Kindles of War

by Nicol Terra

  “I will just forget that part. You didn‘t do anything wrong” He said, brushing it aside. “We all break, and some of us just happen to struggle with it.”

  She turned blank as he patted her shoulder, a confident smile and his black hair wrapping around his face. He had a sharp gaze and yet, it felt comforting.

  “Your ability to warp or bend reality, it is rare. Only three in this camp of one hundred fifty cadets have an advanced ability. You are special, and those like you are destined for a quick rise in power.” He said, “We all agreed, it didn‘t matter the story.”

  She nodded, grabbing the pen on the paper and signing her name to it, sliding it back. Jay flew over to her and raised his right hand.

  “Do you, Erudite, Accept the rank of Lieutenant and vow to defend Maplesworn, even at the cost of your own life?” Jay asked.

  She nodded. “I do.”

  “Then I hereby give you, the rank of Lieutenant officially and with full confidence of ten Commanders.” He pulled out a black box and handed it to Erudite. She nodded and opened the box, finding two small, penny-sized stars. Jay flew over and slipped each star on her dress, ending it with a salute.

  The day ended with Erudite flying over to her bed and looking across. Everyone was still elsewhere, with only Tina and Rose in the room with them.

  Rose was asleep, but Tina wasn’t, playing Tetris instead on her Holosphere.

  “So, did you get promoted?” Tina asked.

  “Yup, and I demand a pack of Sparks cadet.” She cooed. Tina flipped her off.

  “Do it yourself.” She said. The two shot glares and then smiled, with Erudite floating on her bed and tucking herself inside.

  Erudite giggled, instead choosing to snuggle inside her blanket.

  “I knew that would be your response.” Erudite said.

  Duran's mind was excited, and his body was trembling with glee. He needed a crystal powerful enough to power the portal. He giggled to himself as he walked inside the bar. The inside of the bar was as loud as before, with tens of people rushing to get drinks from the bartender, with many more drinking barrels to get drunk. He also saw Ariel and D.J in the same spot as before. He walked over with a smile, Ariel turning to him with her brow raised.

  “You look like you won the lottery and won a mega million jackpot or something.” She said.

  He giggled, shaking his head. “What I won is a ticket to the fucking moon!” He said.

  Ariel shot up from her seat, her eyes excited. “Wow, you found a way to Nieth? Can we leave tomorrow?” She said

  Duran took a step back as he lowered his smile slightly. “I mean, I found a way, but I still need a power source.”

  Duran looked over to see five bottles of vodka lined up for them. D.J laid over his bottles with a tearful gaze, his eyes as hollow as his soul.

  “Hey D.J, how are those fine bottles?” He said.

  D.J turned over to Duran, tears welling up in his eyes.

  “This was my reward for playing so well, the five finest bottles of vodka, Gray Goose!”

  “Does it taste good?” He asked.

  “Oh it tastes wonderful, but that is beside the point.” He said with a haughty voice.

  “Come on, stop talking and let's drink already.” Duran interrupted.

  D.J grumbled as waved over to the bartender, the same one from the last time they drank together.

  “Oh wow, I didn’t expect to see you guys again.” The barkeep said, his brow sweaty. He looked exhausted, tired from running back and forth from place to place it seems.

  “Three empty glasses, you don‘t mind pre-bought bottles in your bar, do you?” Duran asked.

  The man shrugged. “Just don‘t make it a regular thing.”

  The barkeep gave them three empty shot glasses as D.J poured over a shot for everyone. The crystal blue vodka splashing on the shot glass below. The three raised their glasses and downed the liquid in an instant. The hot drink brushing across his throat, sweet blueberry. He smacked his lips; it tasted great.

  He wobbled over to his seat, Ariel following him to her seat

  “So, what happened?” Ariel asked. D.J nodded in agreement.

  “I take it we have a way inside,” D.J added

  “Well, I will start with the damage report.” He started. “The portal had been left alone for over two thousand years, it is outdated. The green screen for the coordinates are broken, but the coordinates could still be on the computer. Finally, the power source is broken. It can only teleport stuff short distances."

  D.J blinked once and shook her head. “Then let's get a crystal to power it, there is plenty in that shop down the street.”

