Tales of the Gleamwind I

Shortly after the arrival of the Oracle Heads, we celebrated Silver Night. It still baffles me how a natural phenomenon so dangerous as the Gleamwind could gift us the most magical of nights each year. It is almost as if nature would try to compensate the amount of lives it took each year with breathtaking visuals. It simply is the way humanity has to live in this world: entangled with the Gleamwind, for better or worse. - Memoirs of an Oracle.

Days passed, the date of the official testing crept ever closer. Ever since Sonora had gathered the papers she had found on Tullip’s old desk she had been able to think of little else. However, other than some kind of cryptic yearning after something her brother kept mentioning as ‘the Call’ it yielded little knowledge that Sonora did not already possess.

Whatever this Call was, Tullip had disappeared into the howling abyss beneath the Shard Core and there was no coming back from that. She could visit the Core Chamber however many times she wanted, but she would not get a clear answer there.

Except, the Core did talk to her. Or, at least, it did try to communicate to Sonora in some way. With feelings, vibrations. All things that Sonora was not ready to accept. She could not start to lose her mind so close to her Anointment. She would not!

She remembered telling Kayfe and Movra that Tullip had been much more prepared than her on being an Oracle. That was true, way back then, but Sonora have not taken a full week off her studies since she knew she was going to take her brother’s place.

A sudden gust of chilly wind caressed her long black hair as she flowed down the Audience Hall. The evening sky shimmered in orange and gold lights through the open double arched entrance gates; the strong colors were a definite sign that Silver Night was upon them. Sonora adjusted her dark yellow toga, tugged her long-nailed fingers each into the opposite sleeve, then doubled her speed to catch up with Rinaer who was waiting for her outside.

Rose Sitak-Lazio, and the Oracle Heads had already gone ahead to the town square to officially start the festivities for the night, while Sonora had been granted an additional two hours to get ready, considering that her testing would start the morning after.

As she stepped out of the entrance gates, Rinaer turned away from the silver-coated guard he was talking to and offered his hand to Sonora. They walked down the gentle ramp to the freshly cut, bright, green lawn and onto the glider prepared for them. It was a wider model, with more metal rods attached to each wing than usual. It was slow, but more comfortable and secure; a perfect ride for the Oracle or his daughter, the Rosevy.

Rinaer squeezed himself next to her on the small cushioned chairs behind the pilot. They watched the unfolding scenery in silence as they swiftly glided off the palace grounds and down the rocky sides of the Shard to the main town.

“I must warn you about the state of some of the Heads.” Rinaer said as the first stone building shifted into sight from behind a moss-covered outcrop. He leaned closer to Sonora to avoid having to shout over the whistling wind. “Sproutwine has been served from early in the afternoon and from what I have seen Trieno and Movra did not shy away from it.”

A tiny smile crept onto the man’s wrinkled face. Sonora responded with a halfhearted smile of her own, then braced herself for the landing. The pilot, stretched over the controls of the glider, raised a gloved hand, then opened his palm. According to that signal, it was going to be a plain and easy landing, nothing to worry about.

Sonora caught one last glimpse of the enormous silver snake twirling in the sky before a small unit of controllers surrounded their glider to escort the Rosevy and Rinaer to the festival. The Gleamwind was such a breathtaking sight to see, now enhanced by its vicinity to the Shard.

The smile she had given to Rinaer did not fade from Sonora’s face, however hard she tried to make herself look solemn. The smell of cooking fires, roasted hazelnuts, spicy vegetable pots, sparkling sproutwine and a bustling crowd of people induced so much nostalgia in her, as if she had quite a life to look back on instead of merely eighteen years. They walked down the twisting roads of the village, dodging dancing and singing townsfolk and following the natural curve of the Shard’s rocky landscape to get to the main square.

The constant hum of her controllers’ halberds felt out of place in the festive crowd. Sonora frowned. It was when she almost grabbed the shoulder-pad of the captain when she noticed them. The refugees. The people from the Frontier Shard, the Shard that had uncontrollably drifted into dangerous vicinity of the ever-growing void that consumed everything in its path. Their dark, lost looks filled with fear and occasional anger spoiled Sonora’s festive spirit.

She understood what they were scared of, but why were they angry? Was their ire aimed at her? Surely not. She had not done anything to deserve their rage, did she?

