Young Writers Society

Raza’s library was suspended in the branches of the trees. Gondolas traveled up and down wires, carrying officers in and out of the establishment. Alimer had been here a few times before, but it had changed since he’d been out in the field. Two extra wings sprawled out into the canopy, long and thin like outstretched arms.

Beside him, the others looked around in a mix of emotions. Berkel smiled. “I’ve been to Raza before, but I don’t think I’ve ever come to their library. I didn’t really have a need to. But it’s… it’s really beautiful.”

“Extraordinary, love,” Tetia murmured, her eyes looking over everything with a feverish hunger, and Alimer remembered her mentioning that she hadn’t been here before.

Maji’s eyes zoomed through the air, all looking in different directions at once, as if trying to soak it all in. Alimer began to wonder how that worked, looking in different directions at once, but he decided it might be better not to ask.

“You must be the Ordunites!” An unfamiliar voice called. A young human officer was jogging towards them from a gondola. He skidded to a halt in front of them and, seeming to remember himself, snapped to attention. “Captain Holt, Detective James Babbock. It’s an honor, sir.”

There was an almost inaudible snort from Tetia, and he fixed her with a sideways glare before extending his hand to the detective. “A pleasure. I assume you’ll be escorting us to see Commander Belcanter.”

Detective Babbock shook his hand. He had a good, firm handshake. “Yes, sir.” He looked around at the rest of the team. “If you’d all follow me.”

Holt followed the detective inside, the others behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tetia drop behind to walk beside Maji and heard her mutter, “Should someone tell him the Captain is much too old for him?”
314 words

Written with @kairamorgan

The vertigo from the top branches of the Library were making Tetia feel a little queasy. Not that she'd say this to the others, but she has always hated heights. And by hated, she means... fears. The Mall was far better. Thankfully, her and Maji found a nice cafe to relax in beforehand after getting all of the supplies.

"Are you sure we need all of these?" Maji had asked, which Tetia smirked at. She was surveying the variety of papers, adhesives, stamping equipment and the small calligraphy set.

"Oh yeah, love," she grinned, "I have something in mind for this, after all." Pulling out her sketchbook, she quickly doodled up a couple of silhouettes. She was aware she wasn't the best artist in the world, but she was good enough to do a card like this. There were a handful that she liked, and drew a circle around those in red pen. Turning the book around, she asked, "Which do you think would work best?" There were three she'd circled, one of them all in the board meeting, one eating pasta and a final one of them all hugging Holt tightly, not that that'd ever happen, the man is as stiff as, well, a stiff.

Maji's three eyes split between the drawings, scanning them down. "I like Holt's shape here," she said, pressing her finger against the group hug. "It really looks like he's trying to dig himself out of the hug."

"Doesn't it?" Tetia replied, chuckling. "Yes, I think we captured the captain fairly well."

"Hm." Maji continued to stare intently at the drawings. Suddenly, without warning, her face slumped down her chin. Maji's head got thinner, her brow and cheeks jutting sharply. She smoothed her horn back and adopted a deeper, deadpan tone. "Miss Vernathil. Your thank-you card does not fit the Library regulations detailed in Section C-5 of the Handbook for Boring People. Please report to my office to be glared at for five minutes."

Tetia pressed a hand to her mouth, giggling through her fingers. "Ah, that's a good one. Accurate, too, if you believe his reputation."

Maji nodded emphatically, crossing her Holt-shaped arms. "I'm stern with you because I've never been a father-figure before, and lack the emotional fluency to properly express it." Maji doubled over, holding her stomach like she had told herself an inside joke. Tetia chuckled a bit too, and wondered for a second if Maji's sides would actually split while laughing.

"He does well, though," Maji continued, shifting back to her normal face. "After today, I think we might just have a shot at the Claw after all. Let's draw the card!"

"Absolutely, love." Tetia set fresh pen to paper, gliding across the inked silhouettes. She daubed over her linework with hints of red and purple, making each person's shape pop out of the page. The nice thing about buying art supplies from the stationary store was that it allowed these sorts of fancy tricks.

"Whoa," Maji said, extending her neck to look closer. "That looks really cool!"

Tetia lifted her pen. "Maybe too cool. Is this what we really look like, mate?"

Maji's eyes spun. "Gosh, I hope so. Hey, what should we write on it?"

"Something cheesy," Tetia declared. "Professional, maybe."

