The Girl Born of Smoke

by Jessica Billings

  Spinning away, Tarana turned her back on Kirian and Djerr, who watched her silently. Kicking up wet sand, she stalked into the forest bordering the beach. Slipping through the brush, she stiffly pushed the slick branches away from her face.

  Water dripped through the layers of leaves and splashed down in large drops. As she pushed her way through the thick underbrush, she caught a drift of voices coming from deeper in the forest. The shadows grew darker as she impatiently crashed her way in the direction of the voices. Cursing the rain, she brushed wet strands of hair out of her face and shivered slightly.

  The voices became louder and she slowed her pace as she noticed a bright light reflecting off the tops of the surrounding trees. She silently crept around the trunk of a large tree and gazed into a wide clearing. Dozens of people, mostly men, were gathered around several large fires where they sat talking and laughing.

  Hearing a rustle nearby, Tarana whipped her head in that direction and realized someone was standing a couple trees away, blindly staring out into the darkening forest. Carefully creeping past the guard, she strode into the clearing, toward the center fire. Halfway there, someone raised a shout and the group immediately shot to their feet, swords drawn. Tarana ignored them and continued toward the group.

  “Hey!” a harsh voice called. “What do you think you're doing, girl?” The man blocked her path and grabbed her arm.

  She glared at him and sighed. “I'm looking for Roxanne.”

  The man raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? And how would you happen to know Roxanne?”

  Tarana shook her head. “Just tell her I'm here, will you?”

  A group surrounded the two, snickering. “Who is this kid?” The man turned her toward the fire's light. “She's just some girl. Must be one of the Scav survivors.”

  “What's going on?” Roxanne's voice broke through the chatter, as she approached the group.

  Tarana broke away from the man's grasp. “Roxanne.”

  Roxanne broke into a smile. “Aurora! Never thought I'd see you here.”

  “My name’s Tarana.”

  Shrugging, Roxanne pushed away the soldiers. “Sure, whatever you say.” She put her arm around Tarana's shoulders. “So what are you doing here? Not scouting us out, I should hope.”

  “No, nothing like that. I just got sick of the army's ridiculous ideas and decided to break off from them.”

  Roxanne laughed out loud. “Well, I can't argue with that! Come on, come on.” She ushered Tarana toward a small tarp strung up to several trees. The rest of the group watched the two stride away. Talking in low voices among themselves, they sheathed their swords and returned to the warmth of the fires. Under the tarp, Roxanne plopped down on the dry ground and reclined against the trunk of one of the trees, hands behind her head. Tarana followed suit and sat down as well.

  “So,” Roxanne said calmly. “Tell me why you're really here.”

  “Seriously. I left the army. I hated it there.”

  Roxanne regarded her for a moment. “Why do you want me to call you Tarana?”

  “Listen,” she snapped, “Tarana is my real name. I really don't want to go into it right now, though.”

  Roxanne sighed. “Well, I guess I don’t really need to hear the whole story.” She yawned and stretched out her arms. “Alright kid, it's late. You're here for now, so let's get some sleep. We have some serious traveling to do when it gets light out.”

  Tarana grinned for the first time that day. “Are we attacking the Citizens' Army?”

  Roxanne didn't answer right away. Finally, she shook her head. “This was just an experiment, really. Our unit has been raising and training those griffins for months, ever since we accidentally came across a small group of them while traveling through the mountains, only around a month after we left Kain.” She laughed. “Trust me, we were as surprised as you guys were today when we saw them. We were with a much larger group at the time and we were just going to walk on by, when I came up with the idea of training them.” She smiled, looking proud. “Anyway, we just couldn't let an opportunity like that pass us by. We requested permission from the general to try and capture them and received an almost immediate 'yes,' so I took charge of this smaller group, trying to train the griffins. It was an awful lot of work, but we eventually managed to tame some of the young ones enough, so that they would follow our directions, somewhat.” Again, she paused for a second. “It might have seemed impressive today, but that small show was the result of several months of grueling work and all we got out of it were a few casualties. The general allowed us to attack today, but he already ordered us to discontinue our efforts and we are to return immediately.” Roxanne looked up at the tarp, sagging in the middle under a puddle of water. Poking at it, the water streamed off and splashed onto the wet ground. “Well, you're certainly not leaving now, after I told you all that.”

