In Routes, as well as in the Institute and in most of the Capitals, there was the system of energy generation through almaki. A recent implement capable of transforming any almaki into a source of light and heat and which was mainly used for lighting. In more distant places, such as Fort Dul'Maojin, the lighting still depended on the presence of a fire or natural fire handler (fact: the Dul'Maojin did not make a point of thinking that other people without fire almaki also needed light). Now, however, a number of devices had come up that could be used using this type of energy, such as devices that promised to ease the routine of the inhabitants of Almakia... at a fair price, of course, according to almakin's way of marketing.
Even though she saw no use in most of the exhibits, Garo-lin had been impressed by the capacity of the people who invented them and wondered whether they too would have passed through the Institute.
There was an intense trade of products from the Inland Valley through the most humble tents. Godan's specialty for trade was potatoes and tomatoes, but each village had a product of its own. A village further south of her produced citrus fruits and strawberries. Another worked only with herbs. These villages were more prosperous and were on Routes practically the whole year. Humbler villages like Godan only came to the great city after the harvest, when they brought with them everything they had produced that year. In just a few days, those responsible for this trip would come back bringing necessary supplies for the period of cold winds, and when it passed, the whole process was repeated.
Even knowing that the time of the harvest had not yet arrived in her village, Garo-lin looked hopefully for some familiar face. She perceived some vilashis with the characteristics of her people, but none of them was of Godan. She could have stayed away from home for several years, but it was not enough for her to forget the dozens of faces she had seen during her life in the village.
After they had traversed almost the entire center of Routes, the Fire Dragon needed for a moment to let his disguise fall and use all the authority of his title to force her to sit at one of the tables of a restaurant. Only then did she realize that it was already early afternoon. But the food was also one more attractive, since the options were beyond anything that had been served at the Institute, to the point she did not know what to ask and the dragon have to do something about this complaining starve waiting.
When they deposited a large plate of cooked pasta with meat dumplings in front of them, Garo-lin, for the first time, took advantage of the fact that for a day the dragon acted as if he was somebody in Almakia and did not wait politely for him. She did not care for the presence of Krissin Dul'Maojin and his famous title, crossed her legs on the chair and leaned forward, feeling that the atmosphere of freedom of that city allowed her to resume certain vilashis customs which she had been obliged to retract. However, without seeming to really care about it, though he noticed, the dragon took the time to ask a question:
— Do you know why we are Dragons, vilashi?
Garo-lin wondered at the way he'd asked her – as if he were setting the stage for a speech about how he was an important being – and several crude remarks came into her mind. But she tried to speak in a polite way, keeping the thought of not being her to end the tranquility that was being that day in comparison to the others:
— Because... each of you have a first-rate almaki and are the guardians of a Family Secret?
— Exactly... and we have a Family Secret.
Even if an alert sounded in the back of her head telling her not to pursue that subject, her curiosity was greater and she ventured to investigate:
— Why are you asking me that?
— Not quite a choice. We are born into a Family, and Families have a Secret. Therefore, we must guard it – he took another sip of his drink, as if it were a trivial matter, giving Garo-lin some time to process it.
Was she really there? With the Fire Dragon sitting in front of her, in a normal scene, which did not even suggest their true situation?
She looked at him disguisedly, wearing those basically normal clothes that made him look normal, and for a moment tried to imagine herself seeing the dragon as ordinary.
Could she compare her to Garo-nan? Even at various moments she felt that the dragon was holding himself in order not to take certain actions that would be usual for him – how to set fire to the stall of a salesman who had insisted too much on him to buy something –, she could see some of his proud effort at keeping that disguise. Still, it did not take much analysis to realize that they were opposites: each one was at the farthest point within the Almaki Society...
There was definitely no way to compare him with Garo-nan.
Thinking about what a master of the Institute or one of the arrogant students would think if they saw them there at that moment, she laughed without realizing.
— What? – he asked lost.
— You don’t think strange?
— What?
— What would others think by discovering that the guardian of the Fire Secret is doing sitting at a table at Routes, having lunch with a vilashi and even teaching her to handle fire?
Understanding where she had seen grace in all this, he agreed:
— Finally understood the point of disguise, vilashi useless... we would all be in trouble if they found out.
***
As the late afternoon began to announce itself and the Fire Dragon declared that they should return before Zawhart flew over the city with the mombelula behind them, Garo-lin could not resist entering a bookstore on the narrow canal street, a shortly after crossing the bridge. Even with her mentor telling her that he allowed a quick peek while he would soon buy something, she paused for a long time in front of an old book on the story of Almakia.