Maji grinned. "I'm a saleswoman. Cheesy and professional is all I know."

556 words

Written with @kairamorgan


Tetia snapped back to reality as the team arrive at a familiar centaur, considerably more dignified now he wasn't stumbling down a flight of stairs. And, notably, he had combed his slightly curly brown hair into being more presentable, though she could see that both it and his beard were slightly wet from either the water or gel that was used. She would usually have to stifle the laugh, but the nausea was doing it automatically.

"Ah," he sighs with a level of levity only someone on some form of canabis could achieve in this incredibly tense situation, "it is as pleasant to see you all as it is to see the sun rise in the morning. I trust that your arrival in Raza was as peaceful as a quiet ocean?" Oh sweet Eridus, she'd forgotten about the metaphors.

"It was far more peaceful than our train journey," the words seemed to escape Berkeley before she could even register them, earning her a quick look from Holt.

"Yes, thank you Commander Belcanter," he corrected quickly, "I take it the individuals we dealt with are in custody?"

"They are in their place," he confirms, "and our people have treated them appropriately. Come, do you wish for some tea before we discuss the business we came here for?"

"We had some down at the cafe, the Three Leaves was it?" Tetia asks Maji, her memory failing her once more.

"The Three Cloves," Maji corrects, then looks back to Belcanter, "it's probably best to see the Rune, they were saying about being able to start researching it as soon as we can! It's completely fascinating, isn't it?" Her eyes begin to spin once more, moving faster than most people could register.

"It is indeed," Belcanter says with a smile just as mellow as before, "the natural order does shift from time to time, but once more, it settles and the best land atop the food chain as they always have, even if the whom changes from time to time. Still, I am aware that travel isn't the most comfortable, I would suggest you take the route of the tortoise rather than the hare, Miss Vernathil, Miss Nobuna."

Tetia looks to the group, shrugging a little. "Tortoise or hare?" she asks very quietly, "I'm in favour of getting off the high standing ground as quickly as possible."

Maji looked confused. "Tortoises don't have hair."

"Ah, but one would say that the wisdom of age forms a beard on even the freshest creature," Belcanter continued. "And would not the wise old tortoise have the most impressive beard of all?"

Maji nodded along, but seemed to grow progressively more confused. "I...think?"

"And it is to those who think, that the future belongs." Belcanter rested a hand on her shoulder as he moved to a door that was carved into the trunk of the tree. "Come, we'll discuss in my office."

Maji stared down into her hands in utter devastation. Tetia patted her on the back. "Don't worry, I didn't get that last one either."

508 words

Written with @kairamorgan

They followed Belcanter through the hallways, where the exposed wood-grain of the tree stared at them like eyes from the walls. Belcanter trotted into a large, circular room, where sunlight filtered in from the branches above. Small flowers grew along the windowsill, forming wreaths that caught the light and set it to fiery reds and yellows. There was a long, low table at the center of the room, surrounded by cushions. Belcanter folded his legs under him and sat, gesturing for each of them to do the same. Detective Babbock remained standing.

Belcanter nodded to him. "You are dismissed, Detective Babbock. I will complete this briefing myself."

Babbock looked a little uncomfortable. "Sir, I have a few items that I might be able to contribute as well."

Belcanter's pleasant smile grew forceful. "Now, now. I'm not so old that I can't handle my own duties, detective. Besides, I'll be counting on you to escort them to the incident site. Take a break for some tea. Is that clear?"

Babbock swallowed his next words, replacing them with, "Understood." He exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

"The river must prove itself to the earth if it wishes to grow," Belcanter mused. He produced a paper file from beneath the table, sliding it to Holt. "I hope you'll forgive my ancient way of passing information; I find it rather satisfying to hold fresh paper in my hands."

Holt opened the file, shaking out a few pictures that had been clipped to the document reports. He passed them around absently as he read through the file.

"As you'll see, our research of the site has been very limited," Belcanter explained. "We have ruled out most physical means of staging the incident, however. Physical destruction would leave secondary marks, burns or serrations. The closest theory we have is a high-level evocation, but even then, it would not have the ability to cause damage at such a scale."

Tetia stared at the picture. It was a sketch of the shape of the rended tree, the shred marks forming a clawed hand. "So it's the Ancient of the Claw?"

"That's our best guess," Belcanter replied. "Often, it is best to start at the most drastic answer, no matter how grave the implications."