Sonora was about to slow down to let Rinaer catch up with her so she could ask him about the refugees, but the two controller leading their pack deftly stepped aside to reveal the main square of the village.

Sonora flinched as the last rays of the setting sun burst through the stone tops of the houses right across from her. They were on one of the few almost flat areas of the Shard, usually home to the daily market that had now been cleared in favor of colorful vendor stands and attractions. People in blue, green and white togas were roaming around the square, but it could not be called a tight crowd, which felt odd. Sonora recalled old Silver Nights, when she had to wriggle her way through clusters of nobles and commoners alike to get to the better spots.

With a quick glance around, Sonora caught the flickering tips of charged halberds all around them, like parts of a massive electrical fence enclosing the square. Sonora had been separated from the rest of the people. Her people. Now that she took a better look at the togas around her, they were all neat, clean, and sometimes even ironed. This selected crowd consisted of only Shard nobility.

“Aha! The Rosevy has finally decided to bless us with her presence. What a delight!” Trieno’s musical call reached her, followed by the yellow-clad woman herself and her cloud of flowery perfume. “I was seriously thinking you would miss this once-in-a-year night to get some more studying in. Honestly, you really don’t have to worry about the testing. I know it starts tomorrow, but we really only need you to act like you usually do, no pressure. Well, we might throw in a dilemma or two to see how you handle yourself, but still…”

Trieno leaned dangerously close to Sonora, to the point where she thought the Head would topple and send them both to the ground. The sproutwine’s aroma emanating from her was so strong that Sonora already felt like she had drank a glass of it herself. Her head spun as she gently pushed Trieno back from her.

“I just needed to run through my notes one more time, to calm my conscience.” Sonora managed.

“Yes, yes.” The woman glossed over her response with a wave of her hand. “I would like to introduce you to someone here, if you don’t mind.” Trieno grabbed Sonora’s hand and pulled her towards the closest boutique.

The vendor was selling sproutwine by the bottle, which did not surprise Sonora in the slightest. Blueish, bubbling liquid filled her field of view as Trieno tapped a tall, slim man on the shoulder. The man in question turned around from eyeing the bottles and smiled at the Head Oracle.

“This is Vilone.” Trieno said. “Vilone, you surely recognize the Rosevy, isn’t she beautiful?”

Vilone raised an alarmed eyebrow at Sonora. He clearly did not know how to react to that open statement. Sonora shrugged and ran her eyes on his uniform. Orange jacket and brown breeches with black shoulder pads marked him as a man of the Gliders’ Guild. He did not have any golden ranks, like the representative that had visited her father a couple of days before, but whatever his station, it was high enough to allow him into the square.

“I hope you and the rest of the Guild will enjoy yourself tonight: you all need it in these difficult times.” Sonora had to concentrate to not glance at the circle of controllers fencing them in.

“Certainly, Rosevy.” Vilone was probably considered handsome by Shard standards. Too bad Sonora had never been allowed to think of anybody outside of high nobility as a possible partner. With Trieno looking up at him from under her long lashes Sonora suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at the Oracle of Idols. “Although, I have to say this escort of controllers is making me feel like… ahem pardon me, forget what I said. It is only my yearning for the sky that’s making me say these words. I am glad I can spend Silver Night in such a company.”

Sonora clicked her tongue in slight disappointment. She realized that she had never thought of staying on the ground as a prison of any kind: Vilone’s perspective on the matter could have been quite interesting and fresh. Only, the man censored himself, as if speaking his mind was a punishable sin in front of the Rosevy.

After she understood that all Oracle Trieno wanted from her was showing off her latest catch in Vilone, Sonora excused herself and backed away from the sproutwine vendor. She sighed, and let her mind go to the cacophony of bustling voices and the low buzz of the halberds.

It was Silver Night, her last chance to relax before her ascension to Oracle. Her last chance to just be the Rosevy, and not Sonora Sitak-Lazio. Sonora Sitak-Kayfe? Sitak-Trieno? She rolled those names around in her head, trying to figure out which one sounded more realistic to her.

Sonora Sitak-Movra…?

The bald hawk of a man stood leaning against a cart full of resupplies for one of the candied fruit vendors on the square. His pitch black cloak hung as a dead weight around him, gathering dust from the battered ground.

