by Rosie Scott
“There's a lot of fire here, for us being inside of a tree,” I commented to Calder. The city was well lit, that was for sure.
“Ah. Yes.” The Alderi stopped beside a sconce, swiping his hand along the chestnut wood that served as the wall behind the flame. He brought his blue hand back to me, rubbing his thumb over his fingers to call attention to the whitish powder he'd rubbed off the wall. “Thanks to alchemists, the tree is safe.”
“What is that?” I questioned, as he started walking again.
“Aluminhyde, if I remember correctly,” Calder replied. “Koby used to make it here. Tenesea goes through so much of it. Of course,” he added, nodding knowingly toward me, “There are other methods of light, as you know. But if Tenesea relied only on the illusion and alteration wielders to light it, there would be no light at all.”
I nodded, understanding. Both of the weaker schools of magic had access to spells that could create light. Illusion magic relied on using reflection to change how energy could be perceived, thus creating a shimmering light which could flicker and change over time depending on its surroundings. Such a spell had often been used in Sera. Alteration magic's methods were quite different; the spell to create light was literally translated to mean transfer energy into electromagnetic rays, thus altering the energy's properties and turning it into something else entirely.
Creating light via magic could be tricky, because the spells could be created by a mage and then left to work in a lantern or other method of containment, but the longer the spell lasted, the more energy it would feed upon. It was why Sera had utilized both fire and illusion magic in the halls of the university. The illusion magic fed off of the heat of the nearby flames, thus offering twice the amount of light for half as many tangible resources. From what I'd seen of Tenesea so far, that was also how they tackled the problem. Most of the light inside the tree was from fire, but I had caught glimpses of magical light from time to time which fed off of the burning flames. Perhaps Tenesea changed some of its light sources depending on what was needed the most. If alchemists weren't available to make calcint and aluminhyde, it was possible the city would rely more heavily on the mages, while still having to come up with an energy source. After all, the more magical lights which burned, the quicker the energy sources would deplete, thus extinguishing all of the lights and rendering them useless.
Calder turned off down a hallway moments later, and we followed his lead. Though the stairway had continued to rise further up in the tree, it already felt as if we were near the top of it. My legs ached with the climb, but I didn't complain. For whatever reason, it sounded as if Calder was intent on finding his friend here as soon as possible. I would have plenty of time to rest and bathe later, after heeding such a simple desire.
There were apartments here, for the hallway was littered with personal home decor. Multiple doorways popped up on either side of us, each one holding a door that clearly had been carved from the lumber of a different tree, as the doors were ten times darker in shade than the wood of the walls. Before most of the doors were hand-woven mats, and some of them were cluttered with muddy boots. Small mailboxes were nailed into the walls beside each apartment, with names painted or etched onto the surface. The dwellings here were nicely sized, for we took quite a number of steps between passing each doorway, and I knew the rooms must have stretched out toward the exterior of the tree. The people who lived here must have been permanent inhabitants to have such highly placed and large apartments.
Calder didn't come to a stop until he came to the very end of the hall, where he stood between the last two doors available. Turning to the left one, he knocked on it, his knuckles clonking loudly on the thick wood.
From within the room, we heard what sounded like someone standing from a comfortable chair, before foot steps walked over to the door. Calder's face slowly relaxed with relief, as if he hadn't expected the occupant to be here at all.
The door opened, and a tall, muscular Vhiri man appeared in the doorway. His skin was closer to a golden-cream color than the bronzes of most Vhiri, though both his eyes and short hair compensated with shades of sparkly brown. He was probably close to seven feet tall, and his arms were thick with more muscle than most elves could manage to keep. His eyes lit up immediately upon seeing Calder, and he did not wait to grab the other man into his arms.
“Cal! Good heavens, man, where've you been?” The man had to lean down just a bit to hug his friend, which was noteworthy given Calder wasn't short in the slightest.
“To hell and back, my friend.” Calder patted his friend on the back, before turning to us. “Friends, this is Vallen.”