Holt's eyes grew more grave as he passed along the documents. Tetia wondered if he was calculating the danger in his head, trying to fathom what the Ancient of the Claw was capable of. "You called it an Ancient, though. You really think this rune has the capability to create a new school of magic?"

"The most dangerous one of all," Belcanter replied. "For when beasts sharpen claws, they fight to survive. When people sharpen claws, they fight to kill."

"This is valuable information," says Holt, taking the reigns back on the conversation, "thank you, Commander Belcanter."

"Tis not a problem," smiles the Commander, "for it is the duty of those with experience to pass it onto the next." Tetia very quickly made her hands busy polishing her horns very subtley, knowing that if he made one more metaphor she would want to deck him.

"And your experience is appreciated," Holt stands, with Tetia, Berkeley and Maji mimicking the movement, "with any luck, this will be dealt with quickly between our two units."

Belcanter nods, "I must go tend to the weeds of Reaping, but Detective Babbock will accompany you to the site of the incident." Tetia breathes a sigh of relief very quietly, said relief being mirrored in two of her three companions.

The one who remained unreadable as always nodded, picking up the file. "It was a pleasure, Commander."

Picking up his own things, Belcanter shows them from his office, giving a few final departing metaphors, the smile plastered on his face nigh permanently not quite reaching his eyes, but that was kind of understandable. He's having to go lead an interrogation, after all.

And they're off to go and look at an experimental rune, potentially the Ancient itself. She could see the excitement carved into Maji's face, the anticipation held in Berkel's shoulders and she herself could feel the buzz of adrenaline building. Holt seemed to be the only one unphased, though for a split second, Tetia thought she saw a shred of dread cross his expression. But, as before, the mask replaced itself as they all returned to Detective Babbock, ready to do what they were sent for. This should be fun.

743 words

Maji Nobuna

As she stepped outside, Maji felt the winds nearly tear her head off. So high on the trunk of one of Raza’s great trees, it felt as though the winds were carving lines into the bark, making the leaves rustle in a roaring tide. Babbock fought to be heard over the swell.

“As the commander may have told you, I’m to escort you to the incident site,” Babbock said, his voice a little shaky with the raised volume. “First, I’ll be supplying you with any equipment you need for the journey. Captain Holt, any requests?”

Holt shook his head. “Our travel supplies are sufficient as far as I know. I’ll defer to your advice for now.”

Babbock nodded, pulling his lips tight as the ends tugged upwards. “In that case, I’d be honored to show you to the Raza Library’s inventory.”

He stepped into the wooden gondola, beckoning them along. They stepped on one at a time, mindful of the gondola’s sway. Berkel was the last one in, stumbling as the weight on the floor became uneven. Maji cushioned her fall and steadied her, giving a reassuring smile.

“Thanks,” Berkel said. “By the way, how are you balancing right now?”

Maji smiled and pointed to her feet. “I put all of my weight in there, lowered my center of gravity. I’m light as a feather upstairs.” As she said this, a gust of wind shot through the cabin and sent her upper body flailing like a reed.

Berkel giggled. “Light as a feather.”

253 words

Maji Nobuna

The wheels of the gondola spun slowly down the iron cables, gently rocking as they descended from the top branches. Around them was a thick green canopy, light filtering in from above. Maji had read that up above, an enormous sun was igniting Raza’s sky, piercing the leaves all the way down to the forest floor.

Tetia swung her arms about, bending her knees and tilting her hips slightly forward, rocking with the motion of the gondola. “Think I’m getting the hang of this,” she proclaimed. “Key’s to go with the flow.”

“Interesting,” muttered Holt, who was standing stock-straight and clutching the gondola frame for dear life. With the leaves refracting the light around them, he looked positively green.

Maji turned to Detective Babbock, who was seemingly focused on guiding the gondola down. “So, what does a detective do?” she asked, her eyeballs revving up to take mental notes.

“Hm? Oh, um, nothing much. I’d say it’s just like a regular Library officer, with maybe a bit more freedom in my assignments.”

Tetia perked up. “That sounds like a dream, love.”

“What’s more important is that I’m responsible for most of the details that don’t get put on record. Legwork, suspects’ lives, victimology. It’s a lot, but it’s the least I can do.” Babbock was puffing his chest out by the middle of his last sentence. Maji saw him shoot a glance towards Holt, who was now hunching over the guardrail, clutching his stomach.

