SWNOVELS Chapter Compass Come
Avanye sounded like a battlefield.
War cries filled the air as I stepped onto the beginning of a cobblestone road lit with lanterns filled with green flames and bushes filled with glowing white flowers. The sun was setting, but the training grounds were still full with sparring adults in leather armor. For a moment I was captivated. I wanted to be the one spinning and slashing, blade in my hand. I felt a weight in my hand and looked down to a gleaming black sword.
My heart stopped for a moment, frightened of my own thirst for battle, but then I remembered Carrick’s words and calmly willed the blade to dissolve back into the air. I hurried away from the training field and hurried deeper into the town.
After spending the night at one of the host houses Carrick told me about I was given an allowance and a shopping list of things I needed. Apparently Ivaline didn’t get many newcomers so close to winter so the couple that hosted me were busy with work, leaving me to wander the streets by myself. I looked at the list again, trying to figure out where I could buy a traveling cloak when I heard a voice from above.
“Are you lost?”
This time I held back from throwing a knife but I still had trouble finding the voice’s owner. A raven ruffled its feathers before speaking again.
“I asked if you were lost. I could help you if you like.”
The family that hosted me had told me about the stronger connections between humans and animals in Ivaline, magic acting as a bond through which they could communicate but hearing about it didn’t really prepare me for the actual experience.
“Yes actually, I’m looking for traveling clothes and I think I took a wrong turn.”
I spent the rest of the day walking around town with a raven on my shoulder as she gave me directions. Every now and again I would ask her questions.
“So do all ravens speak to humans or do some keep away from our civilization. I was told we had a good relationships with a lot of different creatures but I haven’t really seen many,” I asked while picking out a bag to hold all of my supplies.
“It’s not that we all wander around and interact with humans in our normal life. It’s not that we can speak to all humans, just ones we’re compatible with or trust. In fact many animals go through life never having spoke to one. Some animals, like myself, seek out a human like you whose magic is appealing,” she explained.
“So what happens if you find that human? Besides giving them directions?” I questioned as I paid for a leather travel bag and blue fur trimmed cloak.
“Well we tend to stick to that human for as long as possible. Your magic sustains and enhances us. Wolves grow larger, cats run faster, and our youth is preserved as long as our humans live.”
“So does that mean you’ll follow me around?” I asked.
“If you’ll allow me.”
I considered for a moment. The raven seemed to know a lot about this world and it would be nice to have a friend on the road.
“I’d love to have you around. My name’s Allie Sage. What’s yours?”
“Kyrie.”
“Well Kyrie, where should we go next?”
#
“We should head Northwest from here,” Kyrie suggested from her place on my shoulder. I checked my bracer.
“Why? The compass is pointing us East.”
“It’s pointing you towards Ferran City but it’s half a day’s walk from here and we only have two hours of daylight. There’s an old fallen tree that you should be able to make a decent shelter out of a few minutes northwest,” she explained and flew for me to follow.
I had just finished pitching a makeshift tent where she directed me when it started raining. Kyrie and I waited for the storm to pass by telling each other stories about our lives. Kyrie was born in a Heart valley called Mother’s Refuge.
“It was named for the fact that the surrounding mountains shelter the valley from bad weather and that’s where the vast majority of this world’s species migrate there to give birth. I still visit occasionally when I’m feeling nostalgic,” Kyrie explained as the rain formed a curtain in front of us. I listened to the sound of droplets hitting the puddles that had formed below them. I felt the corners of my mouth turn slightly upward.
“Whenever it rained back home, one of my favorite things to do was curl up in an armchair next to the window with a cup of tea and read. I could sit there for hours listening to the water run down the glass as I read. Sometimes I prepared an entire pot of tea just for myself,” I told her as she preened her feathers from her place resting on my knee. I sat with my back curled against the rough bark with one leg outstretched and the other bent where Kyrie had made herself comfortable. I absentmindedly formed a dagger and watched it float in midair. As we were traveling I found I could telekinetically move any of my creations with little more than intent. Now I watched the details of the dagger shift and move as I thought more about how I wanted it to look. I ended up with a silver dagger with a blue tint to it with the hilt engraved with roses and thorns. I made the metal dissipate as soon as I got bored with it and saw Kyrie watching me from her place on my knee.
“Kyrie can you tell me a bit more about the magic here? Does everyone in Spade have a power like mine?” I asked. She took a moment to consider before answering.
“It’s not really that simple. I personally haven’t seen someone who can create weapons with little to no effort like you can, but magic here doesn’t follow a standard. The most common perception is that magic is an extension of you and your will. The only case of magic that I could say is similar to you is Queen Rhiannon. Spade’s current Queen loves fashion and she can make clothes the same way you make swords. Magic is so intuitive it manifests itself in the way that best suits the user. Some people teleport, some shape shift and some breathe fire.”
As she finished I couldn’t help but feel an inkling of doubt tug at the back of my mind.
“Kyrie?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think people will be scared of me? It’s one thing to make clothes, but what about weapons. Should they be afraid of me?”
Kyrie was silent for a long time before answering.
“Yes and no,” She answered and I felt that doubt tug even harder.
“What do you mean?”
“No I don’t think people should be afraid of you per se. You gift is incredibly powerful but I don’t think you’re the type to misuse it. Only-”
“What?” I interrupted, afraid of what she would say next.
“They say that people are pulled into Ivaline for a reason,” She explained, “That everyone who comes from a different world is brought here because something about them is meant to change this world for the better. Maybe they’re meant to be a king, or maybe they’re just destined to start a popular bakery. It doesn’t matter how big or how small, everyone brings prosperity one way or another. The soul of Ivaline sees something lacking and looks for it in other worlds.”