  Tarana shrugged. “Fine with me. So what're you doing with the griffins you trained?”

  “That's the most discouraging part.” Roxanne groaned. “We've already released them, earlier today. All that work, gone in an afternoon. In order to keep somewhat conspicuous and not bring the entire Citizens' Army after us, we're traveling on foot from here on out. I believe that we caused enough destruction to distract them for at least a while and we gained enough of a lead that there shouldn't be any problem. That's why I was a bit surprised to see you here.”

  A slight breeze drifted through the clearing and several large drops of water fell onto the tarp with a dull splash. Yawning again, Roxanne pulled out a large blanket from next to the tree. She held it out toward Tarana. “Here, we can share.”

  “In other words, you want to make sure I don't sneak off in the middle of the night.”

  Roxanne grinned sleepily. “That too. Now come on, I'm tired.”

  Tarana slid closer and wrapped herself in the patchwork of animal pelts. Lying down on the hard ground next to Roxanne, the camp grew silent as the rest of the soldiers gradually found shelter under the nearby trees. The campfires flickered sullenly, occasionally sending out a hiss of embers as the wood readjusted. She quietly watched the night, feeling Roxanne's light breath on her cheek. She burrowed farther into the soft blanket, pulling it over her face. In the cavern of darkness, she finally closed her eyes and let sleep claim her.

  The next morning, Tarana was shaken awake before the sun had risen. The stars had begun to fade in the clear, pale sky and the camp was hastily packed up in the cold, pre-dawn morning while she stood awkwardly to the side, watching. They immediately began hurrying through the woods as the sun rose, eating as they walked. Practically having to jog to keep up with the group, she was breathing hard before long, but refused to let herself lag behind.

  As the sun rose higher and lit the slightly misty forest, their pace gradually slowed. Tarana noticed several of the other soldiers looking at her curiously, but she ignored them. She saw Roxanne walking at the front of the group and hurried slightly to catch up to her. Glancing over, Roxanne grinned and offered her a handful of nuts. “Here, you’d better keep up your energy,” she said. “We don’t spend half the day sitting around, like you’re used to.”

  Tarana smirked slightly and popped the nuts in her mouth. “So,” she said as she swallowed, “where’re we headed?”

  “Like I said last night, we’re under orders to return to the stronghold,” Roxanne explained. “Our group is too small to try to recruit any towns or attack the Citizens’. It’ll take a few weeks to get back and I have no idea what we’ll be assigned to after that.” She shrugged, looking unconcerned. “I imagine we’ll be sent back out with a larger group to do some recruiting.”

  Tarana walked silently as she thought about what Roxanne had said. It was far into the evening before they took a break. “Alright!” Roxanne called out sharply as they reached a rocky cliff-face in the forest. “We’re stopping for the day. We’ve made good progress, nice work.” Leaning against the rocks, Tarana idly picked at the moss covering them and watched
from the side as the group began working to make a fire and set up their tarps.

  “Hey.” Roxanne turned her attention toward Tarana. “Let's see what you've got.” Roxanne tossed her a sword one of the soldiers had just set down. Tarana leapt away as the blade came hurtling toward her and let it clatter to the ground. Roxanne laughed. “Well, this'll be interesting.” Tarana shot her a glare and knelt to pick up the sword. Roxanne drew her own sword and lazily batted Tarana's blade out of the way several times. When Tarana swung back, she stepped out of the way, then quickly advanced, driving Tarana backwards.

  Backed up against a tree, Tarana attempted to block Roxanne's quick strikes, but the blade slipped past her own, firmly pinning her shoulder against the trunk. Scowling, Tarana dropped her sword and tried to squirm away from the blade's point, but Roxanne increased the pressure.

