Crimson Butterfly (Glimpse)
I have been told about my birth many times, and though the tales vary person to person, each upholds the basic theme of an unending conflict between two empires. From my first breath of dry, hot air, I was allied to one side, while wrapped in cloth of the other’s banner. I don’t believe that was when my story began, but to my family, and my affiliation, that day was the moment of great victory and pride. My first cry was drowned out by a cheer over the endless armies of red. Though they both carried that crimson banner, it was the emblems upon them that differed two proud empires.
Ours was the golden scorpion, and theirs, the black wasp. We were the two factions that have been at war spanning uncounted millennia, always finding new ways to hurt each other instead of reaching a peace. It wasn’t until me that the cracked earth stopped running red with blood, but more on that later.
“Amidst the glorious battle,” my dad bellowed to men gathered around us. “I felt the pain of my child arriving into this world through the body of my sweet Jessabelle. I knew we had to win that battle to see my baby’s eyes open and witness a victorious conqueror returning.”
He’d always been a great storyteller, enticing his audience with a booming voice and big, joyous eyes. Nobody ever questioned his tales, for they knew him to be the great Modrin, a warrior of countless triumphs. Dad was brother to King Tyrsen Aggrakon, and commander of the Gold Battalion. Above all, he was a nobleman of the Sillurian populace, proudly bearing the golden tattoos.
“As I fed ground to the Vespian bannerman,” he continued. “I tore his flag down and tied it onto my sword. I knew then I would wrap my baby in that cloth of their defeat. When the battle was done, and the cracked ground was soaked with dirty Vespian blood, I returned to do the very thing I decided. My daughter was welcomed into the world upon a victory of the great Sillurian ways. In Blood and Sun!” He struck his chest over his heart and put the hand open above. The men in the tavern rose their steins and shouted the same cheer that honored our Sill way of life.
I looked down at the mug in my hand and contemplated that motto. Violence was our way of life. It was the endless and rightful struggle for a very scarce resource everyone needed to survive: Water. Even if the Sills shouted for the sun and Vesps cried out to the stars, neither could survive without the essence of life in clear form.
“Drink, Adrian,” Dad said. “Drink so you may grow strong like me and bring the damn Vesps to their knees in battle.”
“Use my name, father,” I replied while still hesitating to even attempt the lifting of the filled mug. “The name mother gave be, not the boy’s name you decided behind her back. I’m a girl. That will never change, but I can still honor you if only you respect mother’s last wish.” I looked up at the short beard and winced as a big hand slammed onto my shoulder. His grin parted the beard and joy lit his eyes, but deep in there he was still grieving for that golden-haired beauty that was my mother.
“Cirada, dear,” he spoke close to my ear. “I will honor Jessabelle’s memory, but to me, both names have meaning. Mine is a name of great pride and-”
“Not to me,” I interrupted and slipped his giant palm. “Let me create my own path, not follow your conquests. One day, I will join you on the field of battle like mom did in the days past.” That was a lie he needed to hear. I had no intention to spill blood, only ink. I wished to discover the world in more than sword and death, and it would not be long before that choice was upon me.
Beyond the two empires of Vesps and Sills, our world was populated by other people, brandishing no banners, yet surviving in locations of strategic importance. The canyons of hot rock were home to many hermit cannibals united under the brown flag of spiders, the Ranes. In the hot sands, buried and surviving on the dead, brilliant-minded snakes took up a yellow ribbon as their symbol, the Serps. In texts of limited use there was also mention of the white-owl Strigs, and the wondering crimson butterflies, Ceras, but nobody had ever seen either for centuries. A world of such endless war was no place for nomads or scholars. I had hopes the owls and butterflies still existed, as their ways of life were the most interesting.
From the conquest hall, I headed out past the guards and ducked off the path to find a friend of mine. He was my age, but his parents were only militia, low born, low-trained muscle for a fight. I still had two years before being allowed to fight, but Rake was soon to join the fight in one. It would be unfair if only I cared about fighting at all. By decision of uncle Tyrsen, all boys joined the fight at the age of twelve and girls at thirteen. I did well to cover up my royal golden tattoos, scorpion tails of gold paint over ink on my hands, with gloves. Rake would never know I was niece to the king.
“Ira! Hey, Ira!” he called out.
“Hey, Rake,” I said coming up to him. “How long till you can fight?”
“One more week and I can join the troupe,” he replied. “I can’t wait to take up a sword for the Sillurian Empire.”
“You’re too excited,” I said. “Don’t you ever wish you could just go somewhere that the two empires didn’t exist?” I searched his eyes for understanding.
“You mean to live like spiders or snakes?” he asked. “There is no water out there, Ir. Leaving the empire is certain death.”
“I don’t want to be a spider or a snake, Rake,” I said. “I want to find the white owls, learn from them of a world beyond fighting.” Rake laughed.
“You? An Owl?” His fist struck my shoulder playfully. “Those pansies are extinct, the animal and creed. If you’re not a Sill, you’re the enemy, Ir. Are you the enemy?”
Getting through to a blockhead was a challenge. Rake never learned to read, write or even speak right. His whole family was militia, and for the most part, dead. Even if I wanted him with me on my eventual journey, how could I convince him to seek no revenge?
“I’m a Sillurian, idiot,” I said returning the punch to his shoulder with more intensity than I anticipated. “Meet me there after sleep?” We met up once the adults drifted off to sleep.
“Always,” he said returning to cleaning blood from swords. I had a few more to speak with before the night was over. None of them knew I was Tyrsen’s relative except for Ara. She was a servant girl for the royalty, but always had such beautiful things to say. She was born low, but had a mind of a weaver. I needed to give her a chance to be more than a servant.
Beyond Rake and Ara, I had to gather Riaduron, a son to one of the strategists of the empire. Rad was smart, but his family kept him locked to battle strategies. He often told me that my idea of leaving the Sillurian Empire was flawed, so I had him invent a plan for it to succeed. Being a brain, he took up the challenge. The last person on the roster, was in the blood knight squad. His name was Tuzin, and he was part of the youngest trained squad of the Gold Battalion.
The blood knights were raised fighting as soon as they could hold a knife. At five, they upgraded to heavier weapons and armor to enter battle at the age of six. By eight, if they survived, the weapon choices branched out for them. Tuzin was eleven and he had seen battle many times. I needed someone like him if my plan was to succeed, by Rad’s mind. The place where I’ve met them all at separate times was already stocked with the things needed to escape. I was getting ready to run away and find the white owls, but it all depended on them. Winning them over was the difficult part.
After I went to see each of them and asked them to meet me at night in the spot we met up before, I headed back to speak with Ara. She was a servant, but I never saw her that way, since she grew up right next to me, just without the same amenities. She was how I learned of the divide between us, and felt sad about it. She was a friend first.
“Ara?” I said.
“Yes, princess?” she asked. I have told her many times to just call me Ira, but she had to keep up appearances around her family.
“Come with me,” I said and walked off from the other servants at the ready for any orders. Once we were far enough away, I could stop pretending. “Will you meet me in the same spot as before at night?” She grimaced.
“Last time I got back late, I got scolded,” she said. “Not to mention that I woke up tired in the morning, but I will meet you if you need me to, princess.”
“I told you already that you don’t have to call me princess when we’re in private,” I said. “Just call me Ira. In fact, I need you to pretend that I’m not lording over you when you meet me tonight. The others don’t know I’m niece to the king, and I’d like to keep it that way.” I put up my hands to point at the golden tattoos of the scorpion tail. “Please?”
“Anything you need, prin-” Ara started. “Cirada.”
“No, not anything I need,” I responded. “And call me Ira.”
“Ok, I-Ira,” she was uncomfortable bridging the divide of their class, but Ara needed to if she ever wanted to become a weaver. Weavers were people who wrote beautiful words, spoke them in perfect rhythm and tone to enchant. Not many still existed in this world of war, so I had to cultivate Ara who had talents in that area.
With the stage set, I had to prepare to convince four people to join me on an excursion of great proportions. The goal was a mountain only known about through past battles near it. It existed north of the Sill Empire, up where the air was not as hot and bothered. Even though I was used to the heat and dealt with it well, I stowed away a bunch of extra clothes to wear when the temperatures changed, for all four people I wanted to come with me. The stage was getting set. Only the actors remained to win over with a speech about exploration for a greater goal.
Ara arrived first, still thinking of the promise she made as an order. I hoped this wasn’t so, but it felt like that when she arrived early. Rake was second, eager to be awake past bedtime, almost to the point of giddiness. Riaduron was on time as always, and gravitated toward Ara as if he knew her already. They struck up a conversation about something, while Rake stood around trying to entertain himself with some shadow sparring. Tuzin came a bit late, being the rebel that he was, but I didn’t mind it. We were all gathered in one place at last. I made quick introductions before launching into a speech to win them over to the idea.
