by Blake Vanier
After driving along the coast for a few minutes, Sosimo turns Gracie away and weaves through the streets before parking in an alley.
“This is my store, and where I live. I’ll show you around, and then we can come back for our gear,” Sosimo says.
From the truck, he leads them from the back door of his store through aisles of storage. Longhaired Borukins in starched, beige uniforms move through the aisles with purpose. They all glance at the children and move past Sosimo without raising their heads. Iona smells the sweet candy, but finds her mouth is dry.
“I’ll show you where we make the chocolate and other candy first,” Sosimo says. He opens a door, leading them downstairs toward the sounds of machinery.
Rows of different machines split the room into sections. Borukins dressed in white move around from one task to the next.
“Neat. Why so many machines?” Iona asks.
“Making candy is no simple business, especially if you want to do it right. All of these machines serve a purpose and to really do it right, we have to keep the basement closed to control the humidity,” Sosimo says. “Many of these machines are older than myself. It was a challenge finding them, but I tell you, it was worth it. The chocolate they make is unrivaled.”
He walks them through the aisles and―again―the employees stay clear of his path. “That one, there,” he says, pointing to a giant machine with a belt drive running a stone grinder, “is over a hundred years old.” He reaches the end of an aisle and inspects one of the grinders, running his finger over spilled sugar. He signals to the closest worker. “You. Come here.”
The worker jumps and approaches Sosimo. “Yes, Mr. Mantle?”
Sosimo points to the sugar on his finger. “What is this? Are we running a wood shop, or a candy store?”
“A candy store, sir.”
“That’s what I thought. Clean this up and check the rest of the machines. This kind of mess is unacceptable. You know better.”
The worker nods his head, which is beaded with sweat. “I’ll do it right away, sir,” he says, walking swiftly away.
Sosimo shakes his head, letting out a frustrated breath. “I don’t ask for too much, do I?”
“Why is everyone scared of you, Mr. Sosimo?” Thea asks.
Sosimo stares down on her. “What?”
“I was just asking why everyone around you sweats like they’re about to take a spelling test that their life depends on.”
“They’re just focused on their work, Thea. I like to keep the store running smoothly.”
Thea shakes her head. “They’re definitely scared of you. Maybe you’re too harsh. Fae always tells Korbin the only thing that should be harsh is sandpaper, not people. But he doesn’t listen.”
“I do, too!” Korbin says.
“Yeah, well then how many times has she said that?” Thea asks. “Just last week when Nero―”
“All right, children. Enough,” Sosimo says. “Let’s go see the storefront.”
Sosimo leads them back to the storage area. They walk through a door that spits them out behind the sales counter, opening to a large candy store. The space is split into sections for each different type of candy. Borukin customers mill around quietly. Repurposed candy machines line the sides, filled with pieces of wrapped sweets.
“Candy!” Thea says, running out from behind the counter and down the aisles. She stops at the different bins, bouncing for a moment then running off to the next display.
“Sorry, Sosimo,” Ryder says. “She’s a spaz.”
“It’s okay,” Sosimo says softly, not turning to look at Ryder.
The Borukins in the store all watch Thea run until one of the employees grabs her by the wrist.
“This is not a playground, child,” the employee says, biting. She starts to walk her toward the door. “Run around somewhere else.”
“Hold up, Tierney,” Sosimo says, walking toward her.
Tierney looks up with surprise. “Mr. Mantle! I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were here. I don’t know who this child belongs to, but I’ll remove her immediately and you’ll never see her again.”
Thea’s panicked face turns to sheer horror. Tears begin to build up in her eyes.
Sosimo looks from Thea to Tierney, who is equally horrified. There is a flash of realization before his rigid posture gives way and his face is ridden with sorrow.
Thea begins to cry.
“Please don’t fire me, Mr. Mantle,” Tierney says. “I know children aren’t allowed unattended. I’ll watch more carefully. It won’t happen again.” She turns around, yanking Thea with her.
“Stop,” Sosimo says with difficulty.