  “I am assuming if it was that simple, Duran wouldn't have been as serious as he was,” Ariel said

  “I have no clue where we can find a crystal that powerful and I may still have to power it. The metal gate for the portal is cracked, it might not hold the power of the stone in place.” He said. He looked at his crystal briefly for a moment, and then he shook his head. "No, this would likely be lethal to a crystal this weak and undeveloped. He needed something natural and older.

  D.J said nothing. Ariel rubbed her fingers together, saying nothing. The silence was deafening, almost toxic. He continued to rush every idea he can come up with.

  The barkeep grabbed on of D.J bottles and poured them another shot. “I see that you know how to fix the portal.” He said.

  Duran rolled his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, but I would need a powerful crystal to power it. God knows where I can find that.”

  The barkeep shrugged for a moment. “I mean, have you considered the Regi Rockies?”

  Duran blinked. “Regi Rockies?”

  “Is that a bottle of fine liquor?” D.J mumbled.

  “Oh, shut it with that already,” Ariel whispered.

  Duran raised his finger in the air, almost to quiet the two.

  “Do tell.” Duran said.

  “The Regi Rockies is a mountain range in the continent's center. It is well known to be volcanic and highly volatile. Dozens of Dragon Crystals are supposedly hidden there.”

  Duran smiled to himself. “Well, that could be a start. How far is it from here?”

  “Probably a few days.” The barkeep snorted.

  Duran closed his eyes, combining both Blue and Yellow Aura. Together, he sensed all futures he could. Each deviation Duran saw was slightly different or radically different. Some he would take one different step, and another he would make a wild turn west or east. He used this with the timeframe of three days in mind. More often then not, each path felt different, but one finally felt right. He focused on that one future and played it back to himself. The future where he went straight, past a swampland and then in front of the mountains itself. He felt the droplet in the air reach thousands of miles away. He felt the desolate island grow more and more violent with energy. He saw dozens of Dragons flying around a group of hundreds of volcanos. He then felt a deep red glow, not far from where he was. His Blue Aura allowed him to sense if anything on the island was a danger to him, which he felt none except for that nagging pain ahead in time where he felt one person, but he set that aside for now. He focused as he felt it, a few hundred kilometers ahead. A pinkish red crystal laid in the desert wasteland, partly hidden by the dunes of the desert. He opened his eyes and smirked. It is a start at the very least.

  “Well, I found something.” He said.

  Ariel smiled. “Well, the good news is that we have a good start to finding a power source.”

  The three downed their next three shots. Duran let out a small shiver as he shook his head.

  “Hey D.J?” Duran asked.

  “Yes, sir?” He turned to him, his eyes glazed and drifting.

  “You know how you said this was good vodka?” Duran said, smacking his lips.

  “Yeah?” D.J frowned.

  “You lied, this tastes horrible!” Duran said, his tongue tasted like rubbing alcohol.

  D.J mouth opened as he sho
ok his head. “Come on! It tastes great!”

  “I thought so too.” Duran slurred. “But the drunker I get, the more I hate this taste. I mean, what is the point of alcohol if it doesn’t taste good drunk?”

  “The point of alcohol is to get drunk, not for it to taste good?” D.J countered

  Duran said nothing, only rubbing his chin softly as he let out a small giggle. “I guess so.”

  “I mean, to be fair, we have had worse,” Ariel said.

  “What was the worse we had?” Duran asked.

  “Well, there was that one-time Mudath thought it was a good idea to give us orange vodka.” Ariel said, instinctually letting out a gasp of disgust. “Tasted like piss.”

  “Oh, come on, that wasn’t that bad.” He grumbled.

  “You puked up most of it three shots in, you legit thought you would die,” Ariel added.

  Duran turned his head and blinked a few times. “I don’t remember this.”

  “Of course you don’t remember, you were drunk!” D.J growled.

  “I don’t remember all the times I got drunk D.J. Otherwise I would have issues.” Duran said.

  “I am pretty sure you do have issues.” D.J said.

  Ariel shook her head and scratched her chin. “I mean, there was that one other time that Ella thought it was a good idea to get us some a case of beer. Just a case. For all three of us.”