“We all live in the Sillurian Empire,” I said. “It’s a great place, right? The fight is endless and for a purpose of survival over the other empire of the night.” Rake cheered, but Ara shushed him. It was nighttime. Any loud noises could wake someone up. It was best to keep a medium volume rather than shout. I cleared my throat.
“It’s always war,” I continued. “But does it have to be?”
“What do you mean?” Rad asked. “It’s a need to survive. Fighting is logical, even if using such low class individuals as militia.”
“Hey!” Rake exclaimed. Ara shushed him again. “Don’t knock militia. They’re out there doing the dirty work, while strategists just sit in their little huts turning battle into technical babble.”
“It’s not babble, dummy,” Rad countered. “Strategists make the battle successful. Who do you think prevents loss of life in a large scale battle?”
“Shush!” Ara said. “Let those of war speak of war no more. Prin- err… Ira is trying to convey an idea to us. Listen close, pay attention, say no more until she’s done.” I smiled at Ara who was immediately embarrassed at the outburst.
“Thanks, Ara,” I said. “In simple terms: Our world is full of war, but it doesn’t have to be. There is a mountain in the north with a castle on the peak. Inside this castle are books and maps of old, containing a time when the butterflies and owls were still around. I think somewhere in that Strig library is the key to solve the problem of water resource distribution. We’d no longer have to wage wars over something everyone needs. I’m planning to get there, and I want all of you to come with me. Riaduron already came up with a plan for it, and I’ve been stocking supplies in this room for when we set out. What do you guys think? Do you have what it takes to help our world turn away from war? I need you.” I took a breath after the end of the pitch and looked toward them to find Ara and Rake confused. Riaduron was in thought, running calculations of the trip he planned before while looking through the supplies in bags I’ve gathered. Tuzin sat in the corner without a word.
“I’m in,” Tuzin said without lifting his head. “Anything to escape this boring town.” I smiled while jumping with joy inside my head. Rake, as if to compete with a blood knight, spoke up next.
“I-I think I want to go too,” he said and looked to me with a determined look.
“It won’t work,” Rad said finishing his inspection. “There aren’t enough supplies for the trip there and back. So far there is only enough gathered here for majority of the way there. You’d need more stuff to support five travelers all the way to Ligieli.” He met my determined eyes and stopped talking.
“I know, Rad,” I said. “It’s not yet ready, but it will be. I can get enough supplies for the whole trip. Would you come wi-” A scream pierced the silence outside. Everyone’s eyes went wide as Tuzin jumped up to inspect at the door. His hand formed a fist in anger. From this angle I saw that he wore a few weapons at all times, and wondered if he had to keep them on all the time being a blood knight.
“Vesps,” he whispered. “They’re raiding our capital. Sounds like they’ve killed a bunch of people already, but only now people are waking up.” I was surprised at how calm his voice was, but I saw his fist tremble at the door. Rake rushed the opening, but Tuzin pushed him back.
“What are you doing?” Rake asked. “We have to help! It’s our families out there sleeping to death!” He tried to force his way through again, but Tuzin kicked him back into the room. I was frozen in place. The city was being raided by Vesps. I didn’t consider they’d make this move. They did favor the night, which made them easy targets in the sun. It was a strategy the Sills have implemented many times, raiding them during the day when they were weak. This was retaliation.
“Ira!” Ara shouted to knock me out of the thought. Rake and Tuzin were at each other’s throats, but only the blood knight had weapons on him. “What do we do, Ira?” I tightened fists on both hands and ran up to strike both of the bickering boys. They took the hits rather than retaliate.
“Get it together!” I said. “We won’t be able to help anyone like this! We have to escape for now, regroup at a neighboring Sill town and lead an army back to take back our capitol.”
“There is one up north,” Rad said being strangely calm amidst this chaos. “But how do we sneak out of this battlefield?” I thought for a moment. My initial idea of leaving the city during night was now impossible. It relied too heavily on everyone being asleep, and only the few guards being around at the gates. Now Vesps populated the streets, and Sill soldiers had to have woken up to the attack already. The gong of alarm went off right on cue.
“We blend into the chaos,” I said. “It’s our only option, and our only chance. Grab a bag of supplies and let’s head out.” Tuzin grabbed three and stood there silently until everyone else was ready. Rad and Rake picked up the remaining two bags looking at the blood knight in annoyance of being upstaged. I didn’t want to imagine what it was like outside, but the screams of pain and shock painted a brutal picture, like my father’s stories. Preventing this was my goal, this needless slaughter of people. As soon as we got out into the roads of the town, I felt sick to my stomach. These cries of my people would haunt me for the rest of my life.
The Vesps wore black shrouds over their faces to hide in the darkness, but every once in a while outside light lit their painted faces to only show the eyes staring back. It was as if their faces absorbed all light, and only the eyes chose to reflect some. Among the chaos of the raid, we were careful not to run into anyone, but still Tuzin faced a Vesp on the way out of the city. The short man charged at him, but with a swift motion of a dagger upon passing, the soldier of the night fell to the ground. Curious, I stepped to unshroud him only to find someone my age, a girl, now dead. Tuzin didn’t react to killing a child, he only picked up his three bags and headed off toward the gate.
Rad followed first, while I composed myself among the sounds of crying and screams. The alarm gong still sounded loud, but the air was filled with fire and spilled blood. Ara followed after Rad, then Rake stepped to hold me up from the dead girl.
“They’re just Vesps, Ira,” he said as if that somehow made them less human. His mentality was taught from the beginning, so that he could fight and kill without remorse. To him these people who relished the night as much as Sills relished the day were just cattle for slaughter. Growing up as royalty gave me an option to create my own opinion of the world. Even if these Vesps fought just as hard as the Sills, I could never see them as the enemy. The only real struggle was containing the war. I followed Rake and the others outside the city. The Vesps were already past this point, leaving only the dead in their wake.
Just outside the city, I was out of it. I thought back to that moment Tuzin took a future from the Vesp girl my age. I didn’t even see the conflict brewing between him and Rake until he dropped his three bags to the ground and drew a weapon. As soon as that blade left the sheath, I felt my mind snap to focus. Both had pride on their shoulder, an agitator. I stepped forward to hit them again, but had to be careful so that Tuzin didn’t cut me by accident. I was a bit afraid of him. Ara put a hand on my shoulder and met my eyes when I turned to her. I nodded.
“Among this chaos and this war, what purpose has this fight of pride? Do your views not coincide? Please now and decide which is to you fuel more?” Ara asked. I was proud of her words. All the teaching her of thing was paying off. I wanted to give her a chance to be more than just a servant. The three boys were stunned at the words, and I hoped they could understand them all, or were at least mesmerized by the rhyme. Tuzin sheathed his dagger and picked the three bags again.
“Thank you, Ara,” I said when all five of us were walking again toward the deserts to the north. There was a Sill town there, but I was more excited to be heading off toward Ligieli, the mountain where the white owls once resided. Along the way, a sandstorm snuck up on us and threw a wrench into the travel. When it passed, I could not find Tuzin or Ara, but as long as they knew our destination, I could take Rad and Rake to find them at Aggravole. I could only wonder what Ara and Tuzin were up to in my absence.
“I was born into a servant household,” Ara said while walking behind the boy who felt too much like a man. He was resilient to communicating. “It was only a matter of time before I was pulled into the service of royalty, you know? I learned quickly how much different my life is from them. I went into service of this girl, the daughter of the King’s brother.” Tuzin grunted while picking up his pace. Ara kept up behind him, scanning the horizons for signs of the other three. They went well into the desert, and day was starting soon.
“You know, we’ll have to camp during the day so we can preserve our strength,” she said. He didn’t respond. Ara was about to speak again, but a coil of something wove around her ankle. She stopped in place, but didn’t look down. She didn’t want it to be the thing she knew it was. Pryesems hunted at night, pulling anything from the surface into the sand by the use of their tail. They were carnivorous beasts that have taken many lives out in the desert. “Tuzin?” He didn’t respond, only kept walking away.
“TUZIN!” Ara shouted just as the tail pulled her underneath. The last she could see was him turning around and dropping his bags. Only her hands remained above the sand, but he grabbed one and pulled her up, fighting the pull of the tail. Once she had a good enough handhold on him, Tuzin pulled on her to bring up the tail, but the beast came with it. A big maw opened from behind him with sharp yellow teeth.
“Hold onto me,” he said drawing a sword and a dagger. Ara clung to his chest, but he didn’t feel impeded at all. He moved from stationary position before Ara could comprehend it, and with a few swift motions, killed the Pyresem. “You can let go now.”
