Heart of the Ocean

by Jason A. Gilbert

  Laila raised an eyebrow, her anger slowly dissipating. She walked to him, lifting herself up on the top of the wall next to him.

  "You're not just a potter, Dio. You've saved Connor...and me."

  Dio shrugged.

  "And you keep me sane," Laila continued, trying to comfort her friend. "You and Mother are the only reminders I have of home. You were also the only two people from Terus who didn't hate what I am..."

  "Your father—"

  "My father didn't want me to be there. He cares for me, but he knew what chaos my presence caused in the city. You know that."

  "I... Maybe..."

  "Do you even remember what it was like in Terus?" Laila asked, her voice becoming quiet.

  "What do you mean? Of course I remember. We haven't been gone that long."

  "I know...I just...I can't seem to remember things. Selene, my father, they all seem so distant. And then..." Her voice trailed off, her vision blurring.

  "What?" Dio pressed.

  "I've seen them, you know." Laila started again; she knew that she was rambling, but the words just started to come, and she no longer wanted to hold them back. "All of them. Burning. Father, Selene, Torin...everyone. In my dreams. Every night, it seems. Ever since the cave..." Her voice trailed off again and she looked into the forest.

  Dio watched her carefully. Laila did not look at him. She continued to stare out into the forest, watching small animals scurry beneath the trees, happy to not have the rain to contend with, at least for a short while.

  "Maybe we've all been like that," she started again, watching the animals, no longer caring if Dio was listening or not. "A year ago, none of this was real. Elementals, magic. They were just stories, and some were stories we'd never heard. We just went about our lives, ignorant of what was going on in the world around us. And now look at us." The sunlight began to dim as she spoke, clouds passing overhead. A cold mist began to fall. The animals beneath the trees scattered, immediately seeking shelter, fearful of a larger torrent to come. "We’re desperately trying to find our way in the face of a storm. Our storm is fire, but it doesn't matter. We've spent too much time forgetting..."

  "Is that not your purpose?" An airy voice spoke up behind them.

  Laila and Dio both spun, Laila raising her staff defensively. Wyndam walked out from between the stone buildings. His long stride brought him to the wall in a few quick steps. His hairless head glistened in the falling mist. Dio relaxed upon seeing who it was, but Laila remained defensive, her staff held in front of her and her hands gripping it tightly.

  "Still, Magusari?" Wyndam said, looking down at Laila and her staff.

  Laila took a deep breath, watching the elemental carefully, and then slowly relaxed her grip on her staff. "What do you mean?"

  "Is it not your purpose as Magusari to right that desperation? To make up for the time that your people have spent forgetting their past?"

  The question was an honest one, but Laila sensed an edge of derision in his voice.

  "Maybe..." Laila paused for a moment and then took a step toward Wyndam. "But your people are the ones gathered against us! If I'm supposed to 'right the balance,' would it not be in your best interest to help me?"

  "Perhaps." The elemental's tone never changed. "But do not forget that it was you who struck the first blow of this war."

  "Not us. Nuriel!"

  "And if Nuriel had not infiltrated your Consulate, would you have acquiesced, as we asked? Or would you have fought back, prolonging the inevitable?"

  "Inevitable? Your first attack failed, and you were captured!" Dio snapped.

  Wyndam turned his pale eyes to the young man. "Indeed." One word, but not a question, almost a challenge. Laila wondered again at the game Wyndam might be playing. Why had he agreed to take them to the Sacred Waters? Helping her seemed counter to his people's goals. And yet, he had tried to help them through the Straits, risking his own life for their safe passage.

  "What's your point?" Laila asked, her anger cooling to a low burn.

  "Point? No point. Just a thought." The elemental fell silent, turning his gaze back to the forest.

  "Did you want something, then?" Laila asked, the smolder in her voice undiminished.

  Wyndam stared into the forest for a long, silent moment before finally turning back to her. "I would speak to the young potter, if you don't mind, Magusari." His lanky form folded slightly, bowing toward her with mock subservience.