We took turns introducing ourselves. When it came time to give Vallen my name, the man's eyes lit up, and he glanced to Calder. “You've been busy.” Vallen reached out a hand, and I took it. “Nice to meet you, Kai. What business do you have in the wildlands? Last I heard, you were causing chaos in Nahara.”
“I plan to do the same here,” I replied with a smile, to which the man laughed.
“Vallen...” Calder trailed off, somewhat hesitantly. “I might have a favor to ask of you. And Jayce, if she is here.”
Vallen nodded. “She is. Right across the hall,” he added, pointing a finger past our heads. “What is it? Are you in trouble?” He backed up a step, sweeping an arm into his apartment, inviting us in. His apartment was massive, as I had figured given its location. Vallen was clearly used to socializing and entertaining, because plush couches sat in circles around tables, worn and frayed with use. One of the tables had a small handmade board game, with dice scattered over top like the last session had been interrupted. Bookshelves were carved straight into the wooden walls, and were packed full of various texts. There was a small kitchen with a bar and stools, and on the bar was a cutting board, with various herbs sitting to dry. The herbs looked to me to be ferris, and since I noticed Calder eyeing them, I figured I was right.
“I'm not in trouble, per se,” Calder explained, sitting down on one of Vallen's many couches. We did so as well. It felt comfortable and homey here. I hoped Vallen would be more receptive to Calder's plea than Cyrene had been. “Are you preparing to go out on one of your hunting missions?” Calder finally asked. “I don't want to inconvenience you.”
Vallen shook his head. “No, friend. Jayce and I just came back from one, matter of fact.” He turned to the rest of us, including us in the conversation as if we were already his friends. “Big ol' bunyips out in the forks. Whole group of 'em.”
“Where are the forks?” I asked curiously.
Calder glanced over to me. “The islands up north, between Eteri and the wildlands. We call them the forks because the largest island has three prongs stretching to the north, like a fork.”
“Forgive me,” Vallen offered, with a chuckle. “I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you all are new here.” He returned his attention to Calder. “I didn't mean to interrupt you, Cal. What do you need? You know my home is open to you.”
Calder nodded, his two blue hands rubbing together subconsciously as he finally said, “I am starting a war, Vallen, and I want you and Jayce to join me.”
Given the reaction of Cyrene in the past, I wasn't sure what to expect from Vallen. So when he finally laughed, with a tinge of excitement lacing through his tone, it was a surprise. “Oh, is that all, friend?” Vallen reached over to a side table, bringing back a bottle of dark ale, and prepared to take a swig. “I am flattered you are asking dear sister and I to join you.”
Calder watched his friend carefully as the other man downed half of the bottle of ale in a matter of seconds. “You don't even know what kind of war it will be yet.”
“Sure I do,” Vallen argued, putting the ale back down onto the table with a clash. “You have finally come to your senses and are taking the fight to the underground. It's about damn time. I have been waiting decades for you to make the move. Nearly thought you'd never get around to it.”
A smile slowly crept over Calder's lips, reliev
ed his friend was so ready to join him. “I'm around to it,” he replied.
Vallen stood up suddenly, and walked over to his kitchen, where he pulled out more ale from a cabinet and began to prepare glasses. “Then let's all celebrate. This is the best news I've heard in years.”
Nineteen
Vallen had invited us to stay the night in his apartment, so that is what we did. Waking up the next morning was like arising in the middle of the sky, for his apartment extended outward from the tree via a built wooden overhang with large apertures that held no glass, allowing the bright morning sun and soft winds to spill over us from between long, flowing blue drapes.
I was one of the first to wake, so as I sat up, I directed my attention to the overhang, finding Vallen and Calder talking whilst watching out of the open windows. The soft murmur of a waking city floated to my ears from outside, even though we were so high up in the tree. Only when I smelled burning herbs did I see that Calder was smoking a ferris cigarette, taking long drags off of it gratefully after having done without for almost a full season.