Sonora straightened herself and hovered over to Movra, swiftly avoiding the handful of nobles who tried to stop her. Luckily, despite dusk barely settling in, the majority of people on the square seemed to already be intoxicated with sproutwine, so not a lot of them would remember the Rosevy ignoring them by next morning.

“You look like you are having an awful time, why is that?” She asked gently, once reaching the bald man. “I thought you would be one of the people leading the amount of drinks consumed in one night?”

“Oh, is that what people think of me?”

Sonora was taken aback by the answer, and by how sober and steady the man sounded.

“I-- I did not mean to offend you, Oracle Movra. Rumors are a vicious art. I should have known they are untrue.” She managed to keep her cool.

“Ah, no. Of course they are true.” That childish smile slid back onto Movra’s pointy face. “But come on, I’m not going to knock myself out with sproutwine, of all things.”

Sonora only raised an eyebrow to which Movra chuckled.

“Have you heard of the soilkiller spirits? No? Oh, then, sweet child, let me just tell you it takes more than a few cups of sproutwine to get to me.” He raised a hand and as the sleeves fell back, Sonora saw that Movra was actually holding one of the tall glasses of bubbly blueish liquid.

She grimaced and made to turn away. “Well then, do not let me ruin this private party of yours.”

“Like I have a choice to have any other party, my child.” Movra smiled sourly and took a sip of his glass.

Sonora stopped in her tracks. She did not want to glance back, to give the man the satisfaction of letting him know that he held her interest. A group of laughing children ran by in front of her with a pair of clean shaven nobles right behind them. None of them even peeked at Movra, but they all hurried to encircle Lazio, who stood near the middle of the square with Rose, lounging at the edge of an ornate silver well.

Sonora saw Aspyo as well, with his composed, yet pretty smile as he struggled to hold off nobles that tried to wriggle themselves into his graces.

And here they stood. Oracle Head Movra and Sonora, the Rosevy. Completely alone.

“You are not so popular yourself, I see.” Movra scoffed behind her.

“I do not expect people to recognize me. After all, I did spend the last year cooped up in the palace.” Sonora slowly turned back to face the hawk-man. To her surprise, Movra was looking at her with a tinge of sadness, compassion, even. “But you are one of the Oracle Heads. Only four other people in the Magnetoriat are as important as you.”

“And here they are, all four of them. The spotlight has been taken.” Movra gestured around the square.

“Yes, but that cannot be it. Why would everyone actively avoid you?” She stiffened. “I hope that was not too rude of me.”

“You know it was, but you also guessed correctly that I wouldn’t care.” Movra scoffed. “Didn’t your father tell you not to talk to me?”

Sonora frowned in confusion. “Why would he? You are one of the Heads, if anything, I should be talking to you.”

“Oh, really? You think Rose Sitak-Lazio would love to see his daughter become an Oracle of Magnet? Do you really think he would let you choose Movra? What do you think, how many Oracles have chosen to learn our ways in the past few years? Only two. Two! Meanwhile, the numbers of Lazio, Aspyo and Trieno are well over fifty. Even Kayfe and her infinitely boring obsession with burying your head in history books has had at least two dozen Oracles. But don’t you dare choose Movra, oh no.” The man took a long sip from his glass.

The night was settling in around them and people were getting ready to blow all the candles to be able to enjoy the Gleamwind’s silver show in its fullest. Sonora could not take her eyes off of Movra. How could one of the most powerful men in the world be this… insecure?

“You are wrong. I have never been explicitly told what to choose or to avoid. Giving that my father is Lazio he would definitely be happy to see me follow his path, but I would say he’d be glad to see me be picked up by any of the Heads. Why do people not choose you?”

Movra opened his arms and tilted his head. The pose reminded Sonora of old scarecrows from flatter Shards. Or, at least, drawings of them.

“Look at me, Rosevy. Do I look like someone who can be trusted with teaching a leader to you?”

“No.” This time, Sonora did not even think about lying, and Movra seemed not to mind. “But you did stand up for me back in my brother’s old rooms. You correctly assessed the situation and took matters in your hand. You did look like a dependable Oracle, even if for just a minute. So, I think there is more to it, to why people avoid you.”

Movra smiled. This time it wasn’t the childish, playful smile he always had when listening to the other Oracles talking. It was a genuine one. He squinted his mist-blue eyes at Sonora then turned away to look at the sky, now changing its color to silvery blue.

