Land of Sky, Land of Rain (Chapter Thirteen, Part A)

Chapter Thirteen

Not to be forgotten about, the other me, the voice, and the whole stupid dream sequence are back again that night. When morning comes, I’ve only slept for a few hours and am completely miserable. To make things even more fun, the rain is still falling.

“Jeez, rain again today?” I ask, staring out the small window at the gray sky above the plains.

“Of course.” says Sae, “the rain in Sareil never completely stops. The word ‘Sareil’ even means ‘land of rain’. There’s one week in July when the rain stops, though. National holiday. Rainhalt, or Saretatakri as my people call it. Every little village runs out onto the streets and celebrates. The festival at Samei-Kozca used to be famous. It even drew Hanorans to the city– that was before the war, of course. Everyone dances and makes noise and music because they are happy. Or so they say. I think it’s because they’re afraid.”

“Why do you say that?” I ask.

Sae remains silent for a moment. “Listen.” she says. I try, but all I can hear is the rain on the roof. “Everybody in Sareil grows up with that sound. When the rain stops, everything is still. I think people just want to fill up all the empty spaces in the air. At Rainhalt, everything is just too quiet. No one will admit it, but they’re scared.”

Neither of us has anything to add to that. The silence stretches on.

“You know,” I say, “We should save these people.”

“Er… what?” Sae looks up at me like I’m a crazy person.

“You know. Zenna and her son and her mom. I bet we can save them, we should try.”

She regards me for a moment, then asks simply, “Why?”

“Well… they got removed from their home, they’re being forced to fight for their enemies… they’re practically enslaved. Don’t you think that’s cruel?”

She raises her eyebrows at me and looks back out at the rain. “Much better lot than most others get.”

“Yeah, but--”

“Look, dragging along a little kid and an old woman will just slow us down. Weren’t you the one who wanted to travel faster to save your Spellweaver friend?”

“But I--”

“As much as I hate to agree with a murderer--” Attaraya forces herself in on the conversation. “I guess she’s stumbled on a point. Besides, these Bleacheads aren’t worth saving. There’s no benefit in it for us, there’s no benefit in it for Hanora either. These people don’t matter to the greater good.”

“Uhm… It might be good to have a Healer, though.” I suggest.

“What the hell do you think I’m dragging her around for?” Attaraya jabs her thumb at a still-sleeping Iarin.

“Wouldn’t it be good to have two, though?” I ask, tentatively.

“Are you kidding me? The one is bad enough.” Attaraya shudders slightly.

“What?” I’m sure I’m missing something here.

Attaraya glances at Zenna, Iarin, and Ameik, a nervous, almost paranoid glance, as though she’s afraid that their sleep is feigned and they’re going to randomly jump at our throats at the first given opportunity. “Healing magic is inherited from parent to offspring. Those people have got magic in their blood.”

“…So…?”

From the expression on Attaraya’s face, I just won her world record for Most Idiotic Question Ever Asked.

“‘So?’ Don’t you think that’s disgusting? Some of the Bleacheads and Ealymians and natives of Sarracor have actual magic running through their veins—like the demons. It’s just… unnatural. We aren’t bringing more of that along, I won’t stand for it. Even the witch--” she points to Sae “—isn’t that messed up.”

“But… um…” I sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. It was a stupid idea.”

“I’ll say,” says Attaraya, and she stomps off in a huff.

Sae watches her go, turns to appraise me for a moment, and then points out:

“We couldn’t have taken them along in any case. You only brought along enough food for three, remember? And you didn’t get anything other than the cloaks in Naroth. We’re almost out of provisions already. We can hardly fend for ourselves and three others. Besides, we’d have to fight our way out of here. Who wants to kill the guards? Is it going to be you? The new hand of justice, huh?”

I can’t think of an adequate way to respond to that.

She leaves my side to wake the others.

While Iarin, who evidentially doesn’t do to well on three hours of sleep, stumbles around bumping into things, through the door steps an old woman who is evidentially Zenna’s Seer mother. Zenna runs up to help her walk, but the woman shakes her away impatiently. She points a shriveled thin finger across the room at me.

“The Fates are strong around that one.” she says, without preamble.

“Er... sorry?”

“The Fates! You know, the all knowing keepers of the future, the vreihymel who guard over Seers? Girl, were you born this stupid, or were you dropped on your head at some point?”

“Erm...”

“Ama have mercy on whoever your destiny touches. Little do they know they’re relying on a half-wit who doesn’t know who the Fates are.” she grumbles.

“Hey, that’s a bit rude–“ I interrupt.

“Stop interrupting me! I’ve something very important to tell you!”

“Er... okay...?”

“Please don’t mind my mother,” Zenna hisses from behind her hand, “She’s gone a bit senile.”

“I am not senile!” her mother snaps. “Now, what was I talking about again?’

“For… ugh, Mama, just leave the poor girl alone... ”

Click. The sound of a key turning in a lock on the other side of the door. Everyone jumps.

