The sun had set. It was the time of day, creeping in between noon and night. Myrid had brought Castar and Era home. Even as Ogrida pretended her thoughts were with her granddaughter about bringing strangers to the house, she wondered if her house was becoming a motel. She did not respond, but the thought never left her mind. Several times she wanted to talk to Myrid about it, but thought she should respect her reasons.She knew Myrid too well to know that she could only make responsible decisions, and if she trusted her, she would walk into an ocean if Myrid told her it was the right thing to do.Castar sat on the bed and Ogrida cleaned the blood off him. As she cleaned him, she kept wondering why people would not stop attacking such a humble boy. She thought for a few moments before she thought it was okay to ask him the same question.“Son,” she said to him as the pile of cloth sucked in warm water from the bowl that stood between Castar’s palms.“Why you? Why do not they stop chasi
. . . . . . . . . . .C A R T À. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[O G R I D A’S H O U S E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He took a deep breath. His eyes reddened. What Era had just told him weighed on his shoulders? He felt them drop with depression. He was told that he was the key: the one who would decide whether the border remained closed or open. He thought about everything, not knowing when his simple life had become so complicated. To think how quickly things had changed.Era was still sitting next to him on the log they had sat on earlier. The moon had risen so high above their heads."Are you all right?" she asked, but Castar did not answer. He was silent, gazing into the distance. He was too absorbed in his thoughts to hear anything."Castar," she whispered.He heard her call, though it was not as loud as the first. He had nothing to say, wishing he could close his eyes, open them again, and begin life anew in a place where there w
It was overwhelming. He felt the tension. Several thoughts flooded his head, and he did not know which one to give his attention to. . .He asked himself so many questions at the same time, and some of these questions had no answer. He felt like he was losing his mind. . .He drew his eyelids over his eyeballs only for what seemed like a second. And when he opened them again, darkness filled his eyes. The moon was no longer in his field of vision, nor did he feel the cool night breeze brushing his skin. He knew what it was; he knew where he was; he was just waiting for confirmation.“Malak!”Yes, that. That voice was what he had been waiting for. He thought about how quickly it came over him. He could have sworn he had not even fallen asleep before it crept up on him.“It’s almost time!” It said to him.“Time for what? I do not know what you are talking about,” Castar thought and heard it.“You will know when the time comes, and your blood will guide you,” it said. Castar thought abou
The horse neighed when it saw Castar. He found this abnormal; he was not used to hearing that kind of sound from a horse's mouth when he tried to touch it. His hands ran through the horse's coat as he thought about the dream he had last night. He brought the horse out of the stall and packed up his things; a jar of water, the psychís and a loaf of bread.He thought of something; he thought of what the voice of darkness had said to him. He remembered he had made a deal with it. He did not know what he had to do, but he knew he had taken something on himself. What it was, he looked at it and could have figured it out without having to make that deal. He regretted it and wondered why he had made that decision.He was not sure if he was welcome to take a horse from Ogrida's stable, but he knew he had to. He could not make the journey he was about to make without a horse.He wanted to get away, away from everyone, realizing he was a danger to everyone around him. That was why he had woken
It was indeed a lonely ride. Why should it not be? It was dawn, only half the time. He did not care about the loneliness; he wanted it all to end. He wanted to stay away, and the only place he found isolated enough was at the top of the hill, a place where no one would go easily. He believed that was the best place to be if he wanted to stay away from the rest of the world.His eyes wandered the moment he heard his name from the distance. He knew who it was that was calling him. He realized Era was after him. She had not seen him, but she heard his horse's feet as they crunched across the rocky ground near to her. She must have ridden faster than Castar to close the distance between them in no time. Era was not ready to give up yet. She rode on, and when she knew Castar would never answer her call, she took a different route. She knew the land well enough; it was near to her home. The route she followed crossed Castar's route at the point he had not reached. Era reached the point wh
They approached the hill. They had spent a whole day crossing all the lands to the north. Now they had reached their goal. Their eyes tracked the mighty hill from its base until their gaze was lost in the sky. They were both nervous. They stopped talking the moment they were close enough to see the base of the mountain.Castar felt something on his upper arm, and when he looked up, he saw a bug fly away. He looked Era in the eye, and she shook her head. He had hinted at something she did not want to believe."No, it means nothing. It's just an insect wandering around," she said and he stopped."You know what it means. It's not a good sign," he said, and she interrupted him."What are you implying?" she asked. Of course, she knew what he was implying. She just did not want to give any room for negative thoughts."You can not pretend that everything is fine, because it's not," he said, and Era ignored him.She walked past him and started down the path. They reached the bottom of the hil