“Thank you,” Ara said and turned to see the beast with deep cuts bleeding orange onto the sand. Tuzin stepped up to the dying creature and broke off a tooth to keep as a conquest trophy. It was a barbaric ritual, but Ara was just glad to be alive, and she had a new view of the stoic warrior who had been forced into war since very young. She was glad he was by her side.
Riaduron and Rake, what a pair. They didn’t get along, but it was more of a quiet contest, and possibly over me. I had a feeling they both liked me, but I had no feelings to return. Both of them were useful in this pursuit of something, the Ligieli Mountain. I dreamed of becoming a butterfly, a stumbling nomad to wonder the world and explore it. No boy could stop my determination.
“We should alter our course a bit east,” Rad said. “The sandstorm might have made them veer off that direction. If we go off that way, our paths may intersect sooner, or at the very least we’d find some tracks.” Rake butted in before I could consider the idea.
“That’s stupid,” he said. “Let’s just keep heading north. We’re more likely to run into them just by going to Aggravole. Stop making a simple thing more complicated.”
“Just what the militia would say,” Rad fired back. “Your stupid troupe never follows strategies from the battlemasters.” I wanted to stop them, but was caught between two boys. Rake threw his bag down and grit his teeth.
“Wanna go?” he asked with fury in his eyes. Rad paused a moment, but shrugged it off until Rake tackled him down into the sand. They tumbled for a moment until I stepped in to kick them apart.
“Calm down, the both of you!” I said. “Let’s just keep heading north, not overcomplicate this.” Rake smiled a wicked smile at Rad as if he’d won the argument, only he didn’t for we weren’t heading to Aggravole. I was heading to the mountain in the distance, even if the rest of the group would stop at the city in the sands. The day was starting. We’d have to set up a refuge soon enough from the desert sun. Knowing they’d make a fuss over which of the two tents I slept in, I decided I would get one to myself, and they would share the second. Maybe that would bring them closer.
The day was here, and Tuzin insisted he keep watch over Ara while she slept. He said something of blood knights being able to withstand three days without rest for battles, but she felt bad that he didn’t get to sleep. After a few hours of necessary rest, Ara woke up to sit beside him rather than take refuge in the tent. He said nothing, not even when she leaned on him and fell asleep. There was an old song in his mind, a tune for after a battle was done, something of a calming ritual to balance out the chaos within. He hummed it gently while scanning the sunlit desert.
“Yes, Princess,” Ara murmured in her sleep. “Right away.” Tuzin put a hand around her, thinking back to his youth when someone he couldn’t picture held him that way. The memory felt faded, like old books of Strigs. The order of blood knights did not allow such behavior. He was breaking the minor laws, but that closeness of another being calmed his churning mind. Was it weakness or a strength?
“I’ll take the first watch,” Riaduron said.
“I want first,” Rake said. They were still in conflict over something. Was it just pride like Ara said, or did each want to impress me with their devotion to my safety? It was stupid, just like boys.
“Rad goes first,” Cirada said. “You’ll switch him, Rake, and then I’ll switch you.” Rake grimaced at my picking of Rad and lowered his head. It was only fair since they felt I chose his idea for which way to go. The competition was unnecessary, but while it didn’t result in dangerous situations, it was bearable. When it was my time to take watch, I looked through the bags and wondered if we could even make it to Ligieli Mountain. With two bags, we were consuming more than a normal amount of water, not to mention that there being one on each of their shoulders presented them a competition for everything inside.
It wasn’t as if they knew I was the daughter of the King’s brother, though Rad could have figured it out. That would make him all the more competitive over me, while Rake just thought I was pretty. That’s what I imagined he thought, being a little dim. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, since he had skills in other areas, and luck seemed to be on his side wherever he went. Not to mention, and yet I did, that Rake was friendly and strong, while Rad was more of a thinker, training the mind rather than muscles like the militia. The whole debate was ridiculous, but I did find myself coming back to it, imagining what they would look like all grown up.
We still had about half a pouch of water in each bag. I hoped when we found Tuzin and Ara, we’d get the rest of the water and have enough, but Aggravol was still pretty far. I scanned the sunny horizon as it faded into dusk. The sun was crossing the horizon, but someone was approaching us. I considered waking the boys up, but took out a knife from the bag and went to see who it was. The figure was female, and fearing it was Ara trying to travel during the day, I picked up my pace.
As I got closer, the person collapsed to the sand, as the sun continued descent into the horizon beyond. It was obvious that it wasn’t Ara, for this girl was clothed in black fabric, shrouded in it. A shiver ran down my back. It was a Vespian girl of about her age. I unshrouded her face to find the painted nightmare that swept through my home, but also made the connection to the girl Tuzin killed on the way out. She looked so similar.
“Ira!” Rake shouted from the tent. Both of them were up and running toward her. I had to take her Vesp garbs off before they saw her. Their rage toward the empire of the night was hard to contain. As soon as the robe slipped off her shoulders, and the fading sunlight touched her skin, the girl floated up into the air. I was stunned at the sight. She floated in the sun for no reason, just to float. She was almost unconscious, but reached out toward her black clothing in a tired panic.
“Butterfly,” I whispered and reached to hold onto her foot. I wanted her to lift me up, take me into the sky like that, but as the sun faded from direct contact, she dropped to the sand. “She needs water!” I turned to Rake and Rad, but they saw her painted face. Their faces changed to disgust, a wicked grimace of anger.
“She’s a Vesp,” Rake said. “Just let her die.”
“We finally agree on something,” Rad added. “Leave her, Ira.”
“Just because she was born a Vesp doesn’t mean she’s not allowed to live!” I argued, but they already walked away. I beat them to the tent, and pulled out a water pouch. The both of them let their stupid pride rule their actions. Neither of the idiots was winning this competition of theirs.
“Don’t give her our water,” Rad said. “We still need it.”
“It’s my share,” I countered and ran back to her side to pour some into the girl’s mouth. Her eyes opened to a stark white iris. This wasn’t something a Vespian would have. From all the books I’ve read, this trait showed up in Strigs, the white owls. My heart beat faster from excitement. I was already curious of her story, how she ended up living as a Vesp with such beautiful eyes. She fell unconscious right after that show of beauty.
Without their help, I carried her on my back into my tent. They were being real morons, but I wasn’t the one exposed to the fighting ways as early as them. Both had seen war take someone they loved, and it was always at the hands of the Vespian Empire. Just in case, I wrapped a length of rope over the girl’s ankles. I didn’t want to scare her, but I wasn’t about to let this possibly insightful individual run away just because two people wanted to kill her. I left the pouch of water beside her in case she needed more when she woke up.
“We’re not killing her,” I said coming up to the boys cooking something over a fire they created. We were about to head out, and needed some food to fuel their venture toward Aggrevole. “We’re taking her with us.”
“Come on, Ira!” Rake said. “She’s a Vesp! Why do you care?”
“She’s coming with us!” I argued. “And we’ll take turns carrying her, got it?”
Rad put his hand up, but put it down. Did he know about me already? If he did, at least he’d follow my orders, but Rake was a loose cannon of anger. To reach his dummy brain, I had to put fear into his thoughts of just how angry I could get. There was no other way of doing it then to take lead over his protest. He’d submit to me in time, especially if he liked me.
After a night of walking toward Aggrevole, we stumbled into Tuzin and Ara. They were a bit friendlier together than before the storm. Something must have happened between them, but I had no idea what it was. I was happy for her, but Tuzin was emotionally stunted by war conditioning. I hoped she wouldn’t expect him to change that much.
“Who’s that?” Ara asked and recoiled seeing the painted face. “A Vespian?”
“She’s coming with us,” I said. Tuzin stepped up and offered a free arm to carry her. He already had three bags on one arm, but still wanted more weight.
“I need the exercise,” he said as an excuse for me to hand the girl over, but she had other plans. When I dropped her to the ground, her ropes on the feet came loose, and she actually managed to draw Tuzin’s dagger to hold it up to his neck. He did not seem to be scared by this, and he tilted his head back, and slammed his forehead on the girl’s to knock her out. Rather than drop the bags and collect himself, he kicked the dagger up to his free hand and sheathed it. Next he picked up the girl and slung her over his shoulder.
“Are you sure?” I asked worries she might attack him again. He nodded.
“Wow,” Rake said with a smile. “That was badass, man.”
“Blood Knights are skilled from youth,” Rad added. “This was a simple feat, no doubt.” Tuzin just nodded again and walked off toward the city almost visible in the distance. His back had never looked wider than when he had three bags and one human being on it. He carried them as if they were no burden. I admired him for being this way, but I could see Ara was becoming fonder of him than me. Sometimes it was good to step back and let others enjoy their life. I had goals that didn’t fit into other’s hopes of future.