Hurriedly, Iarin and Sae throw their cloaks over their shoulders and pull their hoods up to hide their telltale pale hair.

Sentry #2 from yesterday walks in. “These Bleacheads botherin’ you at all?” he asks, jerking a thumb at Zenna, her mother, and Ameik (who’s still, miraculously, asleep).

“N-no, sir, not at all.” I say quickly. I turn back to Zenna’s mother, “Er... what were you saying...?”

“The Fates have told me something very important that you need to know–“

"Oh, please,” Sentry #2 says, “Don’t listen to this nonsense, this lady’s insane.”

I raise my hand for silence and Zenna’s mother continues speaking, her voice and expression very grave. “Listen to me. Listen very carefully. Do not lose Eri. Eri is the most important. Think of Eri before you think of yourself. Remember: you are just a parasite, Eri is your host. Eri can live without you, but as soon as you lose Eri, your soul will fly apart. Remember that. Remember. You may not know it now, but you rely on Eri just to exist.”

Silence greets this proclamation.

“Um...” I say slowly, “Hang on... what’s an Eri?”

The old woman blinks. “How the hell should I know? I’m not a mind reader! Yeesh, kids these days and their stupid questions.”

“All right.” says the sentry after a moment, eying Zenna's mother with great dislike, “You all need to get your mission done with, correct?”

“Oh, er... right.” I say. I turn back and mouth “Good-bye... thank you.” to Zenna as we step out the door and into the ever-pounding rain.

* * * * *

As soon as we’re out of earshot of the guards, Attaraya heads into full blown rant mode. “The nerve of that fat old Bleachead! I thought she was just making up crap just to scare you! I mean, honestly, Emma, have you ever heard of this... this ‘Eri’ thing? It doesn’t even make sense! I swear–“

"Will you stop?” I ask, as politely as I can.

“Oh, don’t tell me you believed her? Good God, if I wasn’t here to be the brains of this little group, you’d all be dead, I mean--”

Well, somebody got up on the wrong side of the floor this morning.

Ignoring Attaraya, I turn to Sae. “Where to next?”

“North. To my home in Samei-Kozca. Then you’ll be going further northwest to Dara-Kozca. I’m staying in Samei.”

“Right, I remember now. Do you have family there, or something?”

Sae nods, and raises her index and middle fingers to indicate the number two. “Sisters. Younger. Haren and Kaimi.”

“What about your parents?”

“Dead. In the Fourth Raid.”

“The what?”

“You can’t be this stupid. Look, Samei-Kozca is a big, rich city. It used to be the biggest trade center in Terra, before the war. And it’s right by the border. It’s the perfect sort of city to sack. And all it’s mostly just regular people, not as many soldiers as other places.”

“Oh. But you say that was the Fourth…?”

“The First Raid was Hanora’s declaration of war. Second was a distraction so they could assassinate Hralhym Sabrae. That was at the beginning, too. The Fourth was the most recent, seven years ago, when my parents were killed. And... the Third. Thirty-four years ago. That was the worst of all.”

“Why?”

“... before our current ruler, Hralhym Meaya, came to the throne, the royal family was all like… obsessed with their riches and power, I guess. There’s a word for it, uh… saraneza… decadent? Maybe… So when the Third Raid came, even though her people were being killed in the streets, Hralhym Seid didn’t do anything. Too busy celebrating Rainhalt.”

“But the new Hralhym is better?”

Sae’s eyes light up. “Of course! She kept the Hanorans’ army away from us for ten years, and she rebuilt Samei after the Third. And then, even when the Fourth Raid came, she rode into battle with the others, to save her city. Hralhym Meaya is one of us, you know? She wasn’t born in the palace, she didn’t even live there all her life. She was born a commoner. Less than a commoner.”

Before I can ask what exactly she means by that, Sae continues. “But even she couldn’t save my parents from being killed. My ara and oara were doctors. They weren’t bothering anybody. Actually, they treated all the people wounded in the Raid. Even the Hanorans. I don’t know why, but Ara said it was because everybody’s human, no matter what they do. I was just three. I liked that idea. I thought life could work like that.”

After a moment of silence, I ask. “But… your parents died, then?”

“One of the wounded Hanorans... who I guess wasn’t so terribly hurt anyhow... he killed them. Said… I think… he didn’t want to be healed, if it was by filthy Bleachead hands. Might have been crazy from fever or something, I dunno. I never saw what led up to it all, just… Ara sent me out for water, and when I opened the door, I saw him slit her throat… I don’t really remember the rest. Just that. Me and Haren and Kaimi, our neighbor saved us at the last minute, but it was too late for… for my parents.”

Sae seems to think she’s discussed all this rather enough, and lapses into silence.

“But… you’re here now.”

She looks up at me, apparently irritated.

“Uhm… so, did your neighbor just… sell you over to the child mages or whatever? That’s pretty cold.”

