by Jada Fisher
What the tall woman neglected to tell Tuni was that when those flowers shook violently—as they may when someone was chopping them down—they secreted a pungent, terrible odor like bad flatulence. When the first one went off, Tuni squealed and fell on her rear, coughing.
Shandi just laughed. It was the first time she’d made a sound that wasn’t in contempt. Tuni couldn’t help but smile at that. Besides, that was the type of prank she would have loved to pull off. Maybe we can get along after all, she thought as she picked herself up and continued chopping at the flowers. This time, Shandi was kind enough to give her a cloth to cover her nose and mouth with.
When they finished, they carried the bundle of pherasecca—as Shandi had called them—in baskets all the way back to the house. Shandi lectured her as they went.
“—and you should never, ever eat them.”
Tuni cocked her head. “Why’s that? Lethal?”
“No, they give you terrible indigestion.”
Teal-Eye burst out laughing and almost dropped all the flowers. Tears filled her eyes from giggling so hard. “Indigestion? I think I can handle a little bit of—”
“And then you’ll have such violently bloody discharge that you die.”
“Oh.”
“Mmhmm.”
Tuni stopped in her tracks. Shandi walked right on by while the girl had her mouth hung open in shock. “B-but you said it wasn’t lethal?”
“I lied.”
“You devious minx.” She couldn’t help her smile.
“Don’t dawdle, Tuni. Keep up.”
“Yes— Yes, ma’am!” Tuni raced after the assistant, who’d managed to put more space between them with her long strides.
“Don’t call me ma’am.”
“Right.”
They returned the rest of the way in silence, which wasn’t too long, just up another hill and over a stream where they got fresh water and then back at the house. When they arrived, wisps of smoke rose from the baked clay chimney. Shandi set her teeth and strode ahead of Tuni, probably concerned that a stranger was in the house. But Tuni wasn’t worried. She just assumed it was the sage.
And it was. They entered the hut and found Gayla sitting by the hearth while she stirred a large black kettle. A delicious smell wafted through the air that made Tuni hungry. The sage smiled brightly and hummed as she cooked.
“Good afternoon, you two. Such a lovely day isn’t it?”
Shandi softened and dropped her bundle of pherasecca on the floor. She undid her cloth bandana and ran her slender fingers through her inky black hair. “It’s a perfect day, Gayla.”
Gayla’s eyes flitted between the two assistants. “Finally gathering those stink flowers, I see.”
“Yes, we cleared about a quarter of the fields.”
Her smile grew wide with mischief. “Did you tell our friend here about the pherasecca’s defense mechanisms?”
Shandi giggled. She actually giggled. “I may have neglected to mention it. She got a right good surprise.”
“I’m glad you two can have fun at my expense,” Tuni said, crossing her arms and pouting. But it wasn’t sincere.
“It’s only fair,” Gayla admitted as she grabbed a handful of herbs and added them to the kettle. “I did play the same trick on you when you first started out with me.”
“Yes, and I cried!”
“I felt so bad.”
The two women broke into laughter, sentimental and soft. Tuni leaned against the wall, folded her arms over her chest, and watched. The bond between them was clear and nice to see. Shandi was cold at times, short-tempered, and easily annoyed by Tuni, but it was obvious that she had a soft side, and Tuni was determined to crack it, as Gayla had. She didn’t know how long it would take, but she would succeed.
Once the laughter died down, Shandi gathered up the bundles of stink flowers and stored them in an empty barrel. “How went your trip?” she asked.
The sage had gone west past the mountains to the greater Spirit Wilds. Some spirits, whom she communed with daily, had informed her of a massive forest fire on the southern part of the range. Forest fires were a regular part of nature, part of the cycle of destruction and rebirth, but the spirits had seemed troubled. Gayla had gone to investigate. Tuni had wanted to join, but she’d been told to stay put, since they didn’t know what they were dealing with.
The question made Gayla frown. “Not good, my dear. Not good.”
Shandi and Tuni shared a troubled glance. “What happened?” Tuni asked.