The next time the girl woke up, it was night. I sat with her while the others took a break from walking. She was still tied up, but struggled against the binds.
“It’s ok,” I said. “We’re not going to hurt you. Well, I’m not going to at least. The others aren’t very fond of Vesps.” I motioned to the tents, which made the girl panic. She tried to stand, but fell forward with her feet bound. I realized that she saw my golden tattoos only after lunging to keep her still so she didn’t fall into the fire beside us. She was in my arms, but she just turned her head with a grimace of pain.
“I’m not a Vespian anymore,” she said quietly. I put her down by the fire and saw a tattoo on her ankle of a black wasp. She was once a Vesp. That was their mark, just like the golden tattoos was mine. I just needed to hive the scorpion tails on the backs of my hands, being royalty. “Can you undo the ropes? I won’t run.” I smiled that she was speaking to me rather than just struggling. That was mostly why I didn’t realize that she’d take of right after I freed her feet. Before she got too far away, Tuzin stepped up and knocked her out again.
“You gotta stop doing that, Tuzin,” I said. “She’ll end up getting hurt.” The others ran up to find the girl between the two of them.
“We need to kill her,” Rake said. “She’s a Vesp. They have no right to exist in the first place.”
“We’re not killing her, Rake,” I said.
“I would like to know how it was she floated when we first saw her,” Rad said.
“She what?” Ara asked.
“Floated,” Rad explained. “Like it was nothing, like natural. I wish to know that at the very least before she dies. Ira even touched her feet as the girl hovered there.”
“Yeah,” I said remembering. “It would be nice to know how she did that. She did fall though, just as the sun set. Maybe it’s somehow related.” Tuzin stepped over the girl and picked up the rope I undid.
“Tie her up for now,” he said. “I’ll carry her. We can learn more about her later.”
We ventured in the night toward the fake destination of Aggrevole. My target was always the distant mountain Ligieli, but that had to be secret from them a while longer. If they decided to come with me, we could resupply in Aggrevole, thanks to the royal tattoos on my hands. That would mean they’d know me as the daughter to king’s brother, but chances were most knew already. Close to dawn, when the stars were at their brightest, we arrived to a battlefield of a war gone by, with yellow ribbons set up everywhere to signify Serp territory.
“We should go around,” Rad said. “Serps own all past battlefields. We still have enough time in the night to make it around this place of death.” I didn’t fear the Serps as much as I should have, partly since I’ve never seen them. Rake, Tuzin, and Rad might have already seen a few in battles where they spectated from the rear, or fought. Serps were believed to be the worst right after Vespians. As the battle ended, they slithered out to retrieve what was left, selling weapons back to the Empires they came from. They were traders of death, but when others came into their territory, they lashed out with greed.
“We’re going through it,” I said. “I think we can make it without being noticed. Maybe there is no Serps around anyway, just yellow ribbons.” I looked over the others for challenges to my decision. None of them wanted to speak against my guiding voice. Maybe I had something of my father in me. I shuddered at the thought. He was so burly and uncouth. Still, I hoped he was ok after the Vespian raid. I threw my life of comfort away for this, even amidst the suffering of my hometown. This trip had to be worth it.
“A slip, a slither, the Serpians come, when war is halted, when battle’s done, no task too dirty, no stone unturned, and in the end, all fallen burn,” Ara said in weaver rhythm. Everyone paused to reflect on the words of caution. I shook it off and motioned toward the fluttering yellow ribbons. We didn’t have the supplies to go around. I wasn’t even sure we had enough to get to Aggravole with six, but going through would definitely help.
The scene of a rotting graveyard filled our vision while striking against the nostrils with the smell of death. The blood had long turned black, and the bodies started to decay. I hoped the Serps abandoned this site already, having collected all the armor, weapons and clothing that could be repurposed. They were scroungers, but benefiting on death was a detestable practice. Even Sillurians buried their dead in the sand. I wasn’t sure what Vesps did, but maybe I could ask of the girl if she woke up once without trying to attack.
Rake tried to hold a brave face at the sight of this massacre, while Tuzin was actually unmoved. He’d been in such places ever since he joined the battles. Riaduron stopped the group a few times thinking he’d throw up, but each time he held it back. Ara only looked over the battlefield with sad eyes. I could tell she wanted to weave words on this topic, but we had to keep quiet. Due to the unfortunate nature of being daughter to the man in charge of the Gold Battalion, I’d seen similar sights in the past, but never quite this ripe.
We moved silently among the corpses, void of anything to signify how they died. Most were also missing clothes, but there was no purpose for undergarments as dying ruined those right anyway. I looked over the men and women who fell here and tried to identify which were Sills and which Vesps, but I saw no differences once the tattoos had faded. People of our world were so desperate to identify ourselves by skin, and yet we were just separated by way of life. There was an eerie hush over the whole place, for it was all death. Any sound would cause trouble, and so we whispered to talk, and kept it short. I felt a shiver before it happened, as if there was something I needed to stop. The Vesp girl stirred while our attention was away.
“Gross,” she said. “It smells like death.” All of us turned to Tuzin who was clearly surprised she was awake.
“This is…” she said and looked around. “Serpian graveyard. What is wrong with you? They’ll kill us! Or worse, much worse. Let me go! Let me down!” Tuzin drew his sword to knock her out again with the hilt, but I ran up to him and stopped the swing. I didn’t even have to say anything, only met his eyes and he understood. I liked that about him. He could read a person’s thoughts with that gaze. I stepped over to the girl throwing a tantrum and tried to calm her.
“Shh!” I said. “Keep quiet. We’re too deep into the graveyard to turn back. Please stay quiet and we’ll make it through this. Ok? I searched her strange white irises for understanding, but it was too late. Some yellow ribbons in the distance stirred and stood up on spears. Someone from the Serps noticed us.
“We’re dead,” Rad said. If he was saying that, there was no way out. I watched as some of the corpses stirred, and other shorter spears stood up from the bodies. Our smart organizer finally hurled at the sight of danger and death. Rake almost stood up proudly in light of that defeat, but then also bent over and threw up. I had to do something about this. It was my fault we were even in this place. If we’d only gone around, we’d only be dying of starvation and thirst, not at the hands of snakes. I stepped ahead toward the tallest spears in the distance.
“I seek to speak with your leader!” I called out to the raised ribbons as the y approached. The humans finally showed, holding the spears at the ground. I didn’t know why they each had a spear, but they were skinny, almost as a spear themselves. Both male and female Serps surrounded us, spears pointed high with ribbons on the wind. The blade on the end was worn out, dirty with old blood, but the arrow point had two hooks on the back of it. Then I understood what they were for.
A man with the longest spear stepped forward with a wicked grin and dug his spear in the ground. As soon as he let go, some of the smaller spears charged at him in attack, but he lifted his weapon and stabbed them all down before they reached him. His hands moved fast for being so thin, but that was just it. It was only a weapon after all, meant to distance yourself from others. The hooks on the sides of the point were most likely for digging through corpses on the battlefield.
“Hey there, children,” the guy said stabbing his spear into a corpse for storage. “What brings you into our territory?” His belt moved around his waist until I noticed it was actually a snake. The maw opened to the fanged beast as it hissed at us. The leader smoothed his hand on the base of the animal’s jaw and it went docile again, coiling back around him. “Everything on this battlefield belongs to us.”
“We’re only passing through!” I said hoping the man was reasonable, but how reasonable could a scrounger be? His whole livelihood was benefiting from the misfortune of others. “Please let us pass!” The man clicked his tongue in a hiss-like sound. The other Serps made the same sound, making it sound like a harmony of laughing snakes.
“Being here makes you my property, girlie,” the thin man said after the sound died down. Tuzin stepped over to hand the tied-up Vesp girl to Rad while he drew his swords. Rake stood fast in a similar fashion, brandishing only a knife in his right hand. This was bad. All these Serps had to do was point the spears at us, and we’d be dead. That amount and length was overwhelming. Just as the poles wavered at the motion of the thin man’s hand, I had an idea.
“HALT!” I shouted as the spears paused. All eyes were on me now. I pulled my thin gloves off to reveal my scorpion tail tattoos of royalty on the back of my hands. I held them up to the faint light for them all to see. It wasn’t a secret anymore. “My name is Cirada Aggrakon, niece to King Tyrsen of the Sillurian Empire! Let my friends go free, and I will surrender to you! I believe my father would pay a hefty price for me, in water, a lot of water!” I didn’t want to look at Rad, Rake, and Tuzin. This was the first time I had nothing to hide from them, but I feared how they would react to this news.
“Intriguing,” the thin man said and stroked his chin in contemplation. Riaduron and Rake both stepped up to me urgently.