  Laila glanced at Dio. "Why?" She had not meant for the question to come out with so much surprise, and she saw how the tone of her question affected Dio. She berated herself silently. Had she not just been trying to convince him of his own importance?

  "If he wishes to speak to you of our conversation, I will not stop him. However..."

  "What...?" Laila began, but her voice trailed off as Dio caught her eyes. He shook his head.

  "Please, Laila. I'll tell you what this is all about later, but..."

  Laila's eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes darted between the elemental and her old friend. Dio had been speaking to Wyndam before she had left the house. That had been why Wyndam had been standing outside the door when they had left. But what did Dio and Wyndham have to talk about?

  Shaking her head, she stepped back toward the center of the village, deliberately walking between the two of them. Dio opened his mouth to say something, but she did not turn to acknowledge him, quickly turning between two of the stone houses instead. The heel of her staff dug small divots into the soft ground as she walked. Her hands gripped her staff tightly.

  "Dio's talking with Wyndam, and Connor's disappeared. What in the world is happening?" Laila said softly to herself as she walked back toward the bonfire, still wanting to avoid the house and Icarus's questions.

  The deer hung heavy on Connor's shoulders. He was still surprised they had been able to catch anything. Nina walked in front of him, leading them back through the damp forest toward the Edonin village. She had the same lithe build that was common to his people, and he found himself admiring the grace in her movement, especially through the forest. She had been born to this life, and it showed. Connor had spent a good deal of time with Laila in the wilderness, and she did not display the same kind of grace. Laila was more forceful in her movements, and even in Terus and Kios, the cities that she was familiar with, she had a deliberateness to her movement. Nina did not; she moved much as some of the better hunters back home did, picking her steps carefully and seeming to glide silently through the forest.

  A branch snapped into Connor's shin, shooting brief but unexpected pain up his leg. He stumbled a step or two, stepping heavily in order to keep himself and the deer upright. Nina looked back at him over her shoulder and put a finger to her lips. He raised his hands in supplication, feeling oddly like he was back home. She watched him for a moment, making sure he was steady, and then moved off through the forest again.

  After another mile, Connor could see Anrhe through the trees and the telltale smoke that drifted up from the center. He shrugged his shoulders as best he could beneath the deer, thankful to finally see the village and know that they would get a rest soon.

  "Glad we're coming back with something, eh?" he said.

  Nina glanced back at him, but said nothing. Any attempt at conversation the entire morning had been met in a similar fashion. She did not seem to speak much of his language, although he had tried. All morning, though, Connor's conversations had been mostly one-sided.

  He trudged across the damp forest floor and followed Nina back into the confines of the village wall. Within a few moments Tomo appeared near them. He spoke quickly to Nina. She looked at him defiantly before finally moving away as Tomo turned to Connor.

  "Come with me, Warden. We will prepare the beast for tonight," Tomo said, motioning for Connor to follow, though not offering to help carry the deer.

  "What's tonight? Have the other Elders arrived?"

  "Not all of them, but two of the Elders live only a day's journey from he
re, and they should arrive before the sun sets."

  "How many villages are there?" They continued to move through the stone houses, moving to the center of the village.

  "Five, including Anrhe. You look surprised?"

  Connor nodded. He had not expected that many. Anrhe was at least as big as Custos, and that was all that was left of the Phoenix Clan. Connor was beginning to suspect there was a connection between the Edonin's origins and his own clan’s, but he had not found it yet.

  "I thought maybe one or two more, but five. How many of the Edonin are there?"

  Tomo thought for a moment. "Five thousand, perhaps."

  Connor's eyes widened. "Five...thousand." The entire population of Custos was only a few hundred.

  "Aye," Tomo continued. "The village to the northeast, Tregaron, houses nearly two thousand itself. They have most of the contact with the other continents."

  Two thousand? Connor's eyes widened further. Two thousand was nearly as many people that were in Norden, the southernmost Confederacy city that guarded the pass between the lands near Custos and the Confederacy itself.