  “What has the Citizens' Army taught you?” Roxanne shook her head.

  Tarana looked up at her and rolled her eyes. “Alright, I got it. You won.”

  Roxanne leaned into her sword slightly harder and Tarana felt the blade dig into her skin, a piercing pain shooting down her arm. “What are you doing?” she yelled. The sharp point slowly tore through her shoulder and she leaned her head back, trying to push the pain away.

  “Don't fight it.” Roxanne said slowly. “Pain is something you will have to deal with sooner or later. You need to learn to manage it.”

  Tarana moaned slightly, eyes squeezed shut. “Stop!”

  “Your enemy won't stop just because you ask her to.” Roxanne twisted the blade slightly. “Don't try to ignore the pain. Feel it. Separate it in your mind.”

  Tarana shook her head slightly, gasping as the metal burrowed its way into her muscle.

  “Do it!” Roxanne ordered sharply.

  Receding into her own mind, Tarana shoved the pain into a corner, but it quickly built up and flooded out. It felt as if her arm were being severed as the hot pain shot up and down her arm. Her eyes flew open. “It won't work! This isn't funny.”

  Roxanne looked back mirthlessly. “Channel the pain down your arm and out your fingertips. But don't ignore it. Feel it and then release it.”

  Breathing heavily, Tarana gathered the pain in her mind, then channeled it out, down her arm and through her fingertips. She felt the pain, acknowledged it, then let it flow away. Drops of blood dripped from her fingers. Feeling more focused, she met Roxanne's gaze and nodded slightly.

  Roxanne drew her sword back. “Good. You're learning.”

  Tarana clutched her shoulder. “Screw you.”

  Grinning slightly, Roxanne wiped the blood from her sword with her sleeve. “Go clean yourself up.”

  “Screw you,” she grumbled again and stalked off angrily. Storming through camp and still holding her shoulder, she tensely tried moving her arm and immediately winced. She heard a sharp laugh in front of her. A girl, taller than herself, stood reclining against a tree. Arms crossed in front of her chest, she smirked at Tarana.

  “Going home to cry to mommy and daddy how the mean lady hurt you?” With a quick turn of the head, she flipped her long brown ponytail behind her shoulder. “Face it, you're not cut out for this life.” She laughed again. “I have never seen anyone do so poorly in that test.” She pulled her loose shirt down, baring her freckled shoulder. “See the scar? Captain Roxanne had to cut me deeper than most because I have such a high pain tolerance. But she hardly even scratched you at all. I doubt that cut will even take a week to heal.” She shook her head. “You're that new Scav, aren't you?”

  Hand clenched, Tarana narrowed her eyes. “The what?”

  The taller girl sighed. “The freaking Citizens' Army. I hate you defectors. You're all so weak.”

  “Who are you?”

  The girl smiled crookedly. “I'm Prisca. And you would be?”

  Tarana offered no smile in return. “Tarana.”

  “Well, Tarana, my dear, I imagine I'll be seeing you again, assuming you don't go running back home, that is.” She held out her hand and then laughed when Tarana glared fiercely at her. “See you later.” She tugged her shirt back in place and trounced off.

  Scowling, Tarana sat down at the edge of camp and inspected her shoulder. Blood had soaked through her shirt, which was sticking to her skin. Gingerly peeling the torn shirt back, she winced and tried to wipe some of the dried blood away with her other sleeve. She didn’t glance up as she heard Roxanne's steps approach her.

  “Hey, kid.” Roxanne knelt down in front of her, holding bandages and a bowl of water. “Let me do that for you.”

  Tarana glared up at her. “I can do it myself.”

  Rolling her eyes, Roxanne ripped off a strip of bandage with her teeth and dipped it in the water. Shaking some of the excess water off, she slipped Tarana’s shirt off her shoulder and began wiping the blood off. Sighing, Tarana sat back and grimaced, pain flowing from her wound every time Roxanne touched it.