“What are you doing?” Rake asked. “You can’t give yourself up!” It was as if what I just said didn’t register with him, or maybe he just didn’t care that I was royalty. A simple mind was always the most oblivious and fun.
“What he said,” Rad added. “It’s a bit of a surprise, but I was wondering how you were able to get five bags full of supplies stored away. The cost alone would have bankrupted a standard Sill family. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I already knew.”
“Ditto,” Tuzin said and met my eyes. His expression didn’t change. I felt stupid hiding it, since most already knew. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain how we’re in a bad situation right now. What do we do, Ira?” Rake and Rad looked to me.
“Don’t do this, Ira,” Ara said. I stepped closer to her to whisper.
“I’ll escape and meet up with you after you clear the graveyard,” I whispered. “I promise.”
“May your path be true,” Ara said. “One that links me to you. Find us again soon, Ira.”
“Alright!” the thin man bellowed. “Your friends may pass! They will not be harmed! You stay behind!” I turned to everyone ready to fight for me and smiled.
“Go on,” I said. “Go with Ara to Aggrevole. Resupply and head back to the capitol maybe. Folks in Aggrevole probable know what happened to our hometown.” I saw Ara pull the boys with her, though they didn’t want to go. Tuzin locked eyes with me on the way past the spear-totting crowd. There was no need for words there. He was telling me to be careful.
Right as my friends walked further into the graveyard, I was taken in a similar direction so that I could watch them make it out safely before being taken to the small camp the Serpians made out of rotting bodies. It was more of a wall where they set up their fires, but the smell was more pungent there than in any other space. The cage I was put into was sturdy, of Vesp make. They always did like digging around in the ground and melting ore to metal. It was believed that Vesps actually invented metallurgy, but being a non-combative race once, they didn’t make weapons before encountering the Sills.
“What’s your name?” I asked of the thin man. Did Serps even have names, or was their type of life based on dominance over the weaker ones of their kind. There was no need for names in such a strange society.
“Itsks,” he said. At first I thought he was doing more of the snake laugh at me, but it was too short for that.
“Do all Serpian names sound like that snake laugh thing you did?” I asked. The man grimaced annoyed. “Your name is impossible to shout. I think I’ll call you Iks.” Iks turned away from her and sat down on a pile of dead soldiers. The armor and weapons were stored in one corner of the walled space. As the other Serpians funneled in, each stabbed their spear into the wall for storage and to have the yellow ribbon dangle toward the ground. After a few minutes of this, I realized I was in a bit of a bind. There were more of these people than I expected.
“Hello!” I called out to try and get any attention from the other Serps, but everyone ignored me. I was a bounty for them, only worth fresh water from the capitol that all desperately needed. It wasn’t until one snake boy came up to me that I got someone to talk to. The youth was often less prejudiced than the adults, for they experienced less hate in their life.
Ours was the golden scorpion, and theirs, the black wasp. We were the two factions that have been at war spanning uncounted millennia, always finding new ways to hurt each other instead of reaching a peace. It wasn’t until me that the cracked earth stopped running red with blood, but more on that later.
“Amidst the glorious battle,” my dad bellowed to men gathered around us. “I felt the pain of my child arriving into this world through the body of my sweet Jessabelle. I knew we had to win that battle to see my baby’s eyes open and witness a victorious conqueror returning.”
He’d always been a great storyteller, enticing his audience with a booming voice and big, joyous eyes. Nobody ever questioned his tales, for they knew him to be the great Modrin, a warrior of countless triumphs. Dad was brother to King Tyrsen Aggrakon, and commander of the Gold Battalion. Above all, he was a nobleman of the Sillurian populace, proudly bearing the golden tattoos.
“As I fed ground to the Vespian bannerman,” he continued. “I tore his flag down and tied it onto my sword. I knew then I would wrap my baby in that cloth of their defeat. When the battle was done, and the cracked ground was soaked with dirty Vespian blood, I returned to do the very thing I decided. My daughter was welcomed into the world upon a victory of the great Sillurian ways. In Blood and Sun!” He struck his chest over his heart and put the hand open above. The men in the tavern rose their steins and shouted the same cheer that honored our Sill way of life.
I looked down at the mug in my hand and contemplated that motto. Violence was our way of life. It was the endless and rightful struggle for a very scarce resource everyone needed to survive: Water. Even if the Sills shouted for the sun and Vesps cried out to the stars, neither could survive without the essence of life in clear form.
“Drink, Adrian,” Dad said. “Drink so you may grow strong like me and bring the damn Vesps to their knees in battle.”
“Use my name, father,” I replied while still hesitating to even attempt the lifting of the filled mug. “The name mother gave be, not the boy’s name you decided behind her back. I’m a girl. That will never change, but I can still honor you if only you respect mother’s last wish.” I looked up at the short beard and winced as a big hand slammed onto my shoulder. His grin parted the beard and joy lit his eyes, but deep in there he was still grieving for that golden-haired beauty that was my mother.
“Cirada, dear,” he spoke close to my ear. “I will honor Jessabelle’s memory, but to me, both names have meaning. Mine is a name of great pride and-”
“Not to me,” I interrupted and slipped his giant palm. “Let me create my own path, not follow your conquests. One day, I will join you on the field of battle like mom did in the days past.” That was a lie he needed to hear. I had no intention to spill blood, only ink. I wished to discover the world in more than sword and death, and it would not be long before that choice was upon me.
Beyond the two empires of Vesps and Sills, our world was populated by other people, brandishing no banners, yet surviving in locations of strategic importance. The canyons of hot rock were home to many hermit cannibals united under the brown flag of spiders, the Ranes. In the hot sands, buried and surviving on the dead, brilliant-minded snakes took up a yellow ribbon as their symbol, the Serps. In texts of limited use there was also mention of the white-owl Strigs, and the wondering crimson butterflies, Ceras, but nobody had ever seen either for centuries. A world of such endless war was no place for nomads or scholars. I had hopes the owls and butterflies still existed, as their ways of life were the most interesting.
From the conquest hall, I headed out past the guards and ducked off the path to find a friend of mine. He was my age, but his parents were only militia, low born, low-trained muscle for a fight. I still had two years before being allowed to fight, but Rake was soon to join the fight in one. It would be unfair if only I cared about fighting at all. By decision of uncle Tyrsen, all boys joined the fight at the age of twelve and girls at thirteen. I did well to cover up my royal golden tattoos, scorpion tails of gold paint over ink on my hands, with gloves. Rake would never know I was niece to the king.
“Ira! Hey, Ira!” he called out.
“Hey, Rake,” I said coming up to him. “How long till you can fight?”
“One more week and I can join the troupe,” he replied. “I can’t wait to take up a sword for the Sillurian Empire.”
“You’re too excited,” I said. “Don’t you ever wish you could just go somewhere that the two empires didn’t exist?” I searched his eyes for understanding.
“You mean to live like spiders or snakes?” he asked. “There is no water out there, Ir. Leaving the empire is certain death.”
“I don’t want to be a spider or a snake, Rake,” I said. “I want to find the white owls, learn from them of a world beyond fighting.” Rake laughed.
“You? An Owl?” His fist struck my shoulder playfully. “Those pansies are extinct, the animal and creed. If you’re not a Sill, you’re the enemy, Ir. Are you the enemy?”
Getting through to a blockhead was a challenge. Rake never learned to read, write or even speak right. His whole family was militia, and for the most part, dead. Even if I wanted him with me on my eventual journey, how could I convince him to seek no revenge?
“I’m a Sillurian, idiot,” I said returning the punch to his shoulder with more intensity than I anticipated. “Meet me there after sleep?” We met up once the adults drifted off to sleep.
“Always,” he said returning to cleaning blood from swords. I had a few more to speak with before the night was over. None of them knew I was Tyrsen’s relative except for Ara. She was a servant girl for the royalty, but always had such beautiful things to say. She was born low, but had a mind of a weaver. I needed to give her a chance to be more than a servant.
Beyond Rake and Ara, I had to gather Riaduron, a son to one of the strategists of the empire. Rad was smart, but his family kept him locked to battle strategies. He often told me that my idea of leaving the Sillurian Empire was flawed, so I had him invent a plan for it to succeed. Being a brain, he took up the challenge. The last person on the roster, was in the blood knight squad. His name was Tuzin, and he was part of the youngest trained squad of the Gold Battalion.
The blood knights were raised fighting as soon as they could hold a knife. At five, they upgraded to heavier weapons and armor to enter battle at the age of six. By eight, if they survived, the weapon choices branched out for them. Tuzin was eleven and he had seen battle many times. I needed someone like him if my plan was to succeed, by Rad’s mind. The place where I’ve met them all at separate times was already stocked with the things needed to escape. I was getting ready to run away and find the white owls, but it all depended on them. Winning them over was the difficult part.