Tierney turns around and Thea weakly tries to unclench the woman’s hand from her own.
“Please,” Thea says between sobs. “I didn’t know. I don’t want to go.”
Sosimo drops down to one knee. “Come here, Thea. It’s okay.”
Tierney looks at them in surprise before she lets Thea go. Thea runs to Sosimo for a hug. He pats her back until her crying subsides.
“Oh, may Stone help me. I’m sorry, Mr. Mantle,” Tierney says. “I didn’t know they were with you. I thought you wanted nothing to do with children.”
“I know, and I haven’t had the right attitude. I’m sorry if I’ve been too hard on you. I’ve turned into a tyrant because I was too afraid of losing this store as well.”
“You’re a great boss. Your candy stores are the best―”
“Don’t. There’s nothing more to be said. I’ll do better.” Sosimo stands up, brushing the knees of his pants. He takes a long breath. “Could you prepare the list of ingredients we need for the store? I’d like to restock over the next few days.”
Tierney nods. “Yes, sir. Right away.” She turns away.
“Tierney,” Sosimo says sternly.
Tierney spins back around. “Yes, sir?”
Sosimo’s face softens. “Thank you.”
A look of confusion flits across Tierney’s face. Then, a small smile creeps into her expression. She turns purposefully away.
“Mr. Sosimo, sir,” Thea says, tugging on his pants. She is still recovering from crying.
“You don’t have to call me sir, Thea.”
“I’m sorry I got in trouble.”
Sosimo ruffles her hair. “You did nothing wrong.” Sosimo looks over the Borukin customers watching the scene. He turns back to the children. “Let’s collect our belongings, and I’ll show you where we’ll be staying.”
Sosimo leads them out the back of the store to collect their belongings from Gracie. He takes them up a stairway in the alley to the second floor.
Sosimo slides the key into the door. “This is where I live.” The back door opens to the side of a wide-open kitchen that flows into the dining room. “We’ll be doing most of the cooking ourselves, so you’ll get very comfortable in here.”
Sosimo takes them through the living room, where double sliding doors expose a stone training room with spongy grey floors. “This is where I’ll be training you to use Aether,” Sosimo says.
The children fan out. Korbin runs to a rack of wooden staffs and swords. “Are these your weapons?” Korbin asks. “Where are your real swords and stuff?”
“Those are Borukin styks. They’re made of special wood,” Sosimo says. “In the hands of a Borukin, they’re just as effective as any metal weapon.”
“How is that possible?” Iona asks.
“With Aether and skill. Unfortunately, they won’t be any use to you all, since Humans don’t have a high enough Aethersotto to use them effectively.”
“What are these?” Nero points to a rack with an assortment of patterned crystal rods, gloves with gems, and pendants. “They’re amazing.”
Iona looks at the rack. They’re not that amazing…
“Those are Artifacts. They’re infused with Aether. They will be the tools I’ll use to teach you all.”
“Oh, sweet,” Korbin says. “Can we shoot fireballs and blow
things up like Captain Konquer?”
“Who’s Captain Konquer?” Sosimo asks.
“A silly action figure Korbin is obsessed with,” Ryder says.
“Only because he’s the most awesome fighting machine ever!” Korbin says, kicking against the air.
Sosimo frowns. “These are serious tools, Korbin. I expect you to treat them as such, and I expect you to act like an adult in the training room. Understand?”
Korbin drops his arms to his sides and nods.
“Good.” Sosimo’s face lightens and he looks over the children. “Now, over the course of our training, I’ll go into detail about the different types of Artifacts and how they can be used, but it’ll be some time before you’ll be ready for them. You must master the basics, or further down the road these tools will only cripple you,” Sosimo says, looking at the children. “We’ll also be doing Roroonki here, which are the traditional Borukin morning exercises. They are a combination of calisthenics and meditation. They will help to build strength and to focus your young minds for the day.” Sosimo shuffles the children out of the room, taking them up to the next floor, where there are several bedrooms and bathrooms. They are quick to split up and claim their beds.