“The Oracle of Magnet is a myth, Sonora. Born from a dream long forgotten. It is built on a tale from a civilization that still believed in the people guiding the Shards, becoming one with them, instead of just living on these rocks like parasites until the day we inevitably all drift into the Frontier.”

Sonora stepped closer to the man and stretched out her arm to then let it fall back again. The now cold wind touched her bare cheeks and made her shiver, suddenly making her feel exposed to the endless sky they were floating in.

“What do you mean by that?” It was her voice, but Sonora did not remember saying those words out loud. “Guide the Shards? Like… like gliders?”

“Go talk to another Oracle, Sonora.” Movra’s voice was soft, but hollow. “You are a bright young woman, no Head would refuse teaching you.”

“Do you think there is a way to be one with the Shards? Avoid the Frontier?”

“Tales, legends, Sonora…”

“But when I am in the Core Chamber, I can feel--” Just as her voice was starting to pick up, Movra shut her down.

“I said, go talk to someone else.” His voice hardened. “I do not want troubles with your father… and you certainly deserve better than Movra.”

He pushed himself away from the supply cart and into the crowd shadowed by the night. The pitch black cloak on him made him disappear in a matter of seconds, although Sonora could still make out the direction the man took from the occasional cluster of people jumping out of the way before him.

She stood there, looking at everything except the shimmering beauty of the Gleamwind. The crowd of nobles around her, the strong scent of sproutwine, the constant humming of the halberds and the occasional distant look of one of the villagers held outside of the circle of controllers. It was all too much to take in and it was even harder when Sonora realized she would have to be the Oracle for all these people in a matter of weeks.

Rose took notice of her from across the square while everyone else was looking at the sky. As he was about to glide towards Sonora, she raised a hand to stop him, then turned around and walked towards a line of vendors selling roasted meat.

Why did she do that? She would have to face Rose’s anger and disappointment for walking away from him. As she approached the food stands, she realized that a simple festival night filled with laughter where she could momentarily forget all of her pressing problems was what she was hoping for. It was her last chance to feel like a young woman. Not an Oracle. Instead, the power plays among the Heads and her father did not stop. Ever.

Sonora almost stumbled to the ground as someone bumped into her from the side. Sudden pain in her shoulder told her she had hit something hard with it.

“Ouch! Hey, watch where you are going!” The voice was shrill, with a tinge of hoarseness. Certainly a weird combination of sounds.

“I was merely walking towards the food stand right there, I do not understand where you would need to run to. You can see the Gleamwind from everywhere on the square, all you have to do is look up.” Sonora said, massaging her shoulder.

“What the…? I know I can see the sky from here. Duh...”

As the square fell into almost complete darkness, Sonora squinted her eyes and had to tilt her head down to make out the speaker, a young woman. She was dressed in a uniform with tight coat and breeches, its white stripes and belt visible even in the poor conditions. Her hair was short and pinned tightly to her scalp like some kind of helmet with quite a few rebel tinges shooting out in all directions.

“What are you staring at?” She looked up at Sonora with her fox-like face.

“Staring? No I was merely wondering… are you with the Guild? You are not dressed like a Glider, but I cannot see what else you could be.” Her rough manners told Sonora she was definitely not part of the palace staff.

“I’m a pilot in training.” She straightened herself. Her head barely reached Sonora’s shoulders.

“Oh, a Trainee, that’s wonderful. I thought only Gliders or Representatives were allowed to join the festival.” Sonora did not expect the smaller woman do glare up at her, brown eyes glimmering even in the dark.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” She grunted. “I came here early in the morning to help with the preparations. Then, I kinda stayed a bit longer…”

“That’s… never you mind. I am just glad to be able to talk to someone other than the high nobles of the Shard.” Sonora was taken aback by the informality of the Trainee. Did she not know she was talking to the Rosevy?

“Mhm, I see. Well, do you want to find a good place to see the Gleamwind or are you gonna stand around here, with your back to the main attraction?” She threw a handful of copper coins offhand to the food vendor and grabbed three skewers. Oil and grease dripped from every piece of meat, so she kept them away from her clean uniform.

“I…” Sonora felt herself drawn to this fiery trainee. Nobody had spoken to her so directly since Tullip’s death. “Do you know a good spot?”