And there he was. Castar saw a man with a golden spear come up behind Baraka from nowhere and ram the spear through his back into his chest. Baraka coughed blood as he fell to his knees and let go of Era. Castar broke free from the position he was trapped in at that moment and ran to Era to see if she was alright. She only had bruises on her neck."Are you alright?" Callagh asked and Era nodded, massaging her neck."Who is that?" Castar whispered into Era's ear, referring to the man with the golden staff."Callagh," she said, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He pulled her back to her feet, and they both watched as he plunged the spear into Baraka's chest for the second time. The light in Baraka's eyes went out, and they resumed their normal color. His mouth was open and a yellowish smoke escaped from his mouth. Callagh knelt beside him and pulled his eyelids shut.Era walked up to him and looked down at Baraka's body."He's dead, is not he?" she asked, and he nodded."That means Castar
The reddening of the eyes killed the green light in his eyes permanently. It was a change. A kranian who had red eyes is one that had taken a soul. It is a significant aspect of coming of age.Malak smelled the blood on the blade and smiled. His eyes were no longer the usual shade of brown - his normal eye colour - but had turned red like Baraka's (when he was not hosting). Malak was in full control. His grief was gone, the pain, the guilt, the conscience, everything was gone.He knelt beside Baraka's body and placed two fingers on his forehead, reviving him. It seemed Callagh only killed the soul Baraka was hosting and not Baraka's own soul. A Kranian who was hosting another soul would have needed to be killed twice.Baraka opened his eyes and his wounds were healed. The psychís glowed as Baraka sat up, and the red light in his eyes was rekindled."Malak! You are now worthy to be called Varata's son," Baraka said to him and Malak nodded."I am sorry you lost your brother's soul, but
. . . . . . . . . .R I T O R À. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A L D É R I S’ H O U S E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The sound of the cockcrow from a distance hit Isher's ears and his eyes opened. His eyes first met the wall that was staring back at him, and when he turned around, he saw Zyra sitting beside him on the bed. Zyra smiled at him, and it gladdened his heart to be showered with so much love. He had missed all of these as a boy, because Castar was always there to steal it from him, but now he was a grown man, and even at this, it still brought smile to his face. The smile on his face ceased after a thought came to him. The love was there, he was getting everything he ever wanted —everything that had ever made him jealous— but he was not fulfilled. Zyra noticed how fast the smile on Isher's face ceased, and she was surprised —wondering of she did something wrong. Isher's attention was drawn from her and his eyes wander
C A T A N I S — R I T O R ÁY I L L I U S’ T A V E R NThe night was a busy one in ritorà, especially In a place like this. Yilius’ Tavern was extremely loud this night, nothing close to the usual. It amazed even Yilius himself. He was so surprised that many customers were still patronizing him even till that time of the night. The night was also not young at this time, Yillius stood behind his counter, letting his eyes wander as he takes note of all the customers that were present. All of the regular ones were present, and he also saw faces that were not that familiar. They were a couple of new faces there, and he knew from that moment that his business was indeed flourishing. He brought out his pouch and pulled it open, what caught his eyes brought a huge smile upon his face. There were lots and lots of money, in fact, he had not made such an amount in months. To him, it was definitely the best day of his life that year. He closed his eyes and took time to smell the coins afte
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .L A K E O F Z U B R I S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[ T R I N I K A, M E T R A ]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .K I T A’S H U T. . . . . . . . . . . . . .The sun spilled across Trinika, and it blinded Era as she walked through the door. Trailing her behind was Kitá. She stood by the door, and Era turned to her after stepping away from the door. “You have been like a sister to me. I won't forget you in a hurry. Keep learning so you would teach me more from where we stop, only if we meet again,” Era said, and she embraced Kitá. Kitá Pat her back twice and and broke from the embrace. She grabbed Era’s shoulders tightly. . .“Surely, we will meet again. Fate will permit our paths to cross some time in the future, and then I can teach you how to discharge,” Kitá said to her and she turned towards Lyris after she gave
