Chapter 1
Astreae:
Magic twisted through the cracks of the earth, one that most people would step over and disregard, but in this place, it was almost unheard of. This place was known as the pinnacle of civilization, with its golden statues of its council members standing proudly and glistening like the golden sun; pixies would often dance around them, showing just how much they idolized such an extravagant object. These statues alone would frequently put other nations to shame, a shame that perhaps they didn’t get the idea of doing such a foolish thing first.
But soon, the large statues morphed into a large fire and the pixies into faceless beings with masks, adorned by many exotic kaleidoscopic jewels that people who saw them for the first time would assume that their eyes were playing tricks on them; they were outlandish to me. Unfortunately, I knew my place amongst people like them, beneath the very ground they wandered on; blood often ran thick through one’s veins, telling ancient tales of generals winning wars to commoners assassinating council members; each person held a story, one that they might share with you if you say the correct words. If one were to ask me how I thought about such a thing, it would be absurd; after all, we are individual creatures and beings and should live as such. The faceless beings wrapped their crooked fingers around my arms from different directions; it felt not only as if they were trying to rip me apart, but there was something else: something dark. They dropped me in front of a beggar before I could respond to the action. He wore a shawl made with the finest silk that coins could buy, yet he raised his hands to the heavens and begged, his eyes showing no emotion or kindness. Have the gods not blessed him enough? Aged coin, extravagant crystals, and expensive silks surrounded him, wondering why they didn’t catch the being’s attention.
Finding the strength that had been gone far too long, I stood up with a groan, watching as the strange man faded into nothing more than ash; the wind carried and cradled as if it had lost one of its children; unfortunately, such a tragic yet beautiful scene everything faded. I now stood in the square once more, surrounded by these ludicrous statues of gold, except this time they were in different poses; they looked at me; I knew that look far too well. After all, that is how most people had seen me: nothing more than a lone pebble on the ground. Whispers filled my ears. I knew this language, but even I couldn’t make out the words; I needed to say something, anything. Opening my mouth to speak, I realized I had no words to say; the struggle to find my voice was overwhelming, a feeling I despised the most. They gradually raised their arm towards me, gold ground against gold, and flaked off, only to plunge to the barren earth below me, their whispers growing louder and louder. I don’t know what they’re saying; what are they trying to tell me? Boisterous laughter erupted from their mouths, which soon dripped with liquid gold before a large tower stood proudly before me. It shined gloriously, made from the finest of silver, the brightest of golds, and wrapped in the rarest of silks; I was dumbfounded. Yet, something inside of me wasn’t impressed; it was too grand. The sun that was once in the sky looking down upon the scene slowly began to fall, though as it neared its love, the moon, the tower started to crack and break, filling the air with a sickening hiss.
With growing wide eyes, my heart sank to the pit of my stomach. I could feel myself picking my legs up, but I stood in place when I looked down. It felt like the magic that threaded through this place was dark, and I wanted this to happen to me. What kind of deviant magic was flowing so freely in this place? The longer I was here, the more I didn’t understand what was happening. I did the only thing I knew I could; I raised my arms and shielded them over my head as if such a poor act could protect me.
But as the tower soon came down, I felt nothing. I noticed that the statues, which had once mockingly stood with their arms raised, were now gone, and black ash took its place. The lowering sun did very little to help me see through this, but there was something out there, something watching my every inquisitive move. From the ash, a sinister smile revealed itself, and although its silhouette could be made out, it was too dark for distinct features to be discerned. I took a step forward with a deep inhale, noticing that the magic that once held me so firmly wasn’t there anymore. I tilted my head to the side before focusing on the task at hand. As I approached, I noticed the person’s unnatural smile had transformed into glowing demonic eyes filled with disdain, yet there was something familiar and welcoming about them. I needed to know what it was; they could answer some of the questions that flooded my mind.
Cautiously, I reached forward, feeling the creature’s breath dance across my knuckles. It was cold and left blisters in its wake, but I didn’t feel pain; I felt a welcoming warmth. The moment I was centimeters away from getting my questions answered, I felt a strong force jerk my hand back and shout. The words were distant. It echoed through my mind. Why can I not understand anything going on? Then, the corner of my eye caught a glint of white. A sword? When the stranger brought the sword into the ash, the sun took this opportunity to bleed through every dark aperture, allowing the pixies to dance joyously, getting rid of the shadows. The creature that growled and snarled screeched, a screech that sent a shiver up my spine, and goosebumps filled my body; this wasn’t welcoming. This was a creature straight from the very depths of hell, a sight that filled me with suspense about what it would do to me.
Looking back, I glanced at the person who thought he was my savior. I gasped, another faceless person. I massaged my temples; my head was beginning to throb; this had to have been something I hadn’t had in many moons—a vision. Returning my attention to the faceless being. Much like the creature, he had something cold; he was staring at me as if he knew me personally. I also knew this person but couldn’t remember his name; too many things were going on.
The person, or what I assumed was a person, raised their hand. I flinched and saw what he could do, but instead, he placed it gently on my cheek. His touch was warm, gentle-safe. I could feel what he was feeling. Is this what one calls longing? He slid his hand to the back of my head and pulled me towards him, pressing his forehead against mine. The minute I felt completely safe in his embrace, he pulled away and brought my hand to my eyes, revealing that he had left something behind. A ring with leaves cradling rubies, the way the sun reflected off of it, reflections pranced; finding the words I wanted to ask, he left.
