Game of Survival

by T R Tells

  “That’s the negativity you were absorbing.”

  The positivity and negativity of her magic were still new to Thea. She wanted to know more about herself, to avoid specific changes that she didn’t want to undergo.

  Thea looked at her apple again and rolled it in her hands. “Can you tell me more about the Roma? About their magic and the in-between state of their positivity and negativity,” she asked, before taking a bite into the juicy, sweet apple.

  “I don’t know much about the Roma, but I do recall that the Roma have more magic in them than just visions or dreams. I’ve seen them use magic for all sorts of things — some can use healing magic, and some even fly! A woman’s magic is called Intuition; a man’s magic is called Trick. But the moment where they absorb the things around them, their magic powers in the in-between state are called Vectors. Fragments are negativity and Linings for positivity.”

  Thea’s eyes widened. “You mean I can develop those powers too? Do all Roma get powers like this? When should my powers start showing?” She bounced up and down in her seat as she rapidly shot more questions at Jiran.

  “I’m not sure. It can vary from person to person. Yours should develop in time,” Jiran smiled. “You may just be a late bloomer.”

  Disheartened, Thea didn’t want to be a late bloomer. She wanted her powers now. She looked down at her lap and fidgeted.

  Jiran could see her disappointment and knew he needed to distract her. “There’s more to being Roma than having powers, Thea. Would you like to know more about your people?” Thea nodded.

  “They’re a fair people. They believe in the equality of both sexes. Some women care for the children, but others fight alongside the men. They’re a bit like the Aegean’s — six-foot tall warrior women that fight like a thousand hungry lionesses.”

  Thea was intrigued and found herself imagining them like Leila in the Femme Fatale’s Dance. While the woman craved the joyous sex of a man, her genuine desire was the intimate feel of a blade in her hands as it sunk deep into her victim’s chest. Though the sex scenes made her feel weird, Thea felt more drawn to the woman using the blade and killing the man.

  “But speaking of the Aegean’s, what was that book that you pulled out to the guard?”

  Thea’s cheeks, filled with apple, burned from the mention of the book that made her feel weird. She chewed the apple slowly before speaking.

  “My friend Maggie found it. We told each other we wouldn’t read it but—”

  “But you got curious?” Thea slowly nodded, ashamed. Jiran chuckled to himself. Thea snapped her head up at him and frowned in anger.

  “D-Don’t laugh! It’s not funny. It felt weird.”

  Jiran chuckled again. “Who said it wasn’t natural? Your body is growing, and you’ll probably be experiencing plenty of changes during your journey of womanhood.”

  Thea chewed on her bottom lip and thought about what he said. The feelings she had were natural? She turned that over and over in her head.

  “And would Ansem be alright with that?”

  “Look, I don’t know much about the Roma’s god, but what I know is that Mundane beings have needs and whatever needs you have Thea, you embrace them. If they make you happy, embrace them. If you don’t embrace the things you want or love, what’s the point in all of this?” He exaggerated as he stretched out his arms wide. Thea knew he didn’t mean the desert, but the world of Middilgard itself.

  “I guess, you have a point.”

  “Of course! Now but let’s rekindle this fire it’s starting to dim.”

  Thea turned her head to see that he was right. The orange fire started to grow low, and she could see several more pairs of eyes beginning to surround them.

  Jiran handed her a stick from the ground, and she took it in her hands. “Poke the logs around a bit and then toss in some more logs, sticks, or leaves, whatever you can find. Never use anything wet.”

  Thea nodded and committed that to her memory. When the fire grew large enough again, the yellow eyes slowly began to fade away until there was nothing in the darkness.

  “Hmm. . . How about I tell you a story? It’s more mythology, really, and it has been passed down for several centuries; you don’t need to be reading those kinds of stories, yet, but I don’t know it might be a bit scary for you.

  “I’m not scared!” Thea piped up, but she furrowed her brow in curiosity and stopped kindling the fire. “But, uh, what’s a Mythology?”