She had no money and never had. The books she had at the Institute were borrowed and had to be returned in perfect condition when she finished her year in which they were used. She could read the Book Keepers, but she always had to return them to their places on the shelf. And here was something that, out of all the fantastic things she had seen that day, was the only one that had succeeded in provoking her with the will to possess.
— Interested, vilashi? – the store owner asked, coming closer, more out of obligation than because he thought he could sell something for her.
— N-no. I’m just looking – she said, pretending she was reading the titles of the other books too.
Confirming that actually she was not a potential customer, he returned to his desk, where he was organizing a stack of new acquisitions.
With a sigh, Garo-lin touched the leather cape. Even in the dusty corner where the books were probably stranded, she could not afford to pay any price... she should have a job, just to get started.
— What are you looking at so badly with that spoiled fish face?
Her heart almost jumped out of her mouth as the dragon suddenly appeared over her shoulder, searching for what retained her interest.
— History of Almakia? – he read as he bit into a large chunk of ice cream and handed her a bag with a few more of them. – This is boring! Take one before it melts. – he ordered, pointing to the bag.
Actually, it was not a matter that interested most, but she liked to know about the past. Perhaps because her future had always been so uncertain and her offspring so inconsiderate.
Taking one last look at the book, she turned to leave, discouraged, when she heard the dragon utter a cursing word of complaint.
Instantly, the store owner jumped up from behind the counter and ran to them, looking furious with the disaster that sweet Dul'Maojin had done that and other books that were stacked there. Even before he could demand compensation for the damage, the dragon took a purse tinkling from his coat pocket and said:
— Clean and wrap, you can keep the change.
Instantly changing his angry expression to a smiling one, the owner ran to fetch a cloth.
— My candy fell, I want another! – the mentor demanded for his protégé, as if she had
been to blame for the disaster.
***
Garo-lin returned to the inn carrying a satisfied bag full of books. Not that she wanted to accept anything from the dragon. But when he said to stay with them or throw them in the river, she thought it best to think that it was a form of payment for the so much that had worked in the fortress and accepted.
By that time, the inn was already full of travelers who, like them, would spend the night, or simply stopped for dinner or drinking. With the air filled with conversations, laughter, singing and the smell of food being prepared and served, that place could not be different from what Routes was, agitated and looking like a living being in complete activity.
It was not long before Garo-lin saw Kidari sitting at a table in the corner, beside a Lightning Dragon who did not look very happy, and she could have sworn that it was because his leader had run away from them early. But as she approached, already mentally formulating what she would tell her friend, Kodorin jumped up from the table, pushing her over and knocking over most of the top things that needed to be saved quickly by her mentor.
— Garoooooo! – she shouted, welcoming her in a squeaky way, not noticing the damage she had done and looking rather strange.
It was only as she approached her and was caught in a heavy hug – which made her drop what she carried – that Garo-lin realized what was wrong. In addition to the completely out-of-normal attitude, the girl had her hair soaked with something brown that seemed to be hardened earth, as if she had fallen into several puddles of mud. She also had a strong smell that reminded her of festival nights.
— Did you give her a drink?! – the Lightning Dragon asked, unable to hide the tone of who was scolding.
— She found the name beautiful and asked for wine – he informed her, and Garo-lin could see that his annoyance was not because they separated, but because of the behavior of his protégé, who laughed. – As I was late to go back, she took about three bottles.
— Three?! – Garo-lin was startled and pulled her to look into her face.
— Niha – she greeted on her language, smiling, her eyes half-blurred and hanging over to the side.
— And where was she for so long that she could drink three bottles of wine? – the Dragon Fire asked, sitting next to him, more seeming to be curious than somehow blaming his friend for what had happened to the foreigner.
— Solving some problems – Zawhart picked up a glass and a still full bottle that he had saved and poured wine for him. – Take her to the bedroom and give her a bath, vilashi! I can't stand her laughing anymore, making nonsensical comments and wanting to play with mud... we need to come back early tomorrow.
With that last sentence, even trying to get her books together and starting to think of a way up the stairs with her friend in that state, she stopped and looked at the Dragons.
— We're not going back to the fort tomorrow – the Dul'Maojin informed, after taking a large sip of the drink, and, upon receiving a confused look from his friend, continued. – Let's go through the Inland Valley.
— Inland Valley?! – the Lightning Dragon almost choked, raising his voice. Realizing that he had caught the attention of people around him, he grunted. – Are you crazy, Kris? What are we going to do there?
He motioned for Garo-lin to leave. Even wanting to stay and hear what would happen, since the Lightning Dragon proved not to know of all the plans of the trip, she obeyed, realizing that she would not represent weight in that discussion.
After all, Krission Dul'Maojin was the leader of the Dragons and he decided what to do.