As Sosimo is taking the children back downstairs, Korbin stops, looking up another stairway. “What’s up there?”
“I keep a private work shop and some storage up there. It’s locked, so don’t bother exploring,” Sosimo says.
“Are you going to show us that later?” Iona asks.
“Perhaps. We’ll have to see. For now, why don’t you make yourselves comfortable and settle in? Don’t fool around in the training room, or I won’t train you. It is a place to be serious. Right now, I need to talk with Tierney about the supplies the shop needs and run a few errands.”
“Why don’t you have someone else pick up the supplies if you own the shop?” Ryder asks. “It seems like that’d be a boring job.”
“It is what you make it, Ryder. I like to hand-pick the ingredients myself a few times a year, to ensure quality and consistency. I’ll be back in a little bit with some food, and then we can start on dinner.”
“Remember to be nice!” Thea says as he turns away.
Sosimo nods. “Yes, Ma’am.”
He leaves the children to themselves. As soon as the door shuts, Thea runs and jumps on one of the couches in the living room. “This place is almost as nice as Fae’s. This couch is bigger than my bed!”
Ryder sits next to her. “Everything is big here, and Kiats is way nicer than New Lur and even Blue Horin.”
“Yeah, I hope we get to swim in the ocean and play in those ponds,” Thea says. “But I kinda miss home. I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve been there.”
“At least we’re far away from the Erohsians and the Drebin,” Iona says. “I feel safe here. The Borukins seem like nice people.”
“Yeah, I just hope Sosimo cheers up more,” Thea says. “Like Gorton. He was fun.”
“And Kas, I liked her,” Iona says.
“But Taris and Centara were total wusses,” Korbin says. “I could totally take them.”
“Pff, they were twice the size of you, Korb,” Ryder says. “And you probably just have a crush on Taris.”
“Whatever, that wouldn’t stop Captain Konquer.”
Ryder shakes his head. “They seemed cool enough, though. I can’t believe they fixed that detector.”
Korbin shrugs. “I could probably do that.”
“I hope we get to play in those waterfalls by that camp again,” Thea says. “That was the most fun I’ve had in my entire life!”
“Do you think Fae’s okay?” Nero asks.
The energy from the other children washes away.
“I hope so,” Ryder says. “We’ll have to ask Sosimo about it later.”
*****
“I appreciate all the work you did with me over the last few days,” Sosimo says. “Now that all of the pressing jobs for the store are done and we’ve enrolled you in school, we can start to train with Aether.”
“Do we really have to go to school?” Korbin asks.
“Borukins believe in practical experience. I told them you’ll be apprenticing at my candy store, so you only have three days of school a week. You’ll manage if you want to train with me.”
Korbin dips his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Now, on to Aether. There are many levels of complexity when it comes to using Aether. Many of these will take you your entire life to master. To start, we’ll simply work on getting your Aether flowing. In a few weeks, we’ll move on to Fundamental Aether.”
“What’s that?” Ryder and Korbin ask at the same time.
“Jinx!” Korbin says.
Ryder glares at Korbin before quickly turning his attention back to Sosimo.
“You got jinxed,” Thea says, dancing in a circle.
Sosimo looks between the children. “What just happened?”
“Korbin just jinxed,” Thea says, pointing to Ryder with big gestures. “Now,” she points to Ryder again, “can’t talk. It’s very serious.”
“You really can’t talk, Ryder?”
Ryder smiles at Korbin then Thea. “Can now.”
“You totally ruined it, Mr. Sosimo,” Thea throws her hands up and slumps over.
Sosimo moves the toothpick in his mouth. “You children are a different species. I don’t understand half of what goes on in those little heads of yours. Your attention span must be measured in breaths. Now, we focus.”
Thea stands up straight, giving Sosimo her complete attention.
“Good. Back to the question that was asked before that little incident. Fundamental Aether is everything you can do with Aether that is not cast specific. There are passive abilities, like an increase in strength, speed, and endurance. There’s also how you may perceive Aether. Then there are active abilities. Those are focused on using your essence to affect the world.”