After I went to see each of them and asked them to meet me at night in the spot we met up before, I headed back to speak with Ara. She was a servant, but I never saw her that way, since she grew up right next to me, just without the same amenities. She was how I learned of the divide between us, and felt sad about it. She was a friend first.
“Ara?” I said.
“Yes, princess?” she asked. I have told her many times to just call me Ira, but she had to keep up appearances around her family.
“Come with me,” I said and walked off from the other servants at the ready for any orders. Once we were far enough away, I could stop pretending. “Will you meet me in the same spot as before at night?” She grimaced.
“Last time I got back late, I got scolded,” she said. “Not to mention that I woke up tired in the morning, but I will meet you if you need me to, princess.”
“I told you already that you don’t have to call me princess when we’re in private,” I said. “Just call me Ira. In fact, I need you to pretend that I’m not lording over you when you meet me tonight. The others don’t know I’m niece to the king, and I’d like to keep it that way.” I put up my hands to point at the golden tattoos of the scorpion tail. “Please?”
“Anything you need, prin-” Ara started. “Cirada.”
“No, not anything I need,” I responded. “And call me Ira.”
“Ok, I-Ira,” she was uncomfortable bridging the divide of their class, but Ara needed to if she ever wanted to become a weaver. Weavers were people who wrote beautiful words, spoke them in perfect rhythm and tone to enchant. Not many still existed in this world of war, so I had to cultivate Ara who had talents in that area.
With the stage set, I had to prepare to convince four people to join me on an excursion of great proportions. The goal was a mountain only known about through past battles near it. It existed north of the Sill Empire, up where the air was not as hot and bothered. Even though I was used to the heat and dealt with it well, I stowed away a bunch of extra clothes to wear when the temperatures changed, for all four people I wanted to come with me. The stage was getting set. Only the actors remained to win over with a speech about exploration for a greater goal.
Ara arrived first, still thinking of the promise she made as an order. I hoped this wasn’t so, but it felt like that when she arrived early. Rake was second, eager to be awake past bedtime, almost to the point of giddiness. Riaduron was on time as always, and gravitated toward Ara as if he knew her already. They struck up a conversation about something, while Rake stood around trying to entertain himself with some shadow sparring. Tuzin came a bit late, being the rebel that he was, but I didn’t mind it. We were all gathered in one place at last. I made quick introductions before launching into a speech to win them over to the idea.
“We all live in the Sillurian Empire,” I said. “It’s a great place, right? The fight is endless and for a purpose of survival over the other empire of the night.” Rake cheered, but Ara shushed him. It was nighttime. Any loud noises could wake someone up. It was best to keep a medium volume rather than shout. I cleared my throat.
“It’s always war,” I continued. “But does it have to be?”
“What do you mean?” Rad asked. “It’s a need to survive. Fighting is logical, even if using such low class individuals as militia.”
“Hey!” Rake exclaimed. Ara shushed him again. “Don’t knock militia. They’re out there doing the dirty work, while strategists just sit in their little huts turning battle into technical babble.”
“It’s not babble, dummy,” Rad countered. “Strategists make the battle successful. Who do you think prevents loss of life in a large scale battle?”
“Shush!” Ara said. “Let those of war speak of war no more. Prin- err… Ira is trying to convey an idea to us. Listen close, pay attention, say no more until she’s done.” I smiled at Ara who was immediately embarrassed at the outburst.
“Thanks, Ara,” I said. “In simple terms: Our world is full of war, but it doesn’t have to be. There is a mountain in the north with a castle on the peak. Inside this castle are books and maps of old, containing a time when the butterflies and owls were still around. I think somewhere in that Strig library is the key to solve the problem of water resource distribution. We’d no longer have to wage wars over something everyone needs. I’m planning to get there, and I want all of you to come with me. Riaduron already came up with a plan for it, and I’ve been stocking supplies in this room for when we set out. What do you guys think? Do you have what it takes to help our world turn away from war? I need you.” I took a breath after the end of the pitch and looked toward them to find Ara and Rake confused. Riaduron was in thought, running calculations of the trip he planned before while looking through the supplies in bags I’ve gathered. Tuzin sat in the corner without a word.
“I’m in,” Tuzin said without lifting his head. “Anything to escape this boring town.” I smiled while jumping with joy inside my head. Rake, as if to compete with a blood knight, spoke up next.
“I-I think I want to go too,” he said and looked to me with a determined look.
“It won’t work,” Rad said finishing his inspection. “There aren’t enough supplies for the trip there and back. So far there is only enough gathered here for majority of the way there. You’d need more stuff to support five travelers all the way to Ligieli.” He met my determined eyes and stopped talking.
“I know, Rad,” I said. “It’s not yet ready, but it will be. I can get enough supplies for the whole trip. Would you come wi-” A scream pierced the silence outside. Everyone’s eyes went wide as Tuzin jumped up to inspect at the door. His hand formed a fist in anger. From this angle I saw that he wore a few weapons at all times, and wondered if he had to keep them on all the time being a blood knight.
“Vesps,” he whispered. “They’re raiding our capital. Sounds like they’ve killed a bunch of people already, but only now people are waking up.” I was surprised at how calm his voice was, but I saw his fist tremble at the door. Rake rushed the opening, but Tuzin pushed him back.
“What are you doing?” Rake asked. “We have to help! It’s our families out there sleeping to death!” He tried to force his way through again, but Tuzin kicked him back into the room. I was frozen in place. The city was being raided by Vesps. I didn’t consider they’d make this move. They did favor the night, which made them easy targets in the sun. It was a strategy the Sills have implemented many times, raiding them during the day when they were weak. This was retaliation.
“Ira!” Ara shouted to knock me out of the thought. Rake and Tuzin were at each other’s throats, but only the blood knight had weapons on him. “What do we do, Ira?” I tightened fists on both hands and ran up to strike both of the bickering boys. They took the hits rather than retaliate.
“Get it together!” I said. “We won’t be able to help anyone like this! We have to escape for now, regroup at a neighboring Sill town and lead an army back to take back our capitol.”
“There is one up north,” Rad said being strangely calm amidst this chaos. “But how do we sneak out of this battlefield?” I thought for a moment. My initial idea of leaving the city during night was now impossible. It relied too heavily on everyone being asleep, and only the few guards being around at the gates. Now Vesps populated the streets, and Sill soldiers had to have woken up to the attack already. The gong of alarm went off right on cue.
“We blend into the chaos,” I said. “It’s our only option, and our only chance. Grab a bag of supplies and let’s head out.” Tuzin grabbed three and stood there silently until everyone else was ready. Rad and Rake picked up the remaining two bags looking at the blood knight in annoyance of being upstaged. I didn’t want to imagine what it was like outside, but the screams of pain and shock painted a brutal picture, like my father’s stories. Preventing this was my goal, this needless slaughter of people. As soon as we got out into the roads of the town, I felt sick to my stomach. These cries of my people would haunt me for the rest of my life.
The Vesps wore black shrouds over their faces to hide in the darkness, but every once in a while outside light lit their painted faces to only show the eyes staring back. It was as if their faces absorbed all light, and only the eyes chose to reflect some. Among the chaos of the raid, we were careful not to run into anyone, but still Tuzin faced a Vesp on the way out of the city. The short man charged at him, but with a swift motion of a dagger upon passing, the soldier of the night fell to the ground. Curious, I stepped to unshroud him only to find someone my age, a girl, now dead. Tuzin didn’t react to killing a child, he only picked up his three bags and headed off toward the gate.
Rad followed first, while I composed myself among the sounds of crying and screams. The alarm gong still sounded loud, but the air was filled with fire and spilled blood. Ara followed after Rad, then Rake stepped to hold me up from the dead girl.
“They’re just Vesps, Ira,” he said as if that somehow made them less human. His mentality was taught from the beginning, so that he could fight and kill without remorse. To him these people who relished the night as much as Sills relished the day were just cattle for slaughter. Growing up as royalty gave me an option to create my own opinion of the world. Even if these Vesps fought just as hard as the Sills, I could never see them as the enemy. The only real struggle was containing the war. I followed Rake and the others outside the city. The Vesps were already past this point, leaving only the dead in their wake.
Just outside the city, I was out of it. I thought back to that moment Tuzin took a future from the Vesp girl my age. I didn’t even see the conflict brewing between him and Rake until he dropped his three bags to the ground and drew a weapon. As soon as that blade left the sheath, I felt my mind snap to focus. Both had pride on their shoulder, an agitator. I stepped forward to hit them again, but had to be careful so that Tuzin didn’t cut me by accident. I was a bit afraid of him. Ara put a hand on my shoulder and met my eyes when I turned to her. I nodded.