“So when I look at you, with an endless amount of weapons, I can’t help but wonder why you were brought here. You have the potential to do great things, but the fact that something thinks your skills might be needed here may be a sign of great darkness approaching.”
We found ourselves in the thriving city of Ferran at noon the next day. I walked the smooth marble street in between soaring towers of glittering stone engraved with running wolves gazing through topaz eyes and leaping over rushing rivers studded with sapphires. High above my head the towers tapered into sharp peaks connected to one another on deceptively strong glass breezeways. Kyrie told me what she knew of the city as I looked around for a place to eat.
“Ferran was the first fortified city built during the War for Ivaline. It’s founder was General Ferrana, right hand to Commander Asbestos and the first human to discover the connection that could be forged between them and the wildlife. She gained the loyalty of an entire wolf pack and earned the title ‘Lupa of the North’. It was a marvel for its time and is contributed to be the birthplace of many of the architectural practices found throughout the country. During the war the city’s primary function was to stockpile supplies and distribute them where they were needed at the warfront. Ferrana’s wolves knew the terrain so her forces could take advantage of it in record time, giving the Spade forces an edge in battle. Today the city is a trading hub that deals with most of the imported goods from the other three countries, Heart, Club, and Diamond. Heart is our closest ally and their main export is fruit and spices. Club exports textiles and Diamond is quite famed for its wine.”
“What does Spade export?” I asked while waiting in line at an empanada stand.
“Gemstones and foodstuffs. Although it’s also worth noting that a common trade for a Spade citizen is security. There are quite a few guilds established that send bodyguards across borders to whomever’s paying.”
“So they’re mercenaries?” I clarified while I paid for my food with a few gold coins stamped with a dragon’s head.
“In a manner of speaking. Although they’re forbidden from hiring out to another country’s military. For the most part people hire Spades when they want to guard a particularly valuable shipment of goods or an event that expects to have a large turnout.”
I sat down on a bench and watched as horses and their riders made their way through the streets.
“I wonder if I could do something like that. Do you think I would make a good guard?” I mused to Kyrie while absentmindedly forming a sword. Then I felt my stomach drop like a stone and I shattered the blade. My future here seemed so much brighter. I was excited for it. But that meant leaving behind my family back home. How could I be daydreaming while my parents must be worried sick? My sword dissolved into glittering dust that disappeared as soon as it hit the ground.
What kind of daughter was I? Was I anything more than a runaway?
I stood up and started walking faster, wanting to cover as much ground as possible. The sooner I got to the Spade capital, the sooner I could find a way home.
“Allie? What’s wrong?” Kyrie asked, brushing her feathers along my cheek.
“I don’t know if I can stay in Spade Kyrie. Will I ever see my parents again? What if there’s no way home?” I rambled while choking back tears.
“I’m sure you’ll find your way home somehow. You probably shouldn’t panic too much over something beyond your control. You’re on your way to fix the problem but if you worry so much you may lose your way,” Kyrie advised as we made our way downtown.
“I guess.” I grumbled, not completely reassured but I saw sense in Kyrie’s advice. I looked to my bracer and followed it to an inn where I was allowed to stay for the night and issued a small stipend for supplies. I was also pointed in the direction of a public bath. Glad for a chance to clean up after a day of travel I headed over after nightfall. I left my bag in one of the lockers while Kyrie explained their security.
“The bracelet they gave you is enchanted so your the only one who can take something out of the corresponding locker so your bag should be safe,” she said from her place on the top of the lockers.
My bag proved not to be as secure as I would have liked. Nothing was taken but when I slung my pack overI found it to be noticeably heavier than when I came in with it. I set it down and looked inside only to find a wriggling gray fuzzball.
“Kyrie, there’s a wolf in my bag,” I deadpanned.
“So it seems,” she confirmed, preening her feathers.
“How does something like this even happen?” I wondered, completely taken aback.
“Well,” Kyrie mused, “The enchantment is only meant to keep intruders from taking something out. It’s entirely possible to put something in.”
“Okay but why?” I asked, taking the small pup out and stroking her behind the ears.
“She looks like runt. Her mother probably snuck out of Mother’s Refuge to bring her here. Runts have a hard time surviving in a pack so sometimes their parents try to sneak them into human households hoping that a human will take a liking to them and let them feed off their magic,” Kyrie explained, her voice soft, like she spoke from experience.
“Does that work?”
“Sometimes yes. Sometimes no,” she replied, and the tragic tone in her voice told me all I needed to know about what happened when it didn’t work. Just abandoning the pup wasn’t an option. I put my pack back on and walked out with a little wolf in my arms.
“We should name her,” suggested Kyrie after I settled into my room for the night. I was feeding the pup bits of my meat ration I had cut up with my knife by the fire.
“Any ideas?” I asked her, open to suggestions. I thought for a moment. What does one name a wolf? I thought of something my mother said long ago when we visited a national park and saw a wolf pack far off in the forest.
“Wolves are beautiful but dangerous creatures. They may look inviting from a distance, but if you get too close they will bite. Be careful Allie. Be wary of what dangers may lurk beneath appearances. It could be your undoing.”
I was younger then, and thought my mother was being melodramatic, but now that I had aged a bit, I saw there was truth to it. Sometimes there was poison beneath goodwill.
“Belladonna,” I said, remembering from history class that it was a poisonous plant women used in the Renaissance. It was more commonly known as deadly nightshade. I liked the idea of naming a wolf for a lethal beauty.
“Belladonna it is then.” Kyrie said, and I drifted off to sleep.