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“Well, it does look like something… er… sophisticated,” but how would I ever manage all this? The moment I try to use it I will kill myself, so the enemy won’t even have to attack,” I still had doubt whether I would ever learn how to use the weapon.
“Don’t worry. I have talked to Yoos. He will teach you. By the way, we designed these together. Yoos told me that you are no good in a close fight, not strong enough… So you will need a weapon to keep the enemy at bay. One of the advantages these blades offer is the surprise effect. The enemy will never even imagine you get him before he comes close enough. This is first. And second… Take the blade,” Truvle ordered quitting hold of one the chains. “What do you say now?”
I bent down and took the blade carefully. It was cold and smooth, with the pattern playing at the intersection of the two metals. As I was moving it in my hand, I could feel the gravity center change…
“Mercury inside?” I asked knowing already I hit the bull’s eye.
“Yes, a little cavity with mercury,” he smiled. “It will bring more precision to your attack.”
And then he struck the other blade into a wooden shield on the wall. The chain shot, and the claw gave a bang as it stuck into the wood. Given the way his face changed, he had definitely targeted a different part of the shield.
“Wow! Yeah! That’s what you call precision, huh?” I was sarcastic.
“Well, my hands are good for a different type of craft, but Yoos was really great with this stunt,” the blacksmith tried to explain even though very much confused. And then, as he gained more confidence, he added, “I think you will learn quickly!”
I couldn’t fully share his optimism, but of course, I was happy to get the gift.
“Who knows… Ok, we’ll see what we’ll see…”
When about to go back, I cast another glance at the bracelet with the blue topaz in the center again and asked, “And what happens to those who take it with no permission?”
“The effect is like that from the bite of a deep-bottom cobra,” Truvle’s voice reached me from the closet – he was producing something out of it.
I had a look full of respect at the seemingly innocent thing. Yes, that was a real protection
against a thief or an enemy. The deep-bottom cobra poison means a slow and painful death. It never kills the prey immediately but makes its flesh go rotten slowly. A Vernor is a vengeful weapon…
“What’s the name you put to it?” I could not get why but for some reason the gem stirred a lot of interest inside me. Just one glance was enough to send me burning with a desire to touch it… Even though I did not realize the reason behind it.
“I can’t say, Ricka,” Truvle apologized. “Not this time, please. It’s only the future owner and myself who can know the name. This is not a conventional Vernor. It has a magic artifact in it,” he pointed to the gem, “anyone who gets to know the name can take it and control the gem’s power. When the customer comes to pick it, I’ll have to drink the oblivion elixir to forget the name forever. That’s part of the client’s terms.”
I whistled in surprise. “Not a common order, I see.”
“Yes, I got quite a fee for it,” he said thoughtfully. “’I’m going to start a new shop somewhere closer to Karun. This one is too old, falling apart…”
I smiled here – this shop was built once as a little fortress and pulling it down would prove no easy job. Of course, he wanted to get closer to us to have more visitors than just customers. Besides, Truvle was a stubborn guy, so he still hoped to conquer the witch’s heart.
“Well, and I won’t have to run long ways then, so we’ll be here, just a stone’s throw away! I guess Nargara will love the idea,” I chuckled as I shoved the blades into the sheath, which I had on my belt, and which I had taken from the same box I got from Truvle.
He was a bit embarrassed and gave me a broad smile. “It’s a deal, then. I’ll get the shop somewhere close to your home and move there around fall. Ready to give me a hand choosing the place?”
“Sure! Any time you need”.
“Great!” he drew a sigh and rubbed his hands with relief.
“Truvle, I got to be going now. Want to get home before nightfall”.
“Of course, it’s time, yes… And this is for Elcha. I don’t want her to have her lips pursed seeing your blades and left with no treat from me.”
I took the boxes and put them into my worn-to-the-thread bag.