I stood from the couch I'd slept on, leaving the others to their rest for now. I made my way over to the two men, making sure to approach slowly to alert them to my presence. Given that Calder and Vallen clearly had history, I never wanted to infringe on any private conversations between the two.
“Ah, Kai,” Calder greeted, raising his eyebrows toward me before taking another drag. “Morning, love. We were just talking about you.”
“Were you?” I went to stand beside him, my eyes falling upon the surrounding swamps of Tenesea. We were truly high up in this ancient tree, because over miles of wetlands, I could see the ocean far off in the distance. I figured that Vallen's windows faced west, because we were too far inland at this point to see the southern Servis, where we'd come from. Just below us at the base of the tree, men and women of all sizes and colors were working along the walkways and the rivers which cut through the ground from the western coast. Many of the workers were removing water from the rivers in big buckets, only to push them beneath handmade contraptions a few feet tall with glass tops. I assumed these were desalinators, much like Misu had, though these were built differently and much larger. Calder had explained to us back in Misu that desalination was a process to turn the seawater into drinking water by removing the salt and minerals from it to make it safe. It was one of the reasons I figured water magic would be extremely useful to the people of the wildlands, since all created elemental water magic was made of freshwater.
“Calder was telling me things about you,” Vallen finally spoke, bringing my mind back to the conversation at hand. “All good things, I assure you.”
“That's a relief,” I mused. I eyed Calder from the side as he took another puff from his cigarette, and he smiled charmingly, before offering me the herb. I shook my head.
“One of these days, I will get you to try this,” he promised.
“I'd be grateful if I were you, Cal,” Vallen chuckled, leaning forward on the ledge of the open window, his two cream-colored arms shining in the morning sunlight. “You used to lament over your sailors taking all of your ferris, and now you are trying to give it away?”
“Yes, well, that's because it is yours, friend,” Calder jested. “I won't miss the gold.”
Vallen laughed softly, before he looked over to me, meeting my gaze with two curious bronze eyes. “Calder has brought me up to speed with your voyage and all of its troubles. It says a lot about you that he would insist on staying by your side through this journey of his.”
My stomach ached. “You know how to humble a person,” I commented.
Vallen chuckled. “I meant no offense.”
“I didn't take offense. It simply reminds me of the trouble I've been. Regardless, he needs me. It says a lot about him that despite everything, he saw me as an opportunity and took it. He's smart, this one.” I smiled at Calder, who stood straighter by the window before flicking the butt of his cigarette over its ledge.
“I am smart, but so are you,” Calder argued. “You are more than a simple opportunity to me, Kai.”
“Oh?” Vallen inquired, teasingly.
“Not in that way, friend. This woman is taken by the necromancer still sleeping on your couch, because her tastes aren't as smart as she is.” Calder gave me a sly smile.
“Oh, my tastes are just fine,” I retorted lightly. “After all, his bones are much larger and more numerous than yours.”
Vallen burst into laughter at that. “Ouch!”
“If he can dish it, he can take it,” I mused. Calder didn't disagree, shrugging playfully, as if to admit he was impressed by my joke.
I turned my attention to Vallen. “You will be joining us for sure, then?”
“Oh, definitely,” the Vhiri nodded enthusiastically. “I wouldn't leave Cal to this alone. I've been looking forward to this for a long while, ever since Koby mentioned wanting to decades ago, Hades rest his soul. I'll be helping you both get volunteers after breakfast today,” he added, as if he knew it was a subject I was wondering about. “People here trust me and look up to me. Jayce and I have lived here for almost two hundred years. Many of our fellow hunters won't think twice before joining us.”
“When will we meet Jayce?” I questioned curiously.
“Later today, I promise. She gets up early most days to go out and bully the untrained shapeshifters, so I was going to wait until she came back.” Vallen peered up in the general direction of the sun. “Which should be soon, unless she lets things get out of hand.”
“As she does,” Calder muttered.
“Did you say bully the untrained? She doesn't train them?” I inquired.