“Your job sounds like the coolest thing!” Maji exclaimed.

Babbock’s face was once again hard at work preventing a smile. “Well, I can’t say it’s the coolest thing. After all, I’m still outclassed by many others in the Library.” Another glance at Holt.

Maji thought for a second. “Oh, you mean like Commander Belcanter?”

Babbock’s countenance fell. “Well, the commander is...he’s exceptional at his job, and my job too. Sometimes I worry that he’s pushing himself too hard with this work; or maybe I’m just -- well, I’m not one to gossip about my superiors, anyway.”

Or maybe I’m just not good enough to be entrusted, Maji thought. Babbock’s face was easy to read, which was a good thing for Maji. Growing up a changeling meant outsourcing body language from other people. Maji now had an outline for insecurity. It would come in handy.

392 words

Maji Nobuna

Babbock reached up and pulled a lever on the ceiling, letting the loud shunt of the wheels end the conversation. The gondola stopped and bobbed in place in front of a platform that jutted out of the tree on its backside, at a lower level. Babbock gestured them off and guided them indoors.

Shelves of neatly categorized items sprawled before them in a large warehouse. Rows of neatly sorted talisman plates as well as a few larger, sword-like ones lined the walls. Babbock darted towards the back as Maji stood there, in awe. Berkel was staring intensely at each and every talisman in sight, muttering under her breath at their intricately marked runes. Maji reached out towards the nearest one, before a glare from Holt sent her hand shooting back. She supposed she’d just have to wait and see what Babbock brought out for them.

What Babbock brought out was five identical blankets of brown, coarse fabric with a large circular hole in the middle. Woven into the fabric were marks that curved in on one another, multiplying as they spread across the sheet. It was a pristine, crystal-like structure, a beautiful microcosm of the multiverse. Maji held the talisman up in awe.

“What kind of rune is this?” she asked, scarcely containing her glee.

“Rune?” Babbock asked, pulling his head through the hole and letting the fabric drape over his body. “That’s just the fabric design. These are cold-weather cloaks.”

“Oh.” Maji hung her head and slipped it through the poncho. “That’s nice too, I guess.”

257 words

Maji Nobuna

“What’re we bundling up for, though?” Tetia asked. “Is Raza that chilly at night?”

“It’s best if I show you on the map,” Babbock replied. “Is there one in the file?”

Holt leafed through the pages for a bit before pulling out what looked to be a large-scale map of the Raza Library and the surrounding area. Babbock tapped his finger to the Library and traced outward.

“The incident took place in a sacred grove known as the Skyblossom Grove.” He pointed to a drawing of some tall, top-heavy trees. “It’s a pilgrimage site most of the year, except when the aurora trees are in bloom.”

“What happens then?” Maji asked.

“The trees feed on heat in order to blossom,” Babbock replied. “Temperatures drop, and the condensation on the leaves precipitates and covers the ground in soft, strange ice. It’s already begun happening; you might have noticed some strong winds today.”

“Do people still go out there when this is happening?” Holt prodded.

Babbock shook his head. “Some people hold viewing parties of the aurora blossoms at night -- really beautiful, I’ve been a few times -- but the incident site is much, much deeper in. Which, of course, is just another interesting facet of the case. The Library has been monitoring all around the grove, but the commander tells me that no one’s gone in or out.”

Holt’s eyes flared as the details clicked together. “So, who was out there, and are they still there?”

Babbock beamed at him. “That’s exactly right, Captain. We’re going to find out. It’s a bit of a journey, but walking keeps a mind moving, I say.”

“Aren’t there any gondola lines out there?” Tetia asked, and Maji saw Holt stiffen visibly.

Babbock shook his head. “For religious reasons, we can’t attach the gondola lines to the trees. Just breaking the bark is considered an affront to the grove. We’re going to have to walk.”

“Oh thank god,” Holt muttered.

324 words

Berkeley watched their surroundings as they walked through the forest. The small animal noises that she usually associated with Raza-- the cawing of birds, flapping of wings, small growls of the forest animals and squeaks of the tiny critters-- were completely gone, creating a tense and moody atmosphere. It was as if the area they were entering was almost too sacred-- no, Berkel thought to herself grimly: too dangerous-- for even the animals to disturb the quiet.

"It's awfully peaceful," Maji said, a bit of boredom creeping into her tone as her head swiveled around to look at the forest around them.