Coming out of the forge, I had a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, which was especially sweet after the smith’s heated workshop. Saying another Goodbye to Truvle and kissing him in his scrubby unshaven cheek, I moved back, gaining a decent speed as soon as a few seconds later. The world around was floating by, as usual, just zipping past me. When I
heard the blacksmith’s fading voice from behind “Take care, Ricka!” I once again waved my hand and speeded up.
The Bird with a Sting
Already at sunset I was at a fork, where one of the roads led to Karun. Further there, beyond the hill, a beautiful view of a mountain gorge opened up, which I had always admired for its unbelievable beauty, and my expectations were not upset again. Just as soon as I climbed the pass, I could see that unique landscape.
The entire gorge was filled with the rays of the Sun that was already leaving. The crimson light played all of its shades on the cliffs. The valley below was carpeted with young spring greens. The entire right side was fields, and left, as if climbing a cliff, was Karun. The city resembled a large cluster of mushrooms clinging closely to a mountain ledge next to the roaring monster – Karhus Fall. Karhus in the Ancient language meant Thunderous, but the locals, who had long been accustomed to its frightening view, nicknamed it The Noiser.
The fall poured out in a powerful stream right behind the city, with an impressive lake under itself, which further let out a silver snake – a river stretching around the local rock and running far to the western part of the valley.
That might seem quite a questionable settlement. However, the people of water could never stay away from their own element, which was a vital feeder for the sorcerers. And in case there was no magic, then no crop could be grown, no Temple could be built, and even running common life would be much tougher. Generally speaking, there were more pros than cons, so to say.
I went down the hill to the main gate, and the sound of wind in my ears gave way to the blurred sounds of the urban rush. Conversations, laughter, creaking carts, mooing cattle returning from pastures…
There, from the turret above the gate, a voice came, “Hey, Ricka!”
Judging by the voice, it was Prit. And right behind him I could hear more young male voices shouting their Hallos to me. The guard must have just made a shift change, because it was Yoos’s squad who were on duty in the morning. Not even looking back, I waved a hand to them and hurried on. Darting through the square, the bazaar and another half of the place, I ended up
in the upper neighborhood, where we lived.
Our home was there, a little away, at the very top of the slope. Despite so many buildings nearby, the large glade around our home was empty, and it looked like no one was going to claim a spot on it. There were no fools dreaming of living next door to the witch, especially after last fall’s incident when the roof on this very house was demolished – Elcha had mistaken an elixir. Nargara loved experiments, and we tried to never lag too much behind.
In general, we had more than enough sorts of incidents while mastering the witch craft. Once, Elcha and I even occasionally turned all the local white sheep soft purple. The two of us really liked it, but we could never see why all the people around didn’t. Later, however, a rumor reached us that the purple wool sold twice as expensive in the capital town’s markets, but we still caught hell from Nargara for that sort of performance.
I ran in when the Sun was already dim and twilight descended into the valley.
In the living room, as usual, some people were sitting and waiting patiently for their turn. The door to the witch’s room was closed, which meant some work was underway, and there was no way to disturb her. A little further, there was a staircase leading to the second floor, which I took to rush into my sister’s room.
Elcha was on the floor, reading something. When I swung open the door, she jumped up and shoved her reading under the bed, pushing it with her foot even further, just in case.
“Phew! You scared me to death! Ever heard about knocking first?” she grumbled. “I thought it was Mammy.”
“Reading again something you aren’t supposed to! You’ll be for it one day, Elcha! And me, too, for covering you.”
“C’mon! Cut the whining!” she waved me off. “Better see what I got!”
She got under the bed to produce a little book all covered in Runes. Right in the center you could see the Water symbol.
“Experimenting again? This is water magic! What’s your use of it?”
“And here’s the use!” she said as if instructing me. “This is a guidebook to water magic for kids. It shows how to make up and use the most common spells. And here’s what I think, why not try and use this scheme to build fire streams? I’m gonna try it with the symbols I found in our books … Just imagine I succeeded! I’ve already learnt how to have fire on my hands, and the last time I even could light a torch…”
“Better keep that fire away from home,” my look was full of reprimand.