  Jiran chuckled. “Well, different stories that deal with gods and legendary heroes. There were many tales told around campfires, on long journeys too. It wasn’t only a way to past time and create entertainment, but many people believed that these stories were often warnings.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready? He asked and Thea nodded, smiling eagerly.

  “Well, this is entitled, the story of the end of the world. . .” Jiran began speaking,

  “. . .Where once more, brother will fight against brother. And the world will be wrecked. Middilgard will be wrenched by war during the coming of winter. Father’s will slaughter sons; brothers will be drenched in one another’s blood. Mother’s will desert their menfolk and seduce their own sons.

  Fimbulwinter is what it’s called. The winter of winters will grip and throttle Middilgard.

  Fenrir, the Asur god of Nightmare and Creation, will seize the sun between his jaws and swallow it whole. He will spatter the Azure Reach with gore.

  And then warriors and all the gods of the Reach will bear arms and fight against the Asur gods. As the Titans and dragon-snake, Gargan, and all the demons will be unleashed against Middilgard.

  Yadrohk, Father of gods and Creation, and the demon wolf, Fenrir, will be the first to engage and the battle will be fearsome.

  Though in the end, the demon wolf, Fenris, will swallow the Father of gods. That will be the death of Yadrohk.

  And many gods of the Azure Reach will die, and the sun will be dark. There will be no stars in the sky but the Twilight hours.

  The Fractured Realm will be plagued by the Asur demons and the Titans; where the undead will roam free. This shall be the fall of the gods, the fall of the realm, living creatures, and Mundanes; The Twilight of the Gods.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Again, they were up early in the morning before the sky turned pink. Thea lazily waddled up to the wagon, with her eye’s half closed, and a blanket wrapped around her. She stopped in front of Jiran and rubbed her eyes.

  "I'm tired, Jiran. Why are we up so early?" She groaned and pouted, just before his strong hands grabbed her sides and lifted her into the wagon.

  "We have to make haste," Jiran joked. Thea rolled her eyes and adjusted her blanket, making sure it was wrapped securely around her. Jiran's weight on the wagon shifted up and down when he sat. "I'll wake you when we get there."

  Thea nodded off as her eyes drifted closed and within seconds, she was fast asleep.

  "Thea."

  She opened her eyes to see that she was lying down on the wagon bench. She blinked several times to clear the blurriness in her eyes and slowly sat up.

  She grabbed the side of her head, still squinting her eyes, looked around. The sky was a grayish-blue, only several hours had passed, so she could see her surroundings. There wasn't much to look at, the Parsi Desert spread on for miles and the ground was severely dry and cracked. Aside from the small road they traveled on, there was nothing but the sand and the sun that blinded Thea. Occasionally, she would see a cactus or some small prickly bushes. There were also rustic, red eroded mountains that always seemed to be far off in the distance.

  "Why are we out here? There's nothing here. I thought you said that The Citadel was here. I don't see anything but these mountains," she said looking around, just in case she had missed it.

  "That's because . . ." Jiran said and reached out to grab Thea, putting her on the sandy ground. "It's the desert's magic."

  Thea frowned. "The desert's magic. How does a place have magic?" His arms gr
ipped her shoulders and turned her clockwise to get a better look.

  "It's called a mirage. No man, no matter how strong, can journey through it. You have to train and adapt to the climate of the desert. Why do you think the King's men have not taken The Citadel out entirely?" She heard him rifling through the wagon.

  "No disrespect Jiran, but I think you're getting too old, and I haven't had any experience at all. How are we supposed to know where the Citadel is?"

  She shivered from a sudden drop in temperature, just as she heard ringing from behind her. Thea turned to see Jiran holding an old bell. The handle was wooden, worn, and starting to rust.

  "A bell?" Thea questioned. She frowned and reached her hand out to it when Jiran gave it to her. "What do I do with this?"

  "It helps that I have this . . . " Jiran said and pointed at the mountain wall. His cheek was an inch from hers. "Just give that a ring and the path to The Citadel should come into view."