  "To be fair, she doesn’t drink,” D.J added.

  “She doesn’t?” Ariel said.

  “Probably not since Taisa got the three of us drunk one day. He drank an entire bottle of vodka by himself.” D.J said, his tone had a tinge of mischief in it.

  “And?” Duran inquired.

  “Well, that was the day before I became a Chief Commander, all three of us were going to be tested. Taisa said we should duel.” D.J thought as he rubbed his chin.

  Duran snorted as he bellowed out a laugh. “A duel?”

  “Yup. I said sure, but Ella was hesitant at first. Long story short, we dueled drunk, lasted ten minutes. Apparently, we both passed out and the next thing I knew, I was being rolled onto a stretcher.” D.J said, pouring himself a shot from the bottle and downing it. That bottle was now empty as D.J handed the bottle to the bartender. The man merely shrugged and set it aside with the other emptys. Duran rolled a quick sip from his shot. Thanks to Riha, for better or worse, the culture around the world was always recycle old bottles.

  “Ouch,” Ariel said.

  “But did you win?” Duran asked.

  “Duran, does it matter if he won? He was hospitalized!” Ariel proclaimed.

  “It matters to me!” Duran protested.

  D.J smiled, “Taisa was the second one to fall, so I guess I won. Ella didn’t drink after because of the incident.”

  “Should have invited Taisa instead.” Duran giggled.

  “Not like Taisa is here anyway, he is on Siphor,” Ariel said, she poured a shot for everyone. Duran shook his head.

  “How strong is Taisa, anyway?” Duran asked.

  D.J frowned a little. “Well, the consensus among us Chief Commanders is Taisa is the strongest, I am second strongest, and Ella is third.”

  “But Ella didn’t duel.” Duran protested.

  “And you also won, how are you the second strongest?” Ariel asked, swinging back and forth in her chair.

  “Apparently, Taisa knocked herself out, and I knocked myself out. It was just a tragedy. Nine minutes of us were fighting, one minute of us fucking it up, but I was on the losing end. Hell, every time he punched me, I felt the water inside my brain slosh around!"

  He shook his head. “Ella probably wouldn’t fight well drunk anyway…she is far more tactical than I am.”

  “Yeah, you rush in, punch someone a bunch of times and hope it works,” Ariel said.

  “Hey, worked so far!” D.J added.

  “Won’t work all the time, you have to be smart.” Ariel protested.

  D.J scoffed. “Come on, not this again.”

  “I am just saying, smart people, tend to be better fighters.” She said. Duran grabbed a bottle as he prepped another shot, this was one he needed though.

  “Smart people are more likely to get rushed down and beaten before they can even land something.” D.J said.

  “Oh! How about you Ariel?” Duran turned his head to her. She blinked once and looked away. D.J gave out a hearty laugh.

  “Ahh yes, how strong are you among the Legion Commanders? I will fact check.” D.J winked.

  Ariel rolled her eyes. “Irrelevant. Let's drink this shot and go to the hotel.”

  “W-what, I just got here!” Duran protested.

  “This conversation exhausted me,” Ariel said.

  Duran frowned. He said nothing, lifting his shot glass in the air and downed it. He didn’t know what to say. Ariel was always easy to make mad.

  The three walked back to the hotel room, picking up a pack of Jays along the way. The three stepped inside Ariel’s room. Her hotel room was neat and orderly. She had her tent set aside next to her bed, complete with her hiking bag. The three lit their rolls of joints, sitting on their chairs, quiet. Duran held a bottle of vodka in his right hand, everyone having one in their hand for the night. D.J protested to keep at least two for himself, which Duran obliged.

  “So you going tomorrow? To get that stone?” Ariel asked

  Duran nodded. “Probably going alone.”

  “Aww, I will make sure your bed stays warm.” D.J slurred.

  Ariel giggled. “What are you going to do, sleep in it till he gets back?”

  “Well… yeah. Plus, my room is a mess.”

  “Gee, I wonder why,” Ariel said, taking a sip of her bottle of vodka.

  “Is there a reason?” Duran raised a brow.