“So, like moving stuff without touching it?” Ryder asks.
“Yes, exactly,” Sosimo says. “But as I said before we’ll start with working on controlling the flow of your Aether.” Sosimo walks over to the racks of Artifacts and grabs a glove made of golden chain. Red stones are set into each of the fingertips while pieces of polished wood decorate the rest. “This is a Pahzan lepisent. It converts Aether into heat. I’m going to have you use this to melt ice cubes.”
“What good is that?” Korbin asks.
“This is just the start, Korbin. When you’re better trained, you can use a lepisent like this to release a stream of hot Aether.”
“Awesome! When do we do that?”
Sosimo shakes his head. “When you master the basics.” He brings a pitcher of ice to the children. “Now watch.”
Sosimo puts on the perfectly fitting glove and holds an ice cube in his fingers. The ice slowly melts, water trickling down his fingers to the floor. “As easy as that. Now, Ryder, you’re up first.”
Ryder slips on the large glove and holds up a piece of ice. “Okay, what do I do?”
“The glove will do all the work. All you have to do is let the energy flow. Just relax and think about melting the ice. Once you get it, the next challenge will be controlling the flow.”
Ryder closes his eyes, breathing slowly. After a few moments, a few drops of water fall.
“That’s it. Keep it coming,” Sosimo says. The ice quickly melts. “How’d that feel?”
Ryder removes the glove. “Weird. Like I was losing something. At first I didn’t want to let go. Once I relaxed, it felt better.”
“It’ll only get easier from now on.” Sosimo holds the glove out to Thea. “You’re up, Thea.”
Thea puts on the glove, and Sosimo places a piece of ice on her hand. In a moment, the ice cube is nothing more than steaming water on her hand.
“Wow, Thea, not bad.”
Thea’s grin covers her entire face. She hugs Sosimo’s waist. “Thanks, Mr. Sosimo.”
“Okay, Thea, l
et me have the lepisent so Korbin can go. Typically, we don’t hug in the training room.”
“That’s a silly rule,” Thea says. She hands Korbin the glove.
Sosimo puts an ice cube on Korbin’s fingertips. “Okay, Korbin, just relax and let it flow.”
Korbin looks at the ice cube. Nothing happens. He shuffles his feet, glaring at it. His head starts to tremble. A red glow fills his face, and a vein on his forehead bulges.
Sosimo holds up his hand. “Whoa, Korbin, hold up. You’re going to pop something if you push any harder.”
All the children burst into laughter.
Korbin's face stays red. He spins on the other children, throwing the ice cube at Nero's chest. “Is that funny, Nero? If it's so easy, why don't you do it? Oh wait, I forgot. You can’t!”
Sosimo whacks Korbin’s arm with the back of his hand. “That's enough.” His voice booms. The color drains from Korbin's face and he shrinks down. “Go to your room. I will not tolerate this in the training room or anywhere else.”
Korbin stands straight. His face curls in anger. “You can't tell me what to do.”
“You’re in my house and you’re under my training. You’ll do as I say or leave.” Sosimo says, but Korbin hesitates. “Now!” Korbin jumps, scurrying off to his room.
Sosimo walks over to Nero, who is hanging his head. Sosimo awkwardly pats him on the head.
“I could do it. I swear,” Nero whispers.
“Be strong, Nero.” Sosimo kneels down. “If you and Iona would like to explore the city tomorrow while we practice, you can. It might be more interesting than just watching us train. Borukins respect Humans, so you shouldn't have any trouble with the people. There’s even a park close by you can explore.”
Nero looks up at him. “All by ourselves?”
Iona slumps. I don’t want to get stuck with Nero. “Yeah, do you really think that’s such a good idea?”
Sosimo nods. “I think it’ll be good for both of you. At least try it tomorrow.”
“Okay, fine,” Iona says. “Just tomorrow.”
15
Exploration
Iona
The Borukins smile at Iona as she walks down the busy streets, Nero in tow. Iona rubs her fingers on her palms, noticing they are sweaty.