Gayla swallowed hard. She indicated for them to pull up a seat as she stirred her broth. They did so. “The forest fires weren’t natural. They were started by humans. By an Al-Sevaran mining company trying to clear land for a new mine and town.”
“Those little kevisks,” Shandi growled with a sneer. She spat on the floor in disgust. Tuni didn’t know what kevisk meant, but it didn’t sound polite at all. I’ll have to ask her about that later. Tuni liked to have a wide repertoire of curses.
Gayla didn’t answer immediately. She added a pinch of paprika and a sweet-smelling spice that Tuni didn’t have a name for. “They aren’t good people, that’s for sure,” she said in agreement.
“What— What did you do to them?” Tuni asked. This was an all-powerful sage, protector of nature and the earth and spirits. What would she do to protect it?
The sage must have sensed the true meaning of her question. She offered a reassuring smirk, though there was sadness in her eyes. “Don’t worry, I didn’t kill them.” She looked away, her gaze hard and distant. “Not this time.”
“Have you killed before?”
A long pause. Gayla’s face was blank, her lips pressed in a hard line. Shandi frowned at Tuni, as if to say, You shouldn’t have asked that.
Tuni did get an answer, though. Gayla let out a breath. “I have lived for a millennium in this body, Tuni, and millennia beyond that in my past lives. I’ve had to kill, yes. To protect myself, to protect humans, the innocent. To protect this world. Sometimes, diplomacy and smiles and pleasant words aren’t enough.”
Shandi suddenly flicked Tuni in the forehead. “Don’t ask questions like that.”
“Ow!”
“I know that didn’t hurt.”
Tuni covered her forehead. “You have big, boney fingers!”
Shandi huffed.
Tuni gulped and looked away. “I’m sorry, Madam Sage.”
Gayla spooned out a helping of her brew and sipped it. She crinkled her nose and kept on stirring, but not before she added a handsome amount of pepper.
She smiled. “It’s quite alright, my girl. You would think that with having the memories, wisdom, and experience of thousands of years, thousands of lifetimes, that I would forget a few things here and there. But no, I remember them all, every time I’ve had to take a life. Every human, good and bad, accidental and with purpose. Every mermaid and tree folk and every spirit big and small. Every rat and every dragon and every creature in between. I recall it all, all the details. Every one of them, and they all hurt. That is the burden of my line of sages. We care so much and remember everything, but especially all the pain.”
Tuni was stunned into silence. I have no words, she thought in distress. She wanted to comfort the sage, but what could she possibly say to that? It was enough to make her cry.
So instead, she stood and gave the sage a hug.
“I’m sorry, Gayla…that you had to endure all of that.”
The sage’s arms wrapped around her, reluctantly at first, but then tighter, her fingers winding through the braids and beads in Tuni’s hair.
“Thank you, Tuni, I appreciate it. I do.” She pulled back and held Tuni out at arm’s length. “I’ve come to peace with this life, with the hurt and death. It is my burden, my purpose, and I embrace it. As hard as it may be.”
Tuni stepped away and nodded. “Okay.”
“Anyway, as for today, I didn’t kill anyone. I just drove off the men there, which wasn’t hard given that Al-S
evarans are terrified of magic and spirits. I was able to put out the fire before it spread beyond the boundaries the company wanted, but it had nearly done its job.” She sighed. “Many spirits and animals lost their homes and lives today.”
Shandi scoffed. “I’m sick of that city. And does Reshni do anything? No, she encourages it! That no-good, stuck-up—”
“Shandi,” Gayla snapped before the assistant could say a nasty curse. “We disagree with Reshni on a lot, but she is still a sage. We must have a modicum of respect.”
“Apologies.”
Gayla rolled her eyes and then tasted her stew one more time. With a satisfied smile, she sighed. “Okay, done.” She flicked her wrist and muttered a spell, the fire in the hearth suddenly going out. Tuni smiled. She loved seeing magic, even little simple things like that. All of it took her breath away.