Berkel shook her head almost instinctively. "It's not peaceful," Berkel said quietly. "It's quiet. And in nature, anything quiet is rarely something to be messed with."

Holt glanced at her, a small frown on his face, before turning back to look at the path as they walked.

Babbock looked at her too, with a slight tilt in their head. "The area is sacred. It is only proper that nature respects the peace of it."

At another time, Berkel may have chosen to get into a friendly debate over the topic, but she refrained. The eerie quietness of the area was enough to set her on edge, and talking into it, theorizing and guessing at its secrets, didn't settle right with her. Every step, every noise they made seemed to echo through the area, even as the normal sounds of crickets chirping and the leaves rustling were absent.

251 words

As they walked into the forest, the air seemed to become warmer, but Berkel shivered, as if her body were becoming colder. Sweat ran down her forehead, but when she lifted a hand to wipe it away, she found her palm to be ice-cold.

She hesitated, before speaking again into the unnerving silence of the forest. "Why do I feel freezing, when it's getting hotter?"

Babbock smiled, and said, "That's just the forest. We're getting deeper into the trees that soak in the heat, so it feels warmer, but since we're closer to those trees, they're having an easier time soaking in your personal body heat. The coats are built with an insulation product, so if you keep them on, they should allow enough of your body heat to remain that you don't get hypothermia."

Berkel saw Tetia swallow and say tentitively, "And if we didn't keep the coats on? If we had to take them off for some reason?"

"Don't," Babbock said. "There's never going to be a reason important enough to take them off in here."

Tetia frowned. "But if someone got hurt and we had to take it off--"

"No," Babbock repeated emphatically, with a small shake of their head to prove the point. "Don't take them off for any reason."

"Detective," Holt said, in a quiet but authoritative, "What would happen if the coats were taken off?"

Babbock bit their lip for a second, before saying reluctantly, "then you would freeze to death in the middle of a hot forest. Without the insulation, your body temperature would decrease too rapidly. If you managed to get out, you would likely end up with a severe case of hypothermia but most people who wander in here... they believe that because of the moist and warm atmosphere, they'll stay warm enough to not need a coat. They travel too far in before they realize how cold their body has gotten, and they can't make it out in time."

331 words

Berkeley blinked, her mouth hanging slightly adrift. She tried to find words to say all the emotions she was feeling, but Maji beat her to it. "You mean if we took off these coats, we'd all die?!" She said incredulously, suddenly looking around at the forest with a lot less boredom and a lot more fear.

"But you have the coats, " Babbock pointed out with a strained smile. "So everything is okay!"

"Hold on love," Tetia held a hand up, then pinched her nose before looking up at them. "If you need a coat like this to survive, then how have people been camping out in these woods for weeks? How did they know to bring coats so they wouldn't freeze?"

"And how hasn't their supply of food run out?" Berkel added. "There's obviously no wildlife that sticks around in this area of the woods, at least not while the blossoming is happening. They had to have packed a lot to feed themselves for that long."

"How many of them are there?" Maji asked, her metal spheres swiveling to land on Babbock.

He seemed a bit flustered from the sudden onslaught of questions, and they opened their mouth to respond, then closed it again. "Quiet," Holt said calmly. "They are all valid questions, but how can you expect him to answer when you don't give him time to speak?"

Babbock cleared their throat. "Bringing coats isn't rare information, at least not for the residents of Raza," he admitted. "Nightly viewing parties during this season are common, and all of the locals know to bring coats. So for that, they could've found that information out from anyone, and the insulated coats are relatively easy to find in a mall of the area. This is a seasonal attraction that definitely pulls people from other cities and worlds in. Lots of people visit to come and witness it, and wearing coats is one of the first things they'd be told. As for food and how many of them there are, we're not exactly sure. They had to have brought enough food for all of them, but I'm not quite sure how they knew they would be in here this long. I've brought the subject up with the Commander, but, well... he's busy with a lot of things at the moment. He doesn't have time to nitpick over every hypothetical in the case. That's what I'm supposed to be here for."

409 words

Tetia Lisrath Vernathil III

The sensation of simultaneously being freezing and boiling was an odd one. Not one foreign to Tetia, not by a long way, Eridus sunrise and sunset did give a similar sensation, but she hadn't been home in a few years now. It was worse still now they had stopped ever so briefly, each bringing out their supply of food. A lot could be told about a person by the food they decided to bring, at least in Tetia’s opinion.