  They entered the village center with Connor still trying to wrap his thoughts around the number of Edonin. Tomo led Connor across the center toward the Elder's house. In the back they laid the deer out on a large table and began to skin and dress it.

  "Did you enjoy your time with Nina?" asked Tomo as they worked.

  Connor hesitated. "Uh...yes. She's quite the hunter."

  Tomo nodded. "She is. Her father often leads the hunts when he travels amongst the villages. If you think she is good, you should see him."

  "Nina's not...your daughter?" Connor asked, pulling a knife along the hide of the deer.

  "She is not. She's spending time here to learn more of the people she will one day lead."

  Connor's eyes raised. "Lead?"

  "Aye," Tomo answered. "Her father is the Elder of Tregaron. She will follow in his footsteps."

  "Oh."

  "Did you two find much to talk about?"

  Connor wondered at all the questions. "No. She doesn't seem to speak my language as well as you do."

  Tomo laughed and Connor turned to him, raising an eyebrow in question.

  "She speaks the southern language just fine, boy. I told you, she is in line to be Elder of Tregaron, and she would make a poor leader could she not. Tregaron is the home to all of our trade with the east." His laughing slowed and he smiled at Connor. "Perhaps you simply weren't engaging enough."

  Connor stared at Tomo. He had not said anything embarrassing, but he had certainly made a few comments that would not have been appropriate had he known that Nina could understand him. He shook his head and returned his attention to the deer.

  "Don't worry, boy. She was likely just having a little fun. I will speak with her. She is still a member of an Elder's house, and you are my guest. She should conduct herself with more honor."

  Connor returned to his work on the deer again. He would like a chance to speak with her again as well, this time fully aware of her ability to understand him.

  Twenty-Three

  Legend of the Edonin

  The sounds of people talking drifted in from outside the stone house. Laila sat against one wall, listening incomprehensibly to the strange language of the Edonin, although it was no longer truly strange to her. She had been listening to it for two days now. She still knew nothing of the language, but she had developed a sort of familiarity to its sound. The Elders of the other villages had arrived over the last day. Two of them had arrived last night, with their small entourages. The other two, including the Elder of Tregaron, the largest Edonin village, had arrived in the afternoon. Now the whole village was preparing for the gathering that would start just as the sun went down.

  Laila leaned her head back against the cool stone and closed her eyes. She had not been bothered by her strange dreams last night. Any glimpse of flames set her on edge though, as she feared that another vision was fighting its way into her waking hours, as it had done in the cave. So she had stayed away from the village center and the growing bonfire there. She knew she would not be able to avoid it at the gathering, but at least she could have a reprieve now.

  The rest of her small group was out helping with the preparations or spending time amongst the Edonin. Captain Drachus appeared to know some of their language, and the arrival of the group from Tregaron had brought a few more who knew their language.

  Adults and children alike filed along the weaving paths between the circular buildings of the Edonin village. All dressed alike, in the same wrap-around leather cloaks that Tomo and Rais wore. The damp dirt clung to the bottom of Laila's robe as they walked, and Laila began to understand why the Edonin all, men and women included, wore pants with leather shoes as she felt the tug of the gathering mud on the bottom of her robes.

  Reaching the center of the village, Laila found the fire had grown significantly, burning high into the sky in defiance of the lingering clouds that hung just beyond the village with their rain. The center was now full of people, and the families greeted each other and spoke quietly amongst themselves. Some of them glanced at the small group of survivors with questions in their eyes. But seeing them with Tomo seemed to allay any immediate fears they might have had. A small girl ran up to Laila, breaking free of her parents. Looking at her staff and then up at her, she said something quick in a high-pitched voice, but it was in their own language. Laila smiled in return at the girl and shrugged, not sure how to respond. The young girl repeated.

  "She wants to know if it’s true," Tomo said, glancing back as they continued to walk toward the center and the bonfire.

  "If what's true?" Laila asked.

  "That you are the Magusari."