“Among this chaos and this war, what purpose has this fight of pride? Do your views not coincide? Please now and decide which is to you fuel more?” Ara asked. I was proud of her words. All the teaching her of thing was paying off. I wanted to give her a chance to be more than just a servant. The three boys were stunned at the words, and I hoped they could understand them all, or were at least mesmerized by the rhyme. Tuzin sheathed his dagger and picked the three bags again.
“Thank you, Ara,” I said when all five of us were walking again toward the deserts to the north. There was a Sill town there, but I was more excited to be heading off toward Ligieli, the mountain where the white owls once resided. Along the way, a sandstorm snuck up on us and threw a wrench into the travel. When it passed, I could not find Tuzin or Ara, but as long as they knew our destination, I could take Rad and Rake to find them at Aggravole. I could only wonder what Ara and Tuzin were up to in my absence.
“I was born into a servant household,” Ara said while walking behind the boy who felt too much like a man. He was resilient to communicating. “It was only a matter of time before I was pulled into the service of royalty, you know? I learned quickly how much different my life is from them. I went into service of this girl, the daughter of the King’s brother.” Tuzin grunted while picking up his pace. Ara kept up behind him, scanning the horizons for signs of the other three. They went well into the desert, and day was starting soon.
“You know, we’ll have to camp during the day so we can preserve our strength,” she said. He didn’t respond. Ara was about to speak again, but a coil of something wove around her ankle. She stopped in place, but didn’t look down. She didn’t want it to be the thing she knew it was. Pryesems hunted at night, pulling anything from the surface into the sand by the use of their tail. They were carnivorous beasts that have taken many lives out in the desert. “Tuzin?” He didn’t respond, only kept walking away.
“TUZIN!” Ara shouted just as the tail pulled her underneath. The last she could see was him turning around and dropping his bags. Only her hands remained above the sand, but he grabbed one and pulled her up, fighting the pull of the tail. Once she had a good enough handhold on him, Tuzin pulled on her to bring up the tail, but the beast came with it. A big maw opened from behind him with sharp yellow teeth.
“Hold onto me,” he said drawing a sword and a dagger. Ara clung to his chest, but he didn’t feel impeded at all. He moved from stationary position before Ara could comprehend it, and with a few swift motions, killed the Pyresem. “You can let go now.”
“Thank you,” Ara said and turned to see the beast with deep cuts bleeding orange onto the sand. Tuzin stepped up to the dying creature and broke off a tooth to keep as a conquest trophy. It was a barbaric ritual, but Ara was just glad to be alive, and she had a new view of the stoic warrior who had been forced into war since very young. She was glad he was by her side.
Riaduron and Rake, what a pair. They didn’t get along, but it was more of a quiet contest, and possibly over me. I had a feeling they both liked me, but I had no feelings to return. Both of them were useful in this pursuit of something, the Ligieli Mountain. I dreamed of becoming a butterfly, a stumbling nomad to wonder the world and explore it. No boy could stop my determination.
“We should alter our course a bit east,” Rad said. “The sandstorm might have made them veer off that direction. If we go off that way, our paths may intersect sooner, or at the very least we’d find some tracks.” Rake butted in before I could consider the idea.
“That’s stupid,” he said. “Let’s just keep heading north. We’re more likely to run into them just by going to Aggravole. Stop making a simple thing more complicated.”
“Just what the militia would say,” Rad fired back. “Your stupid troupe never follows strategies from the battlemasters.” I wanted to stop them, but was caught between two boys. Rake threw his bag down and grit his teeth.
“Wanna go?” he asked with fury in his eyes. Rad paused a moment, but shrugged it off until Rake tackled him down into the sand. They tumbled for a moment until I stepped in to kick them apart.
“Calm down, the both of you!” I said. “Let’s just keep heading north, not overcomplicate this.” Rake smiled a wicked smile at Rad as if he’d won the argument, only he didn’t for we weren’t heading to Aggravole. I was heading to the mountain in the distance, even if the rest of the group would stop at the city in the sands. The day was starting. We’d have to set up a refuge soon enough from the desert sun. Knowing they’d make a fuss over which of the two tents I slept in, I decided I would get one to myself, and they would share the second. Maybe that would bring them closer.
The day was here, and Tuzin insisted he keep watch over Ara while she slept. He said something of blood knights being able to withstand three days without rest for battles, but she felt bad that he didn’t get to sleep. After a few hours of necessary rest, Ara woke up to sit beside him rather than take refuge in the tent. He said nothing, not even when she leaned on him and fell asleep. There was an old song in his mind, a tune for after a battle was done, something of a calming ritual to balance out the chaos within. He hummed it gently while scanning the sunlit desert.
“Yes, Princess,” Ara murmured in her sleep. “Right away.” Tuzin put a hand around her, thinking back to his youth when someone he couldn’t picture held him that way. The memory felt faded, like old books of Strigs. The order of blood knights did not allow such behavior. He was breaking the minor laws, but that closeness of another being calmed his churning mind. Was it weakness or a strength?
“I’ll take the first watch,” Riaduron said.
“I want first,” Rake said. They were still in conflict over something. Was it just pride like Ara said, or did each want to impress me with their devotion to my safety? It was stupid, just like boys.
“Rad goes first,” Cirada said. “You’ll switch him, Rake, and then I’ll switch you.” Rake grimaced at my picking of Rad and lowered his head. It was only fair since they felt I chose his idea for which way to go. The competition was unnecessary, but while it didn’t result in dangerous situations, it was bearable. When it was my time to take watch, I looked through the bags and wondered if we could even make it to Ligieli Mountain. With two bags, we were consuming more than a normal amount of water, not to mention that there being one on each of their shoulders presented them a competition for everything inside.
It wasn’t as if they knew I was the daughter of the King’s brother, though Rad could have figured it out. That would make him all the more competitive over me, while Rake just thought I was pretty. That’s what I imagined he thought, being a little dim. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, since he had skills in other areas, and luck seemed to be on his side wherever he went. Not to mention, and yet I did, that Rake was friendly and strong, while Rad was more of a thinker, training the mind rather than muscles like the militia. The whole debate was ridiculous, but I did find myself coming back to it, imagining what they would look like all grown up.
We still had about half a pouch of water in each bag. I hoped when we found Tuzin and Ara, we’d get the rest of the water and have enough, but Aggravol was still pretty far. I scanned the sunny horizon as it faded into dusk. The sun was crossing the horizon, but someone was approaching us. I considered waking the boys up, but took out a knife from the bag and went to see who it was. The figure was female, and fearing it was Ara trying to travel during the day, I picked up my pace.
As I got closer, the person collapsed to the sand, as the sun continued descent into the horizon beyond. It was obvious that it wasn’t Ara, for this girl was clothed in black fabric, shrouded in it. A shiver ran down my back. It was a Vespian girl of about her age. I unshrouded her face to find the painted nightmare that swept through my home, but also made the connection to the girl Tuzin killed on the way out. She looked so similar.
“Ira!” Rake shouted from the tent. Both of them were up and running toward her. I had to take her Vesp garbs off before they saw her. Their rage toward the empire of the night was hard to contain. As soon as the robe slipped off her shoulders, and the fading sunlight touched her skin, the girl floated up into the air. I was stunned at the sight. She floated in the sun for no reason, just to float. She was almost unconscious, but reached out toward her black clothing in a tired panic.
“Butterfly,” I whispered and reached to hold onto her foot. I wanted her to lift me up, take me into the sky like that, but as the sun faded from direct contact, she dropped to the sand. “She needs water!” I turned to Rake and Rad, but they saw her painted face. Their faces changed to disgust, a wicked grimace of anger.
“She’s a Vesp,” Rake said. “Just let her die.”
“We finally agree on something,” Rad added. “Leave her, Ira.”
“Just because she was born a Vesp doesn’t mean she’s not allowed to live!” I argued, but they already walked away. I beat them to the tent, and pulled out a water pouch. The both of them let their stupid pride rule their actions. Neither of the idiots was winning this competition of theirs.
“Don’t give her our water,” Rad said. “We still need it.”
“It’s my share,” I countered and ran back to her side to pour some into the girl’s mouth. Her eyes opened to a stark white iris. This wasn’t something a Vespian would have. From all the books I’ve read, this trait showed up in Strigs, the white owls. My heart beat faster from excitement. I was already curious of her story, how she ended up living as a Vesp with such beautiful eyes. She fell unconscious right after that show of beauty.