With a jolt, I sprang up and immediately placed my fingertips on the side of my head, a throbbing headache soon becoming known. I could still feel the blistering heat against my skin. I wanted to think more about this, but the combination of exhaustion and a dreadful headache made comprehending my dream nearly impossible. Maybe it was best that I roll over and try and go back to sleep; maybe in my dreams, I would have the answers I seek. Rolling over, I tucked my cold pillow below me and closed my eyes, already feeling my headache begin to wane, but before I could get too excited, the door to my room slammed open.
“Rise and shine, it’s a beautiful day to do what we do best! Steal from the rich, rub it in their faces maybe even have the ol’ ax leave a nice little message behind!” I knew that voice far too well; that was Einar-some scruffy man I met along my travels. He was a short, stocky dwarf, but did he know how to use his ax. If I remember correctly, he even gave it a name; I remember it like yesterday. We were all in a tavern talking about our many adventures when Einar tried manipulating everyone with his outlandish tales. Once I spoke to him for the first time, it felt like we were two old friends getting together over a drink, and ever since then, we haven’t left each other’s side.
“Please just ten more minutes, ” I murmured. I could hear the heels of his boots getting closer to my bed. I knew what he was going to do, and therefore, I was going to prepare myself. I dug my nails into the blanket and brought it over my head, just waiting for the moment for him to tear it away.
“I don’t think I asked! Amate told me to wake you up and you know how she is when she loses her temper.” He shivered. Unfortunately, what he said about Amate was true. She was a hellspawn, the definition of striking beauty and grace, but if one person had been fooled by that and decided to poke her in the wrong way, she would make them pay. If I were to be honest with myself, she also frightens me.
With a defeated sigh, I opened my eyes and looked at the wall, taking in the way the paint was just beginning to chip. “Tell her I’ll be out in a few minutes.” It seemed that Einar knew precisely what I was thinking. For the moment I let down my guard, he clenched onto the blanket and ripped it away from my body. The cold air made my body shiver; if only he would’ve just walked out of the bedroom and left me alone. Before I could open my mouth to shout, he grabbed my hand and jerked on it, encouraging me to get out of bed.
“Up and at’em.” I knew that fighting him was pointless; he would win either way.
“I’m going, I’m going.” Once I found the energy to stand up, I sauntered towards the door with a lopsided smile; I could smell what Amate was cooking, and oh, did it smell delicious. Feeling a new sense of vitality, I skipped to the kitchen. I knew I was close the moment I saw an ace-shaped tail swaying from side to side; within seconds, there stood Amate with an adorable apron on and humming a quiet tune to herself. As much as people had feared her, I included, she acted like a mother and, in doing so, would very much discipline like one.
“You’re late,” her voice was stern, yet monotone at the same time, “hopefully the vendors didn’t pack up their things due to someone wanting to sleep in.” I could feel my eyebrow twitch the moment her words reached my ears. Did she have to talk to me like this so early in the morning? The birds and people were beginning to wake up. Rubbing the back of my head, I grumbled; this was becoming tiresome to deal with, but it wasn’t her fault. I have to remind myself that that was the case.
“Amate please, you know how things go some nights.” I yawned. Grabbing my plate of food, I sat at the table, taking in how the chair screeched under my weight; perhaps it’s time that we invest in another one. Digging into the food, I groaned in delight; so many flavors coated my tongue. She was always the better cook between us.
“Is it safe to assume it was a nightmare?”
“Yeah but wait until I tell you about this one I-” She would probably think I was crazy; after all, it wasn’t like the other visions I’ve previously had in the past. “On second thought maybe it’s best that I just go about my day and act as if nothing ever happened.” With a shrug, I suddenly went stiff; I could feel the woman’s eyes pierce the side of my head. I should’ve kept my mouth shut and continued to eat this amazing breakfast she had prepared.
“Unfortunatly I know how you act when you don’t desire for me to push for answers therefore I’m not going to, but remember what to get at the market later.” She snapped her fingers.” I added another item to the list please don’t forget it.” She wiped her hands on her apron before turning around altogether to look me in the eye; this was something serious. “What you need to do is pick up some herbs, there were some peasants that came to me in the early hours needing them.” I never liked the sound of that; not only did she need them when I knew we had plenty of them, but it also meant that something went down while I was sleeping, making my vision all the more strange. Unfortunately, knowing a few people around here, they weren’t going to open their mouths and tell me what was going on; nobody could even fathom doing such a thing.
“I’m assuming that you didn’t get any information from them?” I asked, knowing the answer. But it didn’t hurt to try.
“Actually, to my surprise, I did get a bit of information, though it isn’t much; it’s better than nothing.” Now, this just got a lot more interesting. And judging by her facial expressions, she was equally surprised.
“You have my attention.” I encouraged her to continue and leaned my elbows against the table.
“They spoke of some hooded figure arriving late in the evening, though there’s nothing out of the ordinary about that for recently there’s been many merchants.” She rubbed her chin. I guess I can be a bit curious about that.