Obviously, it wasn’t restaurant stuff – not that Tetia was massively familiar with that kind of food anyway – but Raza had a weird selection of rations.

Holt had exactly what everyone would expect from him. He had the block of pinkish-greenish almost cement looking substance. She remembers cocking her head at it, and Babbock felt the need to explain every aspect. “Well, it’s the most balanced rations and standard issue for the Librarians of Raza,” he had explained with a strange amount of joy, “the meat is ground and then blended with a combination of spinach, broccoli, cauliflour, carrots and a lot of potato, mashed, set and then cooked into perfect rations. Not the nicest tasting, but it will keep you going.” Currently, despite the fact that his furrowed brows implied that what Babbock had said regarding flavour was true, he ate with no issue as if it was just the same as any other thing in the world.

Whilst her Captain had gone for the more plain thing, Tetia remembers Maji hopping over to the odder end of things, everything marked with some form of rune or rune-looking symbol. After scanning over, she had decided on a bubblegum blue almost sherbert texture. Tetia had laughed, sampling a little from an open packet and it made her blink back a bit, lights seeming to flash and laughing as all her muscles tensed from a surge of energy. “You won’t have much issue going through the forest with that,” she had said.

329 words

Tetia Lisrath Vernathil III

Maji had then hopped over to Berkeley, who seemed to be overwhelmed by decision paralysis. “What’re you thinking?” she’d asked the dwarf, legs seeming to wobble in a wave-like pattern before she jumped up with excitement, or the sugar concoction. Possibly both, Tetia had thought. Looking at Maji now, her legs couldn’t stand still, so most likely the second. Though, since it was so hot-cold, it might be the temperature.

“No idea,” Berkeley had said, arms folded with a sigh, then turned her attention to Maji’s blue package, “what on Raza is that?”

“No idea!” Maji echoed. Berkeley’s brow raised slightly in concern, but refrained from commenting as her eyes landed on Tetia as the tiefling had chuckled at the predicament.

“How about you?” asked Berkeley, “what’re you having?” Scanning around, Tetia remembers she hadn’t actually considered until she saw the regional divides, then pointed towards the Eridus section.

“The taste of home sweet home,” Tetia had grinned, strolling over, “though I don’t know what yet, love.” Berkeley’s other eyebrow had raised at that whilst Maji had wobble-bounced over to a mildly exasperated Holt and a calm enough Babbock. The officer hadn’t even noticed Berkeley follow her to the section oh so familiar, each of the rations being in various tones of brown and grey, far less colourful than even Holt’s.

“You’re from Eridus,” commented Berkeley, “what’s it like there?”

“Great if you can stomach it,” the grin had filled Tetia with a warm feeling, “how about you? Whereabouts you from?”

“Orduna,” shrugged Berkeley, her eyes feasting on the options.

“How was it growing up there?”

“Not too bad, underground was uneventful. I can’t say I’m from there, really. Travel about a lot.”

283 words

Tetia Lisrath Vernathil III

Once more there was a tight tug at the corners of Tetia’s lips, “How is it? Getting to travel?”

“It’s good,” she smiled, almost absently as she walked up to one of the options, pulling out a red and black speckled and lumped block, “I don’t get to see friends often, but the worlds are beautiful, the jobs are good. Wish I could see them more.” Tetia had nodded a little, though before she could speak, Berkeley looked back to her, “What’s this?”

Tetia scanned it over, then laughed. “Ash biscuits,” she had grinned, “it was Mother’s favourite, back in the day.” Realising who she had mentioned, Tetia had very quickly continued, “Don’t worry, it’s not actually ash, it’s the wheat, it doesn’t grow golden, makes the flour ash coloured. I do recommend, it’s pretty good.” And so Berkeley had taken it, and now though she struggled with the outside toughness, she seems to be enjoying the softer, more open-textured middle.

“Then what’s your plan?” Berkeley had asked, and Tetia scanned it, then getting the coal pies. Once again, not coal, but the taste was good. There wasn’t much filling, but it looked good. It was why it was one of her father’s favourites, it looked pretty and like it had a lot more than it did, but it was a lot more basic. Not that that was a bad thing, it was good enough to be basic, it gave everything it needed, but the pretty look was the point of it, not the substance. Just like her, he would tease. Least she hopes he was teasing.

“Vernathil,” Holt’s stern tone snaps Tetia out of her daydreaming, “Come, we’re continuing onwards.”