  “I mean, I maybe brought a few… girls to play cards with me.”

  “Cards,” Ariel said with air quotes. Duran couldn’t help laugh.

  “Relax! I will clean it tomorrow when Duran leaves.” D.J said.

  Duran laughed, only to stop midway. He then remembered in the back of his head his vision. Duran saw volcanos surrounding him. He was fighting a man with a red cloak. He felt a cold shiver down his spine. He never could tell how far his visions were when he slept. It could have been days, weeks or even months. Ironically, he was too good with seeing into the future.

  Duran took a long puff from his joint and exhaled, coughing out a pillar of smoke from his lung.

  “I wonder what is on Nieth,” Duran asked.

  Ariel took a drag from her cigarette and said nothing. Duran turned to D.J who drifted his eyes to the ground.

  “I once heard a story, from my grandfather.” He said.

  “Grandfather Rizan? The previous king of Kulso?” Duran tilted his head.

  D.J nodded. “He told me he went to Nieth once.”

  “What did he say it was like?” Duran asked.

  “He didn’t remember." D.J said.

  “What do you mean he didn’t remember?” Duran grumbled.

  “I mean it, he didn’t remember.” D.J said.

  Ariel took a drag and shook her head. “That… Makes no sense.”

  “He could have had his memory tampered. I always thought Eraz took the throne rather easily.” Duran said, scratching his chin. He rose from the floor and stretched his arms.

  “You going to your room?” Ariel asked.

  “Yeah, I am going to bed.” Duran said.

  “I might as well go.” D.J said.

  Ariel nodded. “I will probably go to the library tomorrow.” She said, a small grin wiping across her face “There is this good book series I started reading.”

  Duran giggled and waved. “Goodnight.”

  Duran didn’t remember the walk to his room, he also didn't remember wobbling to his bed. He swung one long drink of Vodka and passed out on his bed.

  Alcohol blocked Aura to begin with, so him getting fewer visions would be a step in the right direction.

  Yukari heard a loud
buzzer wake her up from her slumber. Her eyes widened, cracking from her dream. The bell intensified, her eyes moving like a rusty gear in a steam engine. She cursed, jumping out of bed and stomping over to the front door.

  “I swear to god if I can't get a decent night sleep in this shit hole for one night.” She snarled and slammed the door open. Ryunsun took a step back, shooting upward, his face flushing white.

  “Jesus, I got here!” He yelled

  Yukari eyes narrowed, only to leave the door open to walk back to her bed

  She crossed her legs and turned to Ryunsun, inspecting her house. It was notoriously clean, orderly and with minimalist. This was exactly how she liked it.

  “Damn, even I got furniture.” Ryunsun muttered.

  “Yeah, yeah, what do you want?” Yukari said dismissively

  He rolled his eyes and grumbled. “Let's take a walk. I wanna see more of the city.”

  She raised a brow, looking at her pajamas for a moment as she turned back to Ryunsun. Ryo has been inactive for a week. Maybe she needed to spend time with someone.

  “Can I get a minute?” Yukari asked.

  He nodded, going back outside, shutting the door and leaning on the wall of her house. She sighed, pulling the box under her bed and slipping on her armor. The blackened steel was whistle clean, without a single blemish. She had yet to be wounded. She looked at herself, holding her hands near her hip and snickering.

  “Of course,” She thought to herself. “I can’t be hurt. I am one of the strongest warriors for Zynthia.” She slinked her blade to her right hip.

  Ryunsun armor was shining white, making him larger than most of the Elves and Faeries. The surrounding people shrunk aside, preferring to avoid the two. The small housing and large apartment complexes lined up the dirt roads. In the corner of her right eye, she saw a line of Faeries with torn, brown or black garments. The shopkeeper struggled, trying to keep his small stand intact as people snatched any food they can get, while the people in line shouted at the thieves.

  “That is mine!”

  “Yeah? Come and take it!” Someone said, punching one of the Faeries in the face.

  Ryunsun sighed as a fight broke out.

  “We been here for two weeks and despite us keeping the ports open, crime is rampant.” He said. Yukari rolled her eyes, darting them down the road. The two suns shined on her light skin.