. Third daughter to Emperor Zephyrus and diplomat for the two nations.”

“Arr-say-uh.” I sounded out her name, as I often did when digesting new terms, before realizing my rudeness in saying her first name in front of her when she was such a high ranking noble. I bowed and apologized, my cheeks flushed, to which she seemed to laugh.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I liked the way you said it.” she responded. “June, was it? Come here a moment.” I did so, and immediately felt her hand atop my head, followed by a warm sensation through my fingertips, all the way down my body and exiting at the bottom of my feet into the earth. “You’re right, she’s got a lot of potential.” I heard her say, refusing to lift my head from my embarrassment. “As I’d expect from a student you hand picked.”

“Thank you-” I started to say before she cut me off again.

“The escort thing was a joke by the way. I’m about to leave for the city, but I can see you’ve still got business to take care of. Maybe I’ll see you two there when you catch up!”

“Are you sure you should do that without guards or an escort? Someone in your position needs some support, right?” he asked, to which she waved his concerns off and I swear I noticed her hand glow as she did so.

“Don’t you think I can’t take care of myself after all these years? I’ll be fine!”

With an excitement in her voice that sounded almost more childish than Allie, she headed off without warning, leaving both myself and Sir Mirroheart alone once more. 

He gave me a moment to calibrate my embarrassment and lift my head before continuing  to speak. “Do you know about the bit of history she’s describing with that tome?” he asked. I shook my head. “No worries, it’s not exactly the most common thing to learn. Emperor Zephyrus, also known as the Creation Usurper, has had only a few children of his own. His only biological son had a family of two sons and one daughter. These grandchildren all had horrible things happen to them, but the middle child, his grandson Dayton, became a mighty warrior to avenge them. Unfortunately, he was slain by a deity that history seems to have forgotten, as we can’t trace their appearance to any of the pantheon that interact with mortals.”

“Sounds complicated.” I responded. “What did this deity look like?”

“It was a woman, clouded in red mist, brandishing a single dagger. We’ve taken to calling her Crimson Mistress, but-” I didn’t hear the rest of what he said, as I began to recall my nightmare from this morning and wondering whether or not I should be concerned about it. Before I could have that thought process fully, I felt a shiver down my spine,and snapped back to reality. “… Primal Name, that is, the original name of the deity before they gave mortals a name they could comprehend-” I heard snippets before I began to shiver again. I think he noticed this, as he stopped talking for a moment, and afterward completely changed topics.

“At any rate, you’ll learn about that on campus. Let’s get you some replacement clothes.”

I nodded, remaining quiet as I digested the bombardment of information I’d just received. Sir Mirroheart didn’t push the issue, and I assumed that to mean he could tell something was up, but given he was still keeping something from me, I began to wonder if that was somehow connected. That thought alone made me finally decide to call out his secrecy when we were alone next, but for now, I pushed this aside and returned to shopping. The very patient merchant was grateful to see me continue looking at his wares instead of past them, and spoke up.

“Little lady, you look like you’ve been eyeing the gambeson vest for a while.” he said, picking up an item on the table that I suppose I was looking in the direction of while spaced out and handing it to me. “It looks like it’s your size too. Whatcha say to six Imperial, or nine Magnum?”

“I-” I didn’t even get a chance to speak before Sir Mirroheart placed six coins on the counter.

“Sounds good. And you’ve got the rest of what we need for her too, right?” he asked, before I heard the clinking of more coins muffled by the sound of leather hitting wood. I looked more closely to see that behind the hand he’d placed the coins with was a leather satchel that seemed to have more.

“Oh, yes, for sure!” The merchant replied, digging underneath his stall and producing another blouse that looked similar to mine, with some special hemming to the shoulders, and new trousers that were brown instead of my current green, but they would do. I wasn’t sure what all this money exchanging was all about, but it seemed over before it began. I was handed the items, and we began to walk away without issue. Sir Mirroheart spoke up immediately after we left earshot of the man.

“Money is fairly simple. You collect coins like this,” he handed me a single coin with the same emblem as the Empire. “and this,” he handed me a coin with a rough cut hole in the center, around which were floral symbols, “And you see how many of each an item costs. If you want it, you give the person that amount, and it’s yours. Some people charge more or less for the same things, so it’s important to go over your options when you can. In a case like this, he’s the only merchant at the pier with clothes, so our hands were tied.”

“This didn’t cost a lot, did it?” I asked.

“Not at all. But that’s your first and only free pass with money. Once you’re on campus your food and housing is paid for, but anything that isn’t essential to your survival is going to come out of your own pocket, so I’d consider how you can make more money without compromising your studies.”

“Got it.” I nodded. “Thank you for this. But, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” he responded. I looked to both sides and spun in place to look behind me before continuing.

“Before we left, I overheard you talking to my mom about something I’m not supposed to know yet. Then there’s the talk about the deity who killed the Emperors’ grandchild.” I swallowed hard before continuing. “I just wanted to mention. I had a dream this morning where I was fighting something similar to that description. And with the fact that I know you’re not telling me something, I have to start to wonder whether or not that means something or if it was just a dream.”

He stayed silent for a few minutes, but I could see him crossing his arms and rolling his neck, probably trying to figure out how to describe whatever this was to me. After he sighed, he started to walk off to the side of the pier toward the ship we came in on. I followed.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t have to worry about this until you were older, but I suppose if you already overheard, I can’t leave you curious or you wouldn’t be focused on anything.” he began. “What did you overhear specifically?”

“Something about Saoirse.” I continued. “That’s all I heard though.”

“Alright.”  he inhaled deeply before continuing. “We were discussing a weapon, actually. It’s called Saoirse’s Kiss. Have you heard of it?”

“I think so?” I tilted my head and crossed my arms. “Is that the sword that Saoirse created for her mortal warrior?”

“Yeah.” he said, a slightly more serious tone than I was used to in his response. “The sword is actually now in my possession, and I give it to each descendent of that warrior when they’re of age to handle the responsibility it comes with.”

I immediately knew where this was going, but stayed silent. 

“You’re going to inherit the sword next, when you’re old enough to understand the weight of it. Just as your father did.”

“I-” I cut myself off. “Now, I’m fine with that explanation, and thank you for being honest with me, but-” and then he cut me off.

“I know. That’s a lot to take in at your age. That’s why I was waiting to tell you. But since you already knew there was something being kept from you, it would have come out eventually. For now, and until you’re given the sword, I’d like it if you could just live your life like a normal person.”

“I think I understand.” I said, uncrossing my arms and bowing in thanks. “I won’t press the issue. But that doesn’t explain the dream at all, and I think my head’s spinning from all the new things I’ve learned today.”

“That, I don’t have an answer for.” he was blunt, but I appreciated that. “It could be coincidence, but just in case it isn’t, we should have a talk with the Headmistress of the Arcane courses when we arrive on campus so she can give her input.”

“Headmistress?” I asked.

“Yes. You know her as Jamie Faye, the Goddess of Destruction.”