“Oh, but would you trust someone who is not a high noble to know a fancy spot for the festival?” Her voice was mocking, but Sonora only laughed.

“I truly doubt a noble would suggest anything other than hanging around sproutwine vendors.”

The trainee grinned and grabbed her hand. Sonora let herself be pulled away into the crowd and across the wide square. The rebel tinges of the short woman bounced around in front of her as she trotted ahead in an unstoppable fashion. They reached the living fence of controllers, who let them dash outside of the protective circle with one wave of the meaty skewers. They had been stationed there to stop anyone from walking in, nobody in their right mind would choose to leave the square.

“Where are we going?” Darkness engulfed Sonora as soon as they passed the controllers. Surprisingly, none of them had recognized the Rosevy in the fading light.

“Somewhere a noblewoman would never go.” Was all the trainee said, then turned a sharp corner at the first row of cold stone houses.

The alley was so dark Sonora could barely see the outline of the smaller woman right before her while she pushed around some crates and chests on the padded ground. She heard a grunt, then some rustling and banging.

“Come on. Up here.” The trainee’s voice reached her from further ahead.

Sonora followed the voice blindly and bumped into something solid. Something made of wood. An uncomfortable smell curled her nose as she finally found the other woman in the dark.

“What’s this odor?” Sonora asked as she climbed up on, what she concluded, must have been an empty crate. She hoped it was empty.

“What odor? Oh, well if you mean the smell of dogshit and sweat… try to just ignore it.”

The trainee reached up from the crate and pulled herself up on the roof of the house. Sonora stood there, staring at the silhouette of a hand reaching down to help her up. She tugged at her clean yellow toga uncomfortably.

“Oh, come on. How many times can a noblewoman like you say that she climbed a house? Chop-chop!”

The chattering and buzzing of voices from the square barely reached them; a faint reminder of another world, another life. This all felt so unreal, so sudden and completely detached from everything that has been bothering Sonora.

She pulled herself up onto the roof.

The view took her breath away. After years spent in chambers below the ground, the complete beauty of the sky opened up before her. A huge, twisting silvery snake twirled its way closer and closer to the Shard, with thousands of tiny specks of blue and black fluttering in its midst. The Gleamwind was truly beautiful. The fact that it could tear apart any man unfortunate enough to be caught in it only added to the frightening sense of awe that it emanated.

“Not bad, huh?” The Trainee’s grin was audible.

“It’s… I’ve never seen it this clearly. From the square you can only make out the outline of it, but you cannot see all those particles floating around in it. It’s incredible.” Sonora could not take her eyes away from the night sky.

“Want a bite?” The trainee offered her one of the three skewers. Sonora took it without looking at it. “I’m Tica, by the way.”

“It truly is a pleasure to meet you, Tica.” A thought came knocking to the back of Sonora’s mind. She finally looked down at the thin pilot trainee radiating an innate energy. “You do not know who I am, do you?”

“A noblewoman? I mean, it’s not that hard to guess.” She produced a satisfied grin and took a bite of greasy meat.

“Just as I thought.” Sonora mumbled to herself.

“Just as what? Oh this meat… so good, I can’t believe it. I’m gonna have to work so hard to make up for all the fat I’ve gained tonight.”

“Is pilot training truly that hard that you have to watch every single thing you eat?” Sonora had heard about this, but could never quite imagine how it went down. In the palace she always ate what the cooks prepared for her and it was always more than enough to keep her going until the next meal.

“Yeah, well… not every time. Excess weight can destabilize a Glider, but-” Tica shrugged and took a bite. “Have you ever wondered how close we can fly to the Gleamwind without getting cut? Ah, I can’t wait to test it out myself. I bet you nobles never really think about stuff like this.”

“How do you do that?” Sonora glared at Tica.

“What? Gliding? No way I’m gonna spill Guild secrets to you. Nice try.” Tica’s fox-like face sharpened with a frown.

“I know enough of the basics of gliding, thank you. Certainly not as much as you.” Sonora added quickly before Tica could interrupt her. “I meant the way you speak.”

Tica raised an eyebrow and munched on another piece of meat.

It took a few moments for Sonora to understand that she had to explain herself better, although she thought she was being crystal clear.