  Laila looked back at the young girl clinging to her now muddy robes. A sweet smile covered her entire face, and Laila could see the hope of youth in her. The Edonin seemed to have a much clearer idea of what the Magusari was than even Connor's people. She smiled back at the girl again and nodded her head slowly. With a giggle, the little girl ran back toward her parents, talking excitedly.

  "Does everyone know?" Laila asked of Tomo.

  "Who you are? Most. We are a small village. News like this would likely not travel as quickly in some of the northern villages as they are much larger. But here in Ahre, not much news goes unheard for more than few hours."

  Connor chuckled. "Sounds like Custos."

  Tomo only nodded, leading them deeper through the crowded center. Finally reaching the bonfire, they found a space cleared around it. Nina stood next to the elder. Tomo indicated that Laila and Connor were to stand near his mother. The rest of their small group took places at the front of the still gathering crowd.

  "Welcome, child," the old woman said, glancing up at Laila from her seat. "We were not properly introduced earlier. I am Verica, elder of this village. This is my grandniece, Nina." She placed a withered hand on the arm of the young woman next to her. Nina nodded to Laila and Connor before returning her almost regal gaze back toward the crowd of villagers. "And you already know my son, Tomo."

  Laila nodded. "Thank you..." She hesitated, not sure how to address the old woman.

  "Yes, thank you, Elder," Connor said quickly.

  "Thank you, Elder," Laila parroted, following Connor's lead.

  Verica smiled back at the two of them and then returned her attention to the villagers. Tomo moved to stand in front of the four of them, facing away from the fire to address the crowd. He began speaking in their own language. There were a couple of loud statements from Tomo, followed by a unified refrain from the gathered villagers. Laila felt a hand on her arm and glanced down at Verica.

  "This is all just formality," she whispered, just loud enough to be heard over the popping and burning of the bonfire.

  Laila nodded.

  With a final statement, Tomo turned and indicated Laila and Connor. The crowd let out a mild cheer. Tomo had introduced them. Laila was unsure what to do, but Con
nor bowed to the crowd. He could not have known what was being said, but he must have just been following what would have been expected of him in Custos. Laila, again following his lead, leaned forward and bowed herself.

  Tomo stepped toward them. "You have been introduced to our people. Now, the Elder will remind us of what your significance is." His voice still held a degree of formality to it. "I will translate, do not worry," he said in response to the concerned look that must have crossed Laila and Connor's faces.

  Laila watched the old Elder rise up from her seat. She leaned heavily on Nina, who stood stoically and faced the crowd. Verica's voice came slowly at first, the weight of age and illness hindering its strength. But, as the words continued, her strength increased, and her voice washed over the rapt crowd in the village center.

  "We were once other than we are." Tomo's voice mingled with Verica's, translating for Laila and Connor. "Always a proud people, but before the Collapse, we had purpose. We fought against Chaos itself. We fought for balance. We fought for the Moon. And for that, we were punished.

  "Pontus, leader of the Ondine, had seen what the Moon would do. Pontus had seen the coming of the Collapse, and sought to prevent it. She tried to stop the Moon from destroying the world. But, the Moon, along with our people, would not listen. We stood beside the Moon and defended her from the Ondine as she continued to fight against Chaos, Fire, and Air. The Moon could not stand against all of this strength. The Warden, the Moon's champion, cast down Pontus and the Ondine, locking them away in the Tomb."

  A murmur ran through the gathering at the mention of the Tomb. Laila glanced at Connor, but he only shrugged. Verica continued, and Tomo's voice continued to speak to them.

  "The Moon fought with her champion and eventually overcame Chaos. But at what cost? The Collapse. Land and sea battled, tearing each other apart. The world changed, forever. Our people, once proud and mighty, were cast aside, forgotten. And in punishment, the Storm and the Straits came. Washing over our lands and damning us for our part in the Collapse. The Ondine, mad with grief over the Collapse of the world, were locked away in their Tomb, but they still reached out.