“Right, yeah,” Tetia sighs, getting up as she took one more bite before continuing onwards.

296 words

Alimer follows Detective Babbock’s lead through the forest, taking in the cold white of the world around him. The trees blossomed a vibrant coral, their petals beaded with droplets of water that dripped from the branches and froze to a fluffy powder as it fell through the rapidly cooling air. That powder had collected into a thick white carpet on the ground, closing around his ankles as he trudged through. After so long surrounded by stone and the simulated atmosphere of Orduna, it was an odd experience. His boots crunching softly through the ice, feet numbing from the cold despite the sweat beading on his brow. The pink blossoms like little crystalline bursts against the white world, and then there was the quiet. The ice seemed to soak up any sound their little group made, except for the sound of their voices, which Alimer found strangely comforting.

“You know, on Eridus we used to have soot storms.” Tetia was explaining to an enthralled Berkeley. “It was kind of like this except if you breathed it in you’d die.”

“Did you ever breathe any in?” Berkeley breathed, her breath clouding in the air.

Tetia spread her arms out. “Am I dead?”

An embarrassed silence from Berkeley, followed by a cheerful “Well, there you are then!” From Tetia.

“Terramina 47 didn’t have anything like this,” Maji said “But it’s been destroyed plenty of times by planet collisions, which I guess is its own kind of extreme weather.”

“How exactly does that work, love?” Tetia said, intrigued.

“Hmm?” Maji seemed to process the question. “Oh! Well, Terramina isn’t terribly big, we just pick the biggest chunk of planet we can find and let summoning magic do the rest.”
Berkeley’s eyes widen until they look like twin planets themselves. “You just make and entire planet?”

“More like a lot of summoners make a little bit of it and piece it all together.” Maji amends. “We didn’t tack the 47 at the end for the look of it!”

The three crunched along in silence for a minute, trying to wrap their heads around the idea. Alimer came to a halt as Detective Babbock jerked to a sudden stop. “That’s not possible.”

“What’s not possible?” Tetia squeezed her way in between Alimer and the detective looking out at the scene in front of them.

Detective Babbock stumbled forward, looking wildly around the ruined patch of trees. “It was here,” He said. “I swear, it was right here!”

The space in front of them was all mangled wood and fallen petals, withered and frozen on the ground. The snow had been pushed into a ripple of high ridges, flowing out from the trunk of a giant, decimated tree, the remains twisted around an empty indent in the snow. Alimer could feel the nervous energy wending its way through his crew like a venomous snake.

“They took it.” Berkeley choked out. “How? We haven’t seen any sign of other people this whole way!”

“Exactly.” Alimer intoned. His sounded strangely crisp and clear in the still air. He brushed past Tetia and the detective, digging his way through the ridges of snow to the indent. “There are no footprints, no tracks to indicate it was taken anywhere. Detective, how often does new ice fall in this grove?”

Babbock straightened as Alimer addressed him. “After the first freeze? Hardly any, sir.”

“So it would stand to reason even if it was taken long before we arrived in Raza, we would have seen the evidence.”

“Yes, unless they had time to clear away the tracks they made.”

Alimer pondered this. “That is a possibility, but aside from the obvious destruction, the site looks completely undisturbed.” He straightened, fixing them all with a serious, stalwart stare. “It’s more likely that the Claw moved on its own.”

He was met with a tense silence. Tetia frowned at him. “You sure you haven’t caught some of that hypothermia mate?”

Alimer could understand her doubt, it had sounded just as outrageous to him as he’d said it. Still, he fixed her with a stern glare, the kind he used on unruly officers, which almost exclusively consisted of Tetia anyway. “Vernathil, for the dozenth time. I am your captain, not your ‘mate’. And might I remind you all that this is an ancient rune we know nothing about? Until we know more of its power no option can be ruled out.”

They all exchanged bemused looks, but Berkeley slowly began to nod. “It’s possible. We know there are runes that let people travel between dimensions, maybe it’s something like that?”

“But how would it have activated at all without a source of power?” Maji’s eyes turned confused circles in her head.

“I don’t know.” Alimer admitted. “But however it was moved, stolen or otherwise, it will do us no good to stay here any longer. We should report back to the Raza Library and report our findings to Commander Belcanter.”

He didn’t wait for his team’s thoughts, only nodded to Detective Babbock. “Lead the way.”