  Thea still didn't understand anything he said. She couldn't comprehend how a bell would make The Citadel appear. "Er, okay," she said and lifted her arm above her head and waved her hand. The bell's rusty ball gave a hollow clink-clank that was barely audible above the howling wind. She brought her arm down and looked at it, disappointed.

  "I think it's broken," she said, holding it out to Jiran.

  "You should take another look," he nodded in the direction of the mountain.

  At that moment, she looked up and the side of the mountain that she had been facing opened in a small chasm. Her mouth parted and she stared at the crack of the mountain.

  That wasn't there before. "H-How did that . . . that wasn't . . ." She was so excited and confused by the sudden appearance that she stumbled over her words. Jiran chuckled under his breath. He took the bell from her hands and walked back over to the wagon.

  "I told you, it's desert magic."

  Thea couldn't be sure if she believed that, but there was no other explanation for the chasm to appear suddenly.

  "What do we do now? The wagon looks too big to fit through."

  "Good eye," Jiran said and untied the horse from the wagon. "You'll hold onto Hapy's reins."

  Thea nodded and walked over to the large horse. The horse breathed slowly and shook his mane, Thea gripped the reins tightly.

  "It's okay, Hapy. My name is Thea," she cooed to the horse. She hesitantly reached out her hand not wanting to scare the horse and began to pet its snout. It was smooth and cold. Aside from the occasional ear twitch, the horse stayed perfectly still.

  "You're pretty good with him. You ever been around horses before?" Jiran asked.

  Thea turned her head. She saw Jiran load some bags onto the horse’s back. She shook her head and continued to pet the horse.

  "No. I wanted a horse, but Dominya said they cost too much money and we wouldn't have enough to feed it and us."

  Jiran nodded and patted the horse’s side. "True. They cost a hefty penny and are a lot more expensive than people. Now, do you want to ride or walk?"

  "I'll walk. Can I carry a bag too?" She saw that the horse had far too much stuff on his back and thought her extra weight would bring him down.

  "Of course,” Jiran said with a smile. “Maybe I'll make you my ward after all." He handed her a bag and took the reins. The two left the wagon and started to make their way to the chasm.

  "What's a Ward anyway?" Thea asked. Her voice echoed in the cave.

  "It's like an apprentice. I teach you everything I know and when I die you take over my business."

  Thea twisted her lips into a frown. She was in front of him, so he could not see her face.

  "That sounds complicated and hard."

  Jiran chuckled, his laugh traveling through the open walls. It made Thea look up to see if she could see an opening, but so far all she could see was more cave.

  "It usually is, but the pay isn't bad."

  "Hey, Jiran. I realized something, the cave has no opening above to let sunlight in, but I'm still able to see. Why?"

  "That's the magic I told you about."

  Thea rolled her eyes and turned around to face him. "Oh, come on! You can't expect me to believe that it's 'desert magic.' I mean, the chasm opening was kind of cool, but I don't see how a cavern can give you the ability to see."

  Jiran stopped moving, bringing the horse to a halt. "Come here," Jiran said and ushered her over to the side of the wall. Thea tilted her head to the side and followed him. "Look closely at the cave walls and tell me what you see."

  Thea leaned closer to the wall of the cave and squinted her eyes. At first, she didn't see anything, but after a moment she started to notice something glistening within the rocks.

  "Oh! What is that?"

  Jiran grinned. "That there is called a mineral. They have a reflective light called fluorescence that is, most of the time, visible to the normal eye. The crystal mineral you see here is called Fluorite."

  Thea was in awe at the spectacle, having not seen anything like it. "Wow, that's amazing and there's a lot like this in caves?"

  "Quite so. Maybe I'll show you one day." Thea grinned with a rapid nod in response. "Now, let's continue our path. We're almost there."

  Like Jiran had said it took no more than a few minutes to reach the end of the cave. They stood on the edge of a cliff and below them was a clumped forest. In the middle of the woods, a fort looked to have a red tarp over it. It was shaped hexagonal, had eight walls at every corner. There were several fourteen-foot stockades made of oak wood that mounted on the side of the walls. The fort itself covered an acre of the land.