“Ricka, I’ll be the soul of prudence. Just let me try, half effect…” she was begging now.
“I told you!” I pointed. “And don’t forget to have a bucket of water at hand when running your experiments. I know your crazy ways… Get your room burnt down – I will never let you set your foot in mine!”
Yes, we both were firesses, which means with due training we could make good fire sorcerers, both endowed with the capacity at least.
But what training could a Tars get in the World of Water? Next to none! Just because there was nobody to teach you properly. Especially in this middle-of-nowhere. The only magic you could get here was the Water magic. Moreover, Nargara never talked much about our abilities saying that people were the same everywhere, and they wouldn’t be particularly happy to do business with someone belonging to an opposite magic type, nor would they ever trust them that much.
In cities like Ozeron or Targeld, everyone was used to those belonging to different other elements, while in province prejudice was still strong. And Nargara believed it might pose a serious risk to work. My speed was perceived by all as a manifestation of the Water magic; watermen happened to have some control over the time pace. And Elcha, too, knew a couple of tricks, so generally everyone was pretty happy.
At times, though, Nargara seemed to be going too far with all this secrecy and was too much meticulous with the entire issue. I was especially curious why she would always use lots of herbs to dye our natural fiery-red hair attaching to it some gold-copper shade, which was more typical of the Highlands. I couldn’t get how it might ever affect customers’ satisfaction yet I did not dare to argue with Mammy.
“Here. Truvle got this for you,” and I pulled the birch box out of my bag.
In a split second Elcha was next to me, bobbing up and down in anticipation. She snatched the gift from my hands and it took her only one flash-like movement to drop all the contents onto her bed.
The gift turned out to be a finely made bird with a long tail, studded with gems and decorated with patterns. The only point was that the bird’s head was missing. Elcha and I stared at each other, both puzzled.
I took the box from my sister’s hands, and feeling that there was something behind it all, tapped the bottom. The missing part dropped on the bed. The bird’s head transformed smoothly into a small dagger, thin and sharp, made of the same star ore casting its bright highlights.
“What is it?” Elcha gasped.
I picked both parts and found the groove joining them together. The dagger entered the
sheath… Click! The two parts became one.
“Hairpin,” I said, still examining the thing. “That’s what you call the Master Truvle style. Typical!”
An outside man would never get to the secret in this little thing.
Elcha took the hairpin and looked closely at it. She then pressed softly the bird’s eye, a green piece, and pulled it. Click! The blade yielded and came back smoothly.
“Wow!” she exclaimed, and just next moment her hair was already gathered in a bundle fixed with the gift.
She circled in front of the mirror in admiration. But then she froze settling her enthusiastic gaze on my face.
“And you? What did he give to you?”
I could not help smiling as I held the cloak open. Elcha screamed as she swept her eyes over the daggers. “Show them to me! Show! Any secret, too?”
“Yes, here,” I exposed the blades and let the chains out trying to be as cautious as I could. That made my sister’s eyes pop even more, and even more questions showered on me.
I told her about Truvle’s making an ass of me, and how I witnessed a Vernor being made. Elcha was listening, all absorbed in the story and looking at the daggers with her eyes full of dreams.
But then her face grew dark and she added, in a quite serious voice, “Nargara must have been really scared then, so even I have to get a gift with a sting now.”
Despite her young age and talkative nature, Elcha had an amazing capacity to notice, at certain points, the very essence of things.
“Yes, really scared…” I confirmed thoughtfully. “And now I have to learn from Yoos how to manage these claws. But you know, this is all the better… Much better than feeling helpless… Right now I can do nothing but run away, and this, as it turned out, does not always help.”
Elcha’s face got totally grim.
“Let’s drop this! I do hope I’ll never again meet such terrible creatures!” I shivered at the memories that proved so unexpectedly sharp and fresh, then hugged my sister and pulled her closer.
“The best part is that you are alive and it’s all over,” she said quietly, as she was stroking my hair. For a moment it felt like I was her baby sister, and not the other way round.