“You jump from topic to topic so easily, without a care in the world. Do you not think through what you want to say beforehand?”

“I mean some of it, yeah. Do you? The whole thing? Isn’t that super tiring? And slow as hell.”

“That’s the way I have been taught to speak since I was a child. I never knew other ways could be used, except for controllers who always stick to their short yes and nos. It sounds quite liberating.”

Tica dropped down to her knees while she listened to Sonora. She brushed off some of the roof tiles beside her and patted the place for Sonora to join her.

“Well, it is. Liberating, I mean.” Tica said between two bites. “It must be so hard to always know where you want your whole sentence, or multiple sentences to finish. It’s like… you have to know all of your thoughts as well, huh?”

Tica’s gaze wandered across the night sky, not really expecting an answer from Sonora. A cold breeze twirled dust around the roof of the little house where the two young women shared that weird, unique moment.

“This is not quite how I imagined my last peaceful Silver Night to be, but I am really glad that you kidnapped me from the square.”

“Kidnapped you?” Tica’s eyes widened.

“I apologize, it was a bad choice of words.” Sonora chuckled and adjusted the golden rings in her hair. “I just meant to say that I am grateful you made me run away like this.”

“Wait. Did you say this is you last Silver Night? Why would you say that? Are you deadly sick or something?” Tica’s glimmering eyes widened in the dark.

“No, it’s nothing like that. I just feel like I am not ready for what is to come in my life. Changes that might prevent me to enjoy Silver Night like this ever again.”

The sharp sound of fireworks going off in the vicinity of the main square broke that delicate, magical moment of peace of the cold rooftop. Sonora shivered, then pulled the toga tighter around her shoulders.

“We can always meet here every year. Next time, food’s on you.” Tica was eyeing the fireworks, sparkles of blue red and green reflecting in her eyes.

“I cannot place the pressure of having to meet the Oracle every Silver Night on you.” Sonora smiled sourly.

“What?! The Oracle… Rosevy?” Tica’s voice became shrill. “Oh, of course you are the Rosevy. They did give us a description of you, but I have never seen you in real life before and… oh, I am such an idiot.”

She scrambled to her feet, grease dripping on her tight breeches and onto Sonora.

“Do not worry about it.” Sonora tried her best to sound reassuring. “I had every chance of introducing myself if I felt like you were being disrespectful in any way.”

Sonora looked up at a quite confused Tica.

“Why did you let me drag you out here?” She asked, restlessness seeping through her voice. “Oh, mama… I kidnapped the Rosevy…”

“Tica, please.” Sonora went on in a soothing manner. “I am really glad you showed me the Gleamwind from this roof. I have never seen it so clearly in my life before.”

Tica fell silent and watched as Sonora got up to stand next to her. The long silver snake in the sky was disappearing beyond the Shard, leaving a dotted trace of beautiful little fragments. Fragments as sharp as blades.

“In that case, this was a one and only occasion.” Tica shrugged. The meat skewer went cold in her hands. “I don’t think I’ll ever get to see the future Oracle like this again.”

“This does not have to be a final farewell,” Sonora smiled. “I find your company incredibly refreshing from the monotony of all the nobles twirling their words around like I don’t know what they are doing. You remind me of… never you mind.” Sonora’s chest tightened.

“The Guild does not like us to form bonds with people from the palace. I assume the Rosevy is pretty high on that list.” Tica grimaced as if she did not hear what Sonora had said.

“But I can arrange for us to meet in the future.”

“Please, don’t. Don’t do that. I am this close to becoming an official pilot. If the Representatives find out that I am regularly meeting with you they… well, I have no idea what they would do but it wouldn’t be good for me that’s for sure.”

Sonora’s smile froze on her face. “They did not want you to be close to the Oracle?”

“No… well, I’m sure you know how Oracle and Guild are kinda having this awkward arm wrestling match over the influence on the Shard. If any Glider would find out I’m regularly visiting you they would think I’m a spy for the palace…”

“I see.” Sonora put her now cold hands together. “That is one of the many ways I knew my life is about to change, and I cannot say I am looking forward to it.”

Tica looked at her with her big brown eyes and her voice turned serious for the first time that night. “I’m glad I got to kidnap you for tonight, then. I wish you the best, Rosevy.”

“It’s Sonora.”

“Good luck, Sonora.”