“No, bully is closer to correct,” Vallen insisted. “My sister is crazy, Kai. She is one of the only shapeshifters I have ever known who likes the pain of it. She lives for battle and bloodshed.”
“Sounds like she'll be happy to join us, then,” I commented.
Calder held up one finger. “While that is true, we need to keep her on a tight leash. She's unpredictable. She could cause us to lose our stealth in the underground.”
Vallen grimaced a bit as he nodded. “That she might. We'll just convince her that she'll need to live longer to kill more, and maybe she'll follow our directions.”
As if on cue, there was a banging on Vallen's front door then, making the three of us jump from being startled. The others woke abruptly from sleep in the room behind us, blinking with heavy eyelids as they tried to remember where they were.
“Yes?” Vallen breathed, hurrying through his apartment to answer the door.
“Open up, brother!” It was a female voice, thick and husky with an edge which traveled over gravel.
“Gods, Jayce, do you mind?” Vallen finally reached the door, before he unlocked and opened it.
The Vhiri woman on the other side was a good foot shorter than her brother, yet she still managed to appear more intimidating. Her skin was a few tones darker than Vallen's, and she was completely bald. High cheekbones led up to startlingly red eyes. I hadn't known that any race other than the Alderi and orcs could have red eyes. She wore casual clothing made out of light fabrics, which I had observed most of the beastmen wore to cut time and expense on transformations. A fresh cut along one cheek bone leaked bright red blood, and she didn't seem to notice, even as a drop of the liquid rolled slowly down her cheek.
“Well, son of a bitch, you came back!” Jayce announced, her eyes on Calder. She immediately sidestepped her perplexed brother to come to the Alderi, grabbing him into a hug.
“I always come back,” Calder protested, though he hugged her all the same, becoming a little annoyed when her wound rubbed against his own cheek. Vallen soon handed him a cloth to clean it up with.
“Yeah, but it's been...what? Five, six years?”
“About that,” Calder admitted, cleaning the blood from his cheek.
“And who are these people?” Jayce asked bluntly, as if just noticing us. After intro
ductions, she grinned at me. “Never thought I'd get to meet you. I like you. A lot. You have balls fucking with Chairel, you know that?”
“I've been told,” I agreed, to which the other woman smiled even wider.
“Please tell me you're here to learn shapeshifting. I have about a billion types of animals I'd like to mix with you. See what we end up with. Oo,” she added, in the midst of an energetic ramble, “That's right! You wield all elements. Have you tried wielding the lesser magics, as they call them? Maybe you'd be able to turn into everything. Wouldn't that be fascinating!” Her wide eyes moved to her brother, as if he'd agree.
“Jayce, Kai isn't here for that,” Vallen informed her.
Jayce wrinkled her nose at me. “Might as well try while you're here, though, right?”
“Agh, I don't know,” I laughed nervously. “I've seen Calder and the others transform. I don't think it's for me.”
“Don't let it intimidate you,” she encouraged. “Sure, it's painful, but pain is pleasure, as they say.”
“Jayce—” Vallen insisted.
“What?” She glared over to her brother.
“Kai has only just gotten here. Calder and the others are low on time. We have no time to play around with mixing blood, even if Kai wanted to try, and she clearly doesn't.” Vallen crossed his arms over his chest.
“What are you doing here?” Jayce asked me, as if her brother's words had suddenly implanted such a question in her mind.
“Calder and I are starting another war,” I replied, simply.
An immensely satisfied grin grew on the woman's face. “Hell yes. When are we leaving?”
“Within the fortnight, considering we can get as many recruits as possible,” Calder answered, pulling a new ferris cigarette to his mouth. I nearly chuckled aloud, since it was as if he was smoking to cope with Jayce.
“Underground, or Chairel?” Jayce questioned, looking back and forth between her friend and I.
“Underground,” I replied. “We don't have near enough resources or allies to take on Chairel yet.” I doubted that would faze her, even if she gave it much thought. She didn't seem the type to think things through.