The sage grabbed some bowls and poured each of them a helping of the stew. She handed it to them with a warm grin and eyes that twinkled with delight. Like a caring mother cooking dinner for her children. Like the mother I left behind.
Shandi had been to and from Tuni’s village the day she’d decided to learn under the sage. She’d relayed that her mother was still mad and was wildly concerned with whatever Tuni was doing, but Shandi wouldn’t reveal the finer details of the whole arrangement.
Tuni knew she’d have to return to her home and speak to her mom properly. It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have, but one that needed to happen. Confrontation wasn’t something she particularly excelled in. So, she’d stay here and enjoy her time, pranks and chores and all, until she was ready.
No telling when that would be, but at least her mother knew she was safe.
As they ate in silence, Gayla swallowed and spoke. “If things keep going as they are, Reshni and I are going to have words. This can’t go on. I’ve given her warnings to rein in her city.”
Tuni knew very little about Al-Sevara, of its customs and culture and leadership. She knew some of the people and their strange ways, from the various wayward travelers that had stumbled upon her in the wilds. They were a skittish bunch, fearful and superstitious of the wider world. If they weren’t behind their precious walls, they were unsure.
But in their city, they thought they were the pinnacle of civilization, a bastion of knowledge and power. She was sure most were just regular people trying to get by, but boy, were they annoying.
That spoke nothing of their leadership, of the those frolicking red-caped knights or the Sage of the Sun, Reshni. The thought of a feud between sages was simultaneously exciting and terrifying. Who knew what kind of cataclysmic damage those two could unleash if they went at it? Like two deities clashing swords. Tuni had seen many powerful spirits fight over everything from territorial disputes, disrespect, tiny slights, and any other reason that seemed insignificant but always ended in power struggles that could level whole sections of the wilds. Two sages… It made her shiver just thinking of it.
“What will happen if you and Reshni come to blows?” Tuni asked.
The sage sighed and stood. She placed her bowl to the side and walked to the other end of the room where a small window covered in braided beads let in some light. She folded her arms behind her back.
“Feuds between sages are a rare thing. In my memories, I have no recollection of my past lives ever physically or magically fighting with another sage. I’ve heard it happen once or twice, and neither were good. We are beings of extreme power, and we should not fight.”
That was a good history lesson, but it didn’t really answer my question, she thought but didn’t voice.
“What will you do with Reshni?”
Gayla turned around and fingered a strand of her red hair. “I’ll have to talk to her. Come to an understanding. She’s stubborn, that one, but she can be…persuaded.”
Tuni waited for the sage to elaborate, but she kept silent, so that was that. Not surprising.
Of course, a part of Tuni told her that she shouldn’t even worry about all this. She was a new assistant, just learning about plants and potions and whatnot. Maybe one day, she would learn the intricacies of a sage’s duties and the consequences and impacts they had on the greater world, but now wasn’t the time for that. Maybe she should have just enjoyed the incredible opportunity that had been presented to her.
The sage and Shandi both appeared to be done with the conversation. Shandi grabbed the bundle of stink flowers and was ready to shuck them and prepare them for use, but the air rippled and a low moan sounded that made Tuni’s skin crawl.
Suddenly, a small little spirit materialized in the middle of the room. Tuni just about screamed at the abruptness of it.
“S-so sorry to barge i-in like this,” they said in a shaky voice.
It was a small green sprite, with large black eyes and a wide, wide mouth. When it spoke, rows upon rows of tiny sharp teeth glistened, though Tuni knew these were more for show. Tree sprites were mischievous tricksters that delighted in pranks and chaos, which made them kindred spirits, but they were relatively harmless. The teeth were actually soft, only looking sharp as a defense mechanism. They could get hard and dangerous when in actual danger, but Tuni had never seen that.
The sprite was nervous, fidgety, its eyes randomly blinking one at a time. It bowed to the sage, and Gayla bowed right back. She had respect for all, and they had respect for her.