  "There's a place in the mountains!" Thea exclaimed; her eyes grew wide with disbelief. "H-How is that possible?"

  "Welcome to The Citadel. Make sure not to fall off the cliff, that's a long drop."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jiran and Thea walked down the cliffside and through the thick layer of the forest. This forest was different than the one they’d walked through in Kingsland. The one outside of Kingsland felt somewhat domineering and had massive trees that towered over Thea. Where these trees shared height with the others, they didn’t feel like they imposed themselves on her; rather, they were like friends. Thea was confused by this, she’d never thought of trees as having personalities, but she connected to them. The trunks of these trees were a reddish-brown, the others a much richer brown. The leaves were a much more vibrant green than the others, and even the flowers that dotted the landscape were brighter.

  As they walked down the narrow pathway surrounded by trees, Thea saw The Citadel in the distance. She was nervous. She had heard things, most of them not good, but she had never seen an Ördögan in person.

  “Don’t be nervous,” Jiran said beside her as if he sensed her nervousness. Thea looked up at Jiran whose attention was forward. “Grégori Mountain and his men are a bit rough around the edges, but when you get to know them, they’re rather kind; still rough, but kind nonetheless.”

  “That makes me feel nervous, Jiran. Is this Grégori Mountain someone you also met in your time helping?”

  “Aye, he is. And, don’t go staring too much at the Ördögan folk. They get really offended that way.”

  “Well, that’s going to be kind of hard considering I never met an Ördög before,” Thea told him with an exasperated sigh. “But I’ll do my best. Are there any customs I should know about?”

  “All I can say is Be loud and burp often.”

  ***

  When Jiran and Thea finally emerged from the path, The Citadel looked much closer. They approached the gates with Hapy but were stopped by two eight-foot-tall green-skinned creatures holding spheres, Ördögan’s.

  “What say your business here, mundane?” One of the Ördögan’s said.

  Thea knew that Jiran told her not to stare, but she couldn’t help but gape at the creature before her. His body looked mundane in shape, with muscles layered on muscles. He seemed to be one huge muscle. The only thing covering his body was a brown loincloth and b
rown-soled shoes.

  The tusks on the Ördög’s face were prominent. Thick teeth that were each a foot long came out of the corners of his bottom lip, and toward the middle of his lips was a smaller set of tusks. They were still massive, at least six inches long, but not quite as thick.

  His face was similar to a mundane, except that his forehead was sloped and stuck out over their eyes, which sunk into their flesh.

  “I am Jiran Alexander,” Jiran introduced himself since the two Ördögan’s were new since he had not seen them before on his last visit. He moved out of the way and stretched out his hand to Thea, who looked at the Ördög with wide eyes. “And this is my apprentice, Thea Frey.”

  The Ördög didn’t speak which made Thea uncomfortable as she stood waiting for him. She forced herself not to fidget under his scrutiny. He inhaled deeply.

  “You are Roma. Are you not?”

  Thea’s mouth went slack in shock. She wasn’t sure how he knew. Just by smelling? “Y-yes, uh, sir?”

  The Ördög made a noise and turned his head to look at the other guard. She noticed that aside from their hair color, the two Ördögan looked similar. The one he was talking to had orange hair in a ponytail.

  “Do you have your pass?” The guard asked.

  “I do, we’re bearing some good things for your group,” Jiran said with a grin.

  Thea wasn’t sure how he could be so calm. He pulled out the bell for them to see.

  “Doesn’t look like enough. You know how many of us are in here, Jiran Alexander?”

  Jiran nodded and stashed the bell again. “There’s enough, I promise you.”

  Thea thought they weren’t going to let them in, but the orange-haired Ördög shouted at the top of his lungs. The massive double doors, made of the same reddish wood in the trees, were at twice the size of the Ördögans in front of them. As they opened, they creaked before revealing the Citadel beyond.

  A large clearing stretched out in front Thea in a U-shaped pattern, with wood houses clumped together along with it. It wasn’t like the marketplace in Kingsland, but Ördögan’s were coming and going from one building to another.