A chilling hike back through the grove and a sickening gondola ride later, Alimer was knocking on the door to Commander Belcanter’s private office. Right now, the others would be sitting at a table in the break room with Detective Babbock, enjoying cups of whatever drink they’d chosen to warm themselves. Alimer had turned his coat over to Detective Babbock and sent them off with the promise he’d join them after reporting to the Commander, then let himself be guided by the detective to Belcanter’s door. Out of the strange, burning chill of the grove, Alimer was acutely aware of how his hair was mussed and damp with sweat, and he didn’t dare take off his uniform jacket, though he longed to be rid of the stifling weight. He quickly combed his hair back with his fingers as he heard the doorknob turning.

Belcanter smiled down at him, stooping a little so his face was visible under the door frame. “Fresh from the grove, I see.”

Alimer’s arms snapped to his sides. “Yes, sir. We uncovered some information I thought essential for you to know as soon as possible.”

Belcanter stepped out of the way of the doorway. “Then, by all means, come in. The trees must not close their ears to what the birds come to tell them.”

Alimer supposed rolling his eyes at the constant metaphors would be fall under the category of disrespect, so he resisted the urge and quietly slipped through the door, which shut behind him, with a heavy clack. It was a sound that held a strange finality to it, and it matched the rest of Commander Belcanter’s office well. To accommodate his large stature, the room was much larger than the others they’d seen, the walls carved with twisting vines that crawled up to the center of the high ceiling, where lights hung from a cluster of carved wooden grapes. Dark wine-colored curtains hung pulled away from arching windows, sunlight glancing off Commander Belcanter’s spotted hide. Alimer took a seat in one of the cushioned leather chairs on the other side of the Commander’s enormous desk.

Commander Belcanter strolls over to a back counter where a kettle already sat on a burner, his hooves clattering on the polished wood floors. “Coffee?”

Alimer nodded. “Please.”

Commander Belcanter pulled a second mug from a small cabinet beside the kettle. “I often spend late nights here, sorting through reports and the like, I’m sure you understand, Captain.” He shot Alimer a commiserating smile as he strained the steaming brew through the filter into each cup. “And the flower does droop without the rays of the sun. Any sugar for you?”

“Yes.”

The Commander flicked his tail as Alimer began to stand. “No, you’ve earned a moment of rest.”

Alimer settled back in his chair as the Commander takes a blue paper bag from the cabinet and tips a spoonful of the white grains into Alimer’s mug. “Tell me when.”

Alimer watched silently as the Commander dumped in each spoonful until he paused to look over his shoulder. Alimer could see a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

“I prefer it sweet.” Alimer said simply.

Commander Belcanter smiled to himself as he dumped in another spoonful of sugar. “I see, even the hedgehog has its soft underbelly.”

“That will do, thank you.” Alimer said, trying to keep the weariness out of his voice. He needed the brace of caffeine to lean on if he was to endure any more nature metaphors. He took the mug from the Commander, thankful for the warmth against his half-frozen fingers.

Commander Belcanter sat his hindquarters in a wide chair, once again adjusted for his size and build. He folded his hands on the desk, his front hooves braced on the floor while his back rested comfortably. “Now, tell me all that happened.”

Alimer explained quickly the site of the destruction, how the Claw had seemed to have vanished without a trace. Commander Belcanter’s expression clouded. “I see, and there was no sign of any other activity within the Skyblossom Grove at all?”

“No, sir. The site was completely undisturbed.”

The Commander rubbed his chin thoughtfully, standing up from his chair again to pace. “This is a concerning development, indeed. We can’t afford to let the Aincent of the Claw slip away from us.” The words are quiet, mumbles as if they weren’t for Alimer at all. He abruptly turned to Alimer. “We must do whatever needs to be done. Now, normally I would have you go through the normal routes for authorization such as this but,” He whips out a paper from his desk drawer, signing it with a flourish and stamping the soft wax on the corner with the seal next to his nameplate. “These are special circumstances.”

Alimer took the paper from the Commander’s hands, reading over it, then reading over it again to make sure he had it right. “The School of Seeing?”

Commander Belcanter nodded. “All honor aside, they may be the only ones who can reveal the Claw’s whereabouts to us. Of course, you realize the urgency of the situation, but I will leave the time of your departure up to you.”

Alimer nodded, folding the paper and slipping it into his jacket pocket. “We will begin preparations immediately.”


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