The Training
Next morning, Nargara got us up at dawn, so two red arrows started dashing around the house and the area, busy with the instructions we got. Elcha went to the meadows to collect herbs.
Me, having filled a bag, rushed around the customers to deliver elixirs, drugs and ice-messages – efils.
Efils are small round bubbles with water frozen inside. In ancient times, the Watermen, experts in this element, discovered a very peculiar feature about the liquid – it can perceive, accumulate and store the information transmitted to it.
However, this feature is not so easy to use. The fact is that water records everything, and it is nearly impossible to isolate the right piece of information from the abundance of it coming in.
Many centuries ago, though, some Elses managed to solve the problem. They had tried hard and long before they developed a spell that could help freeze water so that it did not melt back even when subjected to the worst heat. Little by little, this knowledge spread around, and the exchange of liquid messages got its leading role.
To begin with, the native element was more familiar, more convenient and faster to use.
Second, the pictures and images were very accurate here, which could not be done through conventional handwritten letters. With proper skill, actually, you can charge an efil even with the subtlest emotion – your feelings, smell perception, sounds, visual images and fantasies. In other words, the whole range of sensations in a single small bubble.
Third, water messages can be better and easier protected compared to paper. This technology has been improved through ages, and every sorcerer now has excelled in this just as the whim takes them.
I heard that in the capital, Ozeron, there is the Efillit, a large crystal, which held the records of the entire history, on from the moment the Watermen learnt to use liquids to store information. This huge crystal of frozen clear mountain water is in the heart of the capital, next to Ozirion – the palace where the Lord of the Water World resides. And it never stops growing. Year after year, it expands with the information about all the new developments and changes around the empire. People say that this jumbo can be seen on the Lower Square, standing high above all the houses in the area, always sparkling in the Sun and emitting a slightly white radiance in the night, and remaining ice even in the hottest days. That is definitely magic.
Now, this day I had three efils to deliver. Two had to be taken to customers in Karun, a third one to be taken beyond – to Mount Eagle. There was a guard detachment, which was in charge of the main trade route running around the city and stretching far to the east.
The guards often exchanged messages. Sometimes I had to run delivering efils between the detachments several times a day.
Having delivered the remedies and the ice mail to all the customers, I headed for Mount Eagle, deliberately making it my last destination for the day. That day Yoos was on duty with his squadron, and we had scheduled a training session to practice some hand-to-hand combat.
Actually, I didn’t fancy all those things – they made my whole body hurt afterwards. And Yoos, to put it mildly, never had a heart and would drive me just as much as he did all of his
guys.
But now I did not just run there, but I flew, with a bright picture of my training session circulating all over my mind. And with a real weapon in my hands! My own weapon in my own hands!
The city was already left behind, and the Sun, looking over the mountain range, lit up the road ahead. The day had to be warm.
Several times I came across carts, all creaking under a pile of goods carried for sale. Once I saw a flock of sheep. I swept among them, which scared the poor animals half to death. Frightened, they rushed all different ways, and I could hear a good deal of expletive from the shepherds behind.
A couple of hours later the northern slope of Mount Eagle could be seen. The garrison was in its right part, so I just got round another rock and went straight there.
The Eagle’s Nest fortress seemed relatively small, yet quite strong. It was built of huge gray stones whose color matched the main rock, and which gave the impression that the fort was part of the rock.
Nearby, a cheerful waterfall was running noisily in fast mountain streams. Not as big as in Karun, though, yet showing some strength.
Nargara told once that the fortification was built quite a long time ago, when the trade way running through Karun was much busier, and there were more than a few robbers in the area. No better place for them! Deserted mountains, no guard, lots of carts transporting piles of goods – that’s what paradise for criminals must look like.
The local merchants soon got fed up with the robbers, and after a while, Lord Sakhord – the current ruler’s great-grandfather, ordered several fortresses be built around, with guardians patrolling the entire path far and wide. Two of them were built here in the Highlands – one in Karun, the other – on Mount Eagle.