. . . . . . . . . .R I T O R À. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A L D É R I S’ H O U S E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A sound hit the front door of the house, and Zyra woke up from her slumber. She had not had a good night rest in a while, and last night was different. She just made up her mind to stop grieving her sons. Garissa’s words finally managed to sink deep into her.Zyra brought down her legs from the bed and the cold floor grazed her feet as she stood up and went for her door. . .“Garissa, Is that you?” She asked and before she could say another word, she head a loud sound again, and to her it almost sounded like someone was throwing himself at the door. She made her way out of the passage that led to her room, and she went to the sitting room quickly and walked up to the door. “Who’s that?” She asked, but got no response. . .Her hands curled up around the handle of the door and she turned slightly and pulled towards herse
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .L A K E O F Z U B R I S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[ T R I N I K A, M E T R A ]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .K I T A’S H U T. . . . . . . . . . . . . .The three of them sat by the fire. A fire was lit in their midst to provide them with warmth in the cold night. The night was no longer young, it had grown old into the dark. The sounds of the stubborn insects was all they heard. Kitá’s gaze was on the burning woods as she waited for Lyris’ next question. Lyris had been throwing questions at her, some of which she could not answer, because she genuinely did not know what to say. She was able to answer so many others, but that was not enough. Lyris wanted to be sure she was to be trusted. Like Lyris said, she deemed the magic that Kitá was harnessing to be evil, and the fact that she was comfortable with teaching
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S O U T H L A N D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .D I G A R. . . . . . . . .S Y R N E M P I R E * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *M A L A K’S C H A M B E R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The night wind blew across Malak's face as it journeyed through the window of the top floor into his chamber. It was so strong and cold that it blew off the only source of light in the room which was the lantern by the table beside the bed. . .Even as the wind was cool, it could not dry up the beads of sweat that formed incessantly on Malak's forehead. His eyelids fluttered violently and his subconscious felt the urge to burst them open and meet the actual world he was in.The breathe in his lungs thickened and the panting persisted. He was scared, even in his subconscious —his subconscious is not aware of how powerful he is in the outside world. He was just like a child to the vision that struck his subconscious mind, and he wa
L A K E O F Z U B R I S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[ T R I N I K A, M E T R A ]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .K I T A’S H U T. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lyris placed two fingers on Era’s forehead, and Era screamed in pain. Kitá tried to go after Lyris, but she was sent to sleep with a spell line that came out of Lyris’ mouth. . .Era’s eyes tore open that very moment, and she felt a sharp burn in her head as fragments of her lost memories began to assemble back in her head slowly, and then some moments after, it came in a flash, and she could remember every single thing she was not able to remember, including the day she killed Callagh to save Castar, and the bitter moment in all that was the part where she saw Castar pushed her off the hill.Lyris released her from the influence of her magic. Her eyes watered as she saw Lyris in tears. Lyris was in such great pain. She went through Era’s memories as well and she saw the image of the time Era pl
7 D A Y S A F T E R T H E S E I G E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .L A K E O F Z U B R I S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[ T R I N I K A, M E T R A ]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .K I T A’S H U T. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Era had been practicing. She was now skilled in two areas. It was not an easy road, but she believed it was worth the struggle. She was halfway through the process of harnessing the magic, and the only step she had not learn yet was the process of discharging, that was the actual point where the magic would be put into use. Assimilating and storing without learning how to discharge it was useless.Kitá was so impressed with the fact that Era had learnt so much even while she was recovering. Era had not retrieved her memories yet, but she was physically strong. She could do all manner of trainings that Kitá made her go through, some of which she performed excellently well and wondered how she
* * * * * * * * F Y R M O T, * * * * * * * *[ A L A N D T O T H E E A S T OF E A S T L A N D ]* * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *N I N I A S, F Y R M O T* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *There was silence, and only the sound of the disturbed waters stood dominant. The morning sky was pale, and there were few clouds that stood noticeable. The water that rested under the sky above Fyrmot was, well, the only source of water in the whole of Fyrmot. . .Fyrmot was only an outskirt of the great desert of Deñark, and for this, it only escaped the wrath of the sands by accident —causing the land to be dry in every other region apart from the small water body that was found at the edge of Eastland.A pale young woman who had just clad herself in an attire made of black leather, had just walked out from within the sea, and no single drop of water dripped from her hair. Her pupils emitted a bright blue light, and her hair had not lost its sheen.She looked around to see if anyone had s