  “Well, our scouts say there is no sign of the Scavs anywhere,” Roxanne commented. “Obviously. I mean, there’s no way they could all keep up with that pace. I’m surprised you managed.” She shot Tarana a grin.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why does everyone keep calling them that? Scavs.”

  “Because that's what they are. Scavengers.” Roxanne shook her head in disgust. “They follow us around, always arriving just after the nick of time and pretend they're there to save the day. “ She scoffed. “Of course, all the people left alive are eternally grateful for 'chasing us off' and pledge allegiance to their ridiculous army.”

  “Like me.”

  Roxanne chuckled. “Yeah, like you. I mean, at least we say exactly who and what we are and don't pretend to be something better. Do you even understand what it means to be a part of the Wizard’s Army?”

  “Well, sure,” Tarana shrugged. “We’re going to be on the side of the winning team when that wizard guy is reborn.”

  Looking slightly irritated, an intense look flooded Roxanne’s eyes. “That’s not it at all. We’re not just waiting for the wizard to be reborn, we’re searching for him. He could be alive right now and it’s up to us to find him. Do you understand how vital magic is to the world? It’s slowly dying without it. Nothing is more important than finding the wizard and returning our world to how it used to be, without droughts, disease, all sorts of horrible things.”

  “But I don't understand,” Tarana continued, “then why do you all go around, massacring these towns, especially if the Citizens' Army can pick off the survivors so easily?”

  “It's what works,” Roxanne said simply. “When we find him, the wizard will make his presence known and we will help him rise to power. In order to do this, we only want the most hardcore, willing fighters. These are the people who join the Wizard’s Army when they see us doing our job, searching for the wizard. We leave behind as few people as possible for the Scavs to collect, but while they may have many more people than us, they lack the training, supplies, and motivation we have. They won't stand a chance when a real battle comes around.”

  Tarana nodded slowly. “I agree. Most people back with the Citizens' were only there because they had nowhere else to go. But, I could never understand how we always managed to run into the Wizard's Army. We always seemed to come in through a different route.”

  “Oh, I'm sure they have scouts or something who keep track of where our armies are at. You probably just didn’t notice them coming and going. I mean, your company was pretty large.” She waved a hand dismissively.

  Tarana was silent for a moment as she thought about what Roxanne was saying. “So, how is it that you were able to sneak up on us then, if there is this network of scouts?”

  Looking slightly downcast at the question, Roxanne frowned. “Well, we were a specialty team. You know how I was telling you about the griffins. Our group was far too small and traveled too quickly to be noticed or tracked.”

  Shrugging her shirt back on to her bandaged shoulder, Tarana looked around at the quickly dar
kening campsite. “I talked to one of the other soldiers here,” she said.

  “Oh yeah?” Roxanne asked. “Which one?”

  Tarana narrowed her eyes in thought. “I think her name was Prisca.”

  Roxanne nodded, looking pleased. “Prisca’s one of the best soldiers we’ve got here. She’s probably only a year or two older than you, actually, but already quite accomplished. She was in the army before I even joined, so I’ve seen her in battle. She can be a bit of a brat sometimes, but she’s a good kid, pretty ruthless. Maybe she’ll rub off on you.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Tarana shrugged, her shoulder feeling bulky and cumbersome. “Now can we go eat or something?”

  Laughing, Roxanne hopped up and offered Tarana a hand, which she ignored. “Definitely. I’m starving,” she said brightly. The two walked back over to the campfire, which was burning brightly, sending dancing shadows across the rocky cliff beside them. “Oh, one more thing,” Roxanne said suddenly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a folded knife. “I want you to hold onto this, just in case you need to defend yourself for some reason, alright?” She held it out to Tarana.

  “Defend myself?” Tarana asked, raising an eyebrow as she took the knife and unfolded it, examining the blade.

  Roxanne shrugged. “We're not expecting to run into anything, but it can't hurt to be prepared.” Her shoulders stiffened slightly when Tarana raised the knife to the side of her neck. “What-” she cut herself off as Tarana pulled back her hair with her hand, her face twisted in pain when she moved her arm.