Sae gives me a scathing look, and takes a few steps ahead of me. I guess whatever I said about her neighbor offended her a bit, because there’s defensive anger in her small voice as she answers. “No, she did not. She and her family took care of us like we were her own kids. But she got really sick… the water in Samei wasn’t very good. Two years after the Raid, she died, and me and Haren and Kaimi were on our own.

“After that, I didn’t have a choice. Even though the Hralhym and the army came to save us, they didn’t come fast enough. Most of the kids in Samei, our parents were dead. We banded together. Lived on the streets. Went about scavenging what food we could. Even though I was little, I was the oldest so I had to take care of Haren and Kaimi. Lots of others were the same. We had to be ruthless, there was no choice. Otherwise we’d just all starve.”

“But then, why were you in Hanora?”

“You ask a lot of questions, don’t you?” Sae says suddenly. She stops walking and glares up at me, eyes narrowed.

I stop, too. “I… really…”

“Just what are you trying to figure out?”

“Nothing! I… nothing.”

“Uh huh.” I’m taken aback a bit by the cold, cynical edge to her voice.

“Really! Why would I want—look, this whole thing with Hanora and Sareil… it doesn’t really matter to me, okay? I don’t belong here. This has nothing to do with me.”

Sae raises an eyebrow, unconvinced. “Hm. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s nothing the Hanorans haven’t figured out already.

“Thing is, I killed someone. Some boy... I didn’t have anything against him at all. He was just some kid I’d never seen before, about my age. But someone’s cart had been overturned, and there was a bit of bread lying in the alley, only enough for one of us, and neither of us had eaten for days. I knew as soon as I saw it that one of us was going to end up dead. Sometimes, while Renketh... I.... I wished it had been me. Really wished. But... I threw my knife I had, and it... it hit him between the eyes, he never had a chance. I took one look and... I knew he was dead. I passed out, and when I came to, there she was, the Hralhym. She and Kagami were in the city, trying to figure out... something about reconstruction, and also to recruit... whoever they could... she’d found me, but not the other kid, didn’t know about him, and of course I didn’t tell her, I was scared.

“She asked who I was, and seemed surprised at the answer. She knew my ara, and was sad to hear she was dead. Also, there was a way... Kagami had come up with a way... where I would be able to feed Haren and Kaimi, and I wouldn’t have to kill anyone else. Twenty other orphans joined too, that day: the child mages, the burumini.

“I was one of them. I learned spells that had once been forbidden, becoming stronger, and I was proud that now I had the power to protect Sareil from the Hanoradra, now I was stronger than anybody, I thought. We were sent to Naroth, two years later, to gather intelligence disguised as exchange students. There were twenty of us, but I’m the only one still alive now. The others... when we were found out, only hours after arriving in Naroth, they killed themselves. I would have, to, but I didn’t get the chance. Hanoran cruelty toward their prisoners was legendary among us, and we were told, to never, ever, under any circumstances, allow ourselves to be caught. But I did. I did, because she” Sae jerks her head toward Attaraya, “knocked me out.” She taps her nose with a finger, “Gave me this scar. And so... I got caught, and... Renketh...” Sae breaks off suddenly, her voice shaking.

“It’s okay. I know the rest. You don’t have to.”

Sae looks up at me for a moment as if she’s confused, trying to figure something out, eyes narrowed, biting her lower lip. Then she shudders, looks back down at the ground, and starts walking faster.

“Anyway… I… I got away. I figured out after awhile that they were putting poison in the food… it messed up my concentration and kept me from using magic. And so I got away… it was easier than I thought. But the wounds on my arm wouldn’t heal… Renketh Sealed them, probably.”

“‘Sealed?’”

“It keeps them from bleeding our getting infected, but it also prevents healing… it’s simple defensive magic, Healers use it all the time to keep wounded people from getting worse until they can be Healed properly. In my case, they just had to keep me from dying—I was the only person they’d caught for ages.”

“If you were the only one, I’m surprised they didn’t send pursuit after you.”

“They did, but not… not very far… I probably wasn’t worth it. I never told them anything,” she says quietly. “I had Haren and Kaimi to think about… and… and I’m not a traitor.”

“I… I’m sorry.” Yes, I know that was lame. It’s all I can think of to say.

“Don’t be. You had ‘nothing to do with it,’ right?”

Sae stomps off ahead of me, and this time, I let her go. I’ve probably done enough damage already. As usual.

* * * * *

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Due to a bit of poor planning on my part, this chapter ended up being reeeaalllly long, so I'm splitting it in half for now. ^^ Of course, my edits ended up making it even longer, sooo.

Anyhoo, I actually really like chapter thirteen. Which you might find odd, because I think I've changed more with this edit than ever before-- the chapter's been almost completely rewritten. XD But I'm actually kinda happy with my edits, this time around. Of course, there are still some issues... there's rather too much dialogue, the second half feels like the world's biggest infodump, and I couldn't find a good place to cut the conversation off. Ah well. The other part of this chapter is my true favorite, there's a conversation there that I think is some of the best writing in this book.

So that said, feel free to rip it apart! And thanks for all the comments so far. You guys, for lack of a better word, rock.