Garo-lin stopped, horrified at this way of thinking. However, exclusively in this situation, she would not be against the power that title had and would be grateful if it was used to help her visit her home.
Chapter 12 – The vilashis from Godan
When the mombelula burst through the skies of the village with the deafening noise of its wings preparing for the landing, to say that the inhabitants panicked was little.
As soon as the first vilashi noticed something strange approaching, he warned the others. A unpacking run began from every corner of the fenced field and filled with little houses. Women were picking up children who were paralyzed in the middle of the way looking up, with enchanted eyes, and the others hurried to collect everything they could and closed in their houses. In a matter of seconds, the orange creature landed in the small, silent, silent Godan.
It was only when Garo-lin jumped out of the booth screaming – before the retractable ladder was fully set, falling dangerously on the ground – that they began to understand that it was not the annihilation of the village by some supernatural force.
— IT’S ME! GARO-LIN! – she ran to the center of stone floor, where there was a large floor that was used communally, and rose upon it announcing. – I’M BACK!
Slowly, the doors and windows of the small rooms opened and several curious glimpses gleamed through the gaps. However, it was from a narrow corner between the houses that she heard a scream:
— GARO-LIN!
And before she could open a huge smile when she recognized the boy's voice, he ran from where he was hiding and jumped to her, colliding in a tight hug that unbalanced her and made her fall.
— YOU ARE BACK! – he gasped, his face buried in her neck, squeezing her even harder.
— Chari-lin? – she asked, since she could not associate that grown boy with her little brother who had left behind crying when she left the village. But by forcing him to part with it and be able to look directly at his face, she could have no doubts.
— Garo-lin? – a man came running through the people who were already crowding around the stage, commenting in amazement on the surprise visit.
Like all the others in the village, he had his hair and beard mingled with black and brown – now whiter than that – and his eyes a strong yellow. He wore rustic clothes, nothing that could compare with what was in the big cities – even among the less fortunate – since they were clothing for those who deal directly with the land. But these were colorlessly mismatched, with layers and linings, since the climate after the mountains was known to be alternated between cold and hot according to the position of the sun.
When she saw him, it was Garo-lin's turn to have her vision blurred, and she could not get up and run as she wished she had, since Chari-Lin was not willing to let her go. Her father was the last vilashi she had seen before entering the Institute, the one who had taken her to Routes and handed her to the masters, who took her to the Dul'Maojin Institute. But, unlike her brother's reaction, her father seemed uncertain about getting to his daughter and looking at something else. That was when she realized that she had momentarily forgotten that she had not come here alone.
On the mombelula, still on top of the cabin, the Dragons and Kidari looked down with some fear. After all, that was not a scenario known as Routes or at least it was a place that illustrious people like they would think of visiting. Of the three, only Kidari sparked some curiosity and slowly seemed to be interested in that different landscape.
The Godan village did not escape the standard of the other villages of vilashis of the region, but maintained its customs of a people that came from outside the Realm. Most of its buildings were a mixture of stone structures and wood fill. All were painted, according to vilashi custom, with various colors that did not always match. Their format was in a square "U", with a small courtyard of beaten earth in the middle, where there was the traditional table for the families, as a smaller version of the center table of the village. They had no upper floors, as was common in the rest of Almakia, and almost all had small annexes, built according to the needs of each family.
Another feature that was only found among the immigrant villages from which Garo-lin descended was the fact that all the houses were constructed so that they were suspended at least thirty centimeters from the ground – less by a small prepared space of ground beaten in a room, which was used to light a fire on very cold days. Eve
n though it was a notion inherited from how houses were to be built, which served mainly to prevent the invasion of insects and small animals, it was commonplace in the view of the vilashis, who found strange constructions that stood directly on the ground.
In addition to the houses that stood out throughout the scenery, another unique feature of the vilashis was that community center, which ran from small gatherings to festivals and also served as a meeting point for the elderly at the end of the day. In it was an old leafy tree, which spread its branches in all directions, as if it were a natural covering that occupied half of that space.
Protected by the branches of this tree, was the platform, so large, that it could easily accommodate all the inhabitants of Godan for a great meal, all seated in the typical vilashi way: with the legs crossed, using the knees as support.
Outside the place, the inhabitants themselves were already attractive in themselves. After having lived so long outside and seen various kinds of people, now Garo-lin noted that, indeed, vilashis were very similar to each other. She could easily foretell the admired look of Kidari thinking happily about how everyone there looked like her friend. And the colorful clothes stood out more than anything.
— Chari-lin, I need to get up – she whispered to her brother, who loosened her hold and helped her to her feet, but stubbornly continued to cling to her arm, as if afraid she would disappear if she let her go.
Then she approached her father, counting:
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