“It’s a pleasure to have you, little one. How may I help?”
“In the mountains. A rock golem is in pain. From the mining. It is rampaging. Hurting human and animal and spirits alike.”
Tuni watched as the spirit quivered and muttered as it spoke, terrified and shy. Not what Tuni had expected. Most tree sprites were brash and loud, but maybe it was scared of the sage, or scared of the rock golem. Or something else altogether.
Gayla nodded. “I’ll come right away. Thanks for letting me know.”
The spirit inclined its head and then evaporated through the walls.
“I’ll start preparing the pheresecca, Gayla,” Shandi said nonchalantly, as if the spirit hadn’t even shown up. Stoic, unbothered. How very Shandi. “Tuni, I need you to go outside and gather—”
“Actually,” Gayla interrupted. “I’d like for Tuni to come with me on this one.”
That made both the assistants gasp and look to the sage like she’d just sprouted a second head. “W-what?” Tuni asked.
“Gayla, with all due respect, she isn’t ready yet. What if something happens?”
“Yeah, what if something happens?” Tuni echoed. Which was so unlike her. She should have been excited about seeing the wilds with the mythical Girl O’ Green. And she’d never seen the mountains before, or a rock golem. What’s more exciting than that?
The sage didn’t share Shandi’s concerns. “I can handle an angry rock golem, Shandi. Teal-Eye will be just fine with me. But she should see what it is I do.” She turned to Tuni. “That is, if she wants to tag along with me.”
Tuni gulped, her heart skipping a beat as the sage’s blue eyes bore into her. “I… I would love to! But are you sure I won’t get in the way?”
“I’m more concerned with the locals, to be honest with you,” Gayla said with a shrug. She scooped up her wooden staff, the flower growing out of the top looking as pristine as always. “I’m a thousand years old, there’s not a lot I can’t handle.”
“That sounds an awful lot like a brag, Madam Sage,” Tuni said with a smile and a snort, hands on her hips.
Gayla smirked. “I’m allowed to be confident in my abilities.”
Shandi sighed. “So you’re sure about this?”
“Absolutely.”
The other assistant sighed and tied her hair back, then continued with prepping the flowers. “Fine.” She fixed Tuni with a hard stare that made the young girl’s veins run cold. “Don’t do anything stupid. Listen to everything the sage tells you. Obey her every command. Do you understand?”
Tuni nodded. “I will.”
Gayla
waved off her assistant. “She’s being so serious. Don’t worry yourself, Tuni.” She cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms, the staff slung over her shoulders. “Now, shall we be off?”
Tuni frowned. “Won’t it take us almost a week to get to the mountains, though? Shouldn’t we pack for our journey?”
“Oh no, no, no, dear child,” Gayla said with a mischievous smile. “It doesn’t take that long when you’re the Sage of the Earth.”
She sucked in a deep breath and held her staff over her head. It was horizontal. Her lips began to dance in a rapid chant of strange words.
“Veve kes ie sisi coll.”
Over and over she chanted it, until the air vibrated with power.
The flower on the end of her staff began to glow, brighter and brighter until it was almost too much for Tuni to look at. She shielded her eyes for a moment before the light faded to a glow. Pink petals sprang from the flower, a seemingly infinite amount of them whipping around the two like a whirlwind. Tuni gasped as they swirled around her ankles, a hundred, a thousand, faster and faster.
Gayla smiled and offered her hand. “You ready?”
Tuni gulped. She was terrified and excited and every other feeling between the two, but she was ready. “I am.” She took the sage’s hand and their fingers locked, and she found that the sage had incredibly soft hands for an ancient magical being.
With a twinkle in her eyes, Gayla raised her staff higher, muttered the spell again, and then slammed the butt of the staff against the floorboards with a resounding boom.
She held her hat tight against her head, staff still in hand. She flashed a grin. “This may tickle a bit.”
And just as her words ended, Tuni screamed as she and the sage were engulfed in a storm of swirling wind and flower petals.
13
Dorrick / Tuni