Without their help, I carried her on my back into my tent. They were being real morons, but I wasn’t the one exposed to the fighting ways as early as them. Both had seen war take someone they loved, and it was always at the hands of the Vespian Empire. Just in case, I wrapped a length of rope over the girl’s ankles. I didn’t want to scare her, but I wasn’t about to let this possibly insightful individual run away just because two people wanted to kill her. I left the pouch of water beside her in case she needed more when she woke up.
“We’re not killing her,” I said coming up to the boys cooking something over a fire they created. We were about to head out, and needed some food to fuel their venture toward Aggrevole. “We’re taking her with us.”
“Come on, Ira!” Rake said. “She’s a Vesp! Why do you care?”
“She’s coming with us!” I argued. “And we’ll take turns carrying her, got it?”
Rad put his hand up, but put it down. Did he know about me already? If he did, at least he’d follow my orders, but Rake was a loose cannon of anger. To reach his dummy brain, I had to put fear into his thoughts of just how angry I could get. There was no other way of doing it then to take lead over his protest. He’d submit to me in time, especially if he liked me.
After a night of walking toward Aggrevole, we stumbled into Tuzin and Ara. They were a bit friendlier together than before the storm. Something must have happened between them, but I had no idea what it was. I was happy for her, but Tuzin was emotionally stunted by war conditioning. I hoped she wouldn’t expect him to change that much.
“Who’s that?” Ara asked and recoiled seeing the painted face. “A Vespian?”
“She’s coming with us,” I said. Tuzin stepped up and offered a free arm to carry her. He already had three bags on one arm, but still wanted more weight.
“I need the exercise,” he said as an excuse for me to hand the girl over, but she had other plans. When I dropped her to the ground, her ropes on the feet came loose, and she actually managed to draw Tuzin’s dagger to hold it up to his neck. He did not seem to be scared by this, and he tilted his head back, and slammed his forehead on the girl’s to knock her out. Rather than drop the bags and collect himself, he kicked the dagger up to his free hand and sheathed it. Next he picked up the girl and slung her over his shoulder.
“Are you sure?” I asked worries she might attack him again. He nodded.
“Wow,” Rake said with a smile. “That was badass, man.”
“Blood Knights are skilled from youth,” Rad added. “This was a simple feat, no doubt.” Tuzin just nodded again and walked off toward the city almost visible in the distance. His back had never looked wider than when he had three bags and one human being on it. He carried them as if they were no burden. I admired him for being this way, but I could see Ara was becoming fonder of him than me. Sometimes it was good to step back and let others enjoy their life. I had goals that didn’t fit into other’s hopes of future.
The next time the girl woke up, it was night. I sat with her while the others took a break from walking. She was still tied up, but struggled against the binds.
“It’s ok,” I said. “We’re not going to hurt you. Well, I’m not going to at least. The others aren’t very fond of Vesps.” I motioned to the tents, which made the girl panic. She tried to stand, but fell forward with her feet bound. I realized that she saw my golden tattoos only after lunging to keep her still so she didn’t fall into the fire beside us. She was in my arms, but she just turned her head with a grimace of pain.
“I’m not a Vespian anymore,” she said quietly. I put her down by the fire and saw a tattoo on her ankle of a black wasp. She was once a Vesp. That was their mark, just like the golden tattoos was mine. I just needed to hive the scorpion tails on the backs of my hands, being royalty. “Can you undo the ropes? I won’t run.” I smiled that she was speaking to me rather than just struggling. That was mostly why I didn’t realize that she’d take of right after I freed her feet. Before she got too far away, Tuzin stepped up and knocked her out again.
“You gotta stop doing that, Tuzin,” I said. “She’ll end up getting hurt.” The others ran up to find the girl between the two of them.
“We need to kill her,” Rake said. “She’s a Vesp. They have no right to exist in the first place.”
“We’re not killing her, Rake,” I said.
“I would like to know how it was she floated when we first saw her,” Rad said.
“She what?” Ara asked.
“Floated,” Rad explained. “Like it was nothing, like natural. I wish to know that at the very least before she dies. Ira even touched her feet as the girl hovered there.”
“Yeah,” I said remembering. “It would be nice to know how she did that. She did fall though, just as the sun set. Maybe it’s somehow related.” Tuzin stepped over the girl and picked up the rope I undid.
“Tie her up for now,” he said. “I’ll carry her. We can learn more about her later.”
We ventured in the night toward the fake destination of Aggrevole. My target was always the distant mountain Ligieli, but that had to be secret from them a while longer. If they decided to come with me, we could resupply in Aggrevole, thanks to the royal tattoos on my hands. That would mean they’d know me as the daughter to king’s brother, but chances were most knew already. Close to dawn, when the stars were at their brightest, we arrived to a battlefield of a war gone by, with yellow ribbons set up everywhere to signify Serp territory.
“We should go around,” Rad said. “Serps own all past battlefields. We still have enough time in the night to make it around this place of death.” I didn’t fear the Serps as much as I should have, partly since I’ve never seen them. Rake, Tuzin, and Rad might have already seen a few in battles where they spectated from the rear, or fought. Serps were believed to be the worst right after Vespians. As the battle ended, they slithered out to retrieve what was left, selling weapons back to the Empires they came from. They were traders of death, but when others came into their territory, they lashed out with greed.
“We’re going through it,” I said. “I think we can make it without being noticed. Maybe there is no Serps around anyway, just yellow ribbons.” I looked over the others for challenges to my decision. None of them wanted to speak against my guiding voice. Maybe I had something of my father in me. I shuddered at the thought. He was so burly and uncouth. Still, I hoped he was ok after the Vespian raid. I threw my life of comfort away for this, even amidst the suffering of my hometown. This trip had to be worth it.
“A slip, a slither, the Serpians come, when war is halted, when battle’s done, no task too dirty, no stone unturned, and in the end, all fallen burn,” Ara said in weaver rhythm. Everyone paused to reflect on the words of caution. I shook it off and motioned toward the fluttering yellow ribbons. We didn’t have the supplies to go around. I wasn’t even sure we had enough to get to Aggravole with six, but going through would definitely help.
The scene of a rotting graveyard filled our vision while striking against the nostrils with the smell of death. The blood had long turned black, and the bodies started to decay. I hoped the Serps abandoned this site already, having collected all the armor, weapons and clothing that could be repurposed. They were scroungers, but benefiting on death was a detestable practice. Even Sillurians buried their dead in the sand. I wasn’t sure what Vesps did, but maybe I could ask of the girl if she woke up once without trying to attack.
Rake tried to hold a brave face at the sight of this massacre, while Tuzin was actually unmoved. He’d been in such places ever since he joined the battles. Riaduron stopped the group a few times thinking he’d throw up, but each time he held it back. Ara only looked over the battlefield with sad eyes. I could tell she wanted to weave words on this topic, but we had to keep quiet. Due to the unfortunate nature of being daughter to the man in charge of the Gold Battalion, I’d seen similar sights in the past, but never quite this ripe.
We moved silently among the corpses, void of anything to signify how they died. Most were also missing clothes, but there was no purpose for undergarments as dying ruined those right anyway. I looked over the men and women who fell here and tried to identify which were Sills and which Vesps, but I saw no differences once the tattoos had faded. People of our world were so desperate to identify ourselves by skin, and yet we were just separated by way of life. There was an eerie hush over the whole place, for it was all death. Any sound would cause trouble, and so we whispered to talk, and kept it short. I felt a shiver before it happened, as if there was something I needed to stop. The Vesp girl stirred while our attention was away.
“Gross,” she said. “It smells like death.” All of us turned to Tuzin who was clearly surprised she was awake.
“This is…” she said and looked around. “Serpian graveyard. What is wrong with you? They’ll kill us! Or worse, much worse. Let me go! Let me down!” Tuzin drew his sword to knock her out again with the hilt, but I ran up to him and stopped the swing. I didn’t even have to say anything, only met his eyes and he understood. I liked that about him. He could read a person’s thoughts with that gaze. I stepped over to the girl throwing a tantrum and tried to calm her.
“Shh!” I said. “Keep quiet. We’re too deep into the graveyard to turn back. Please stay quiet and we’ll make it through this. Ok? I searched her strange white irises for understanding, but it was too late. Some yellow ribbons in the distance stirred and stood up on spears. Someone from the Serps noticed us.
“We’re dead,” Rad said. If he was saying that, there was no way out. I watched as some of the corpses stirred, and other shorter spears stood up from the bodies. Our smart organizer finally hurled at the sight of danger and death. Rake almost stood up proudly in light of that defeat, but then also bent over and threw up. I had to do something about this. It was my fault we were even in this place. If we’d only gone around, we’d only be dying of starvation and thirst, not at the hands of snakes. I stepped ahead toward the tallest spears in the distance.
“I seek to speak with your leader!” I called out to the raised ribbons as the y approached. The humans finally showed, holding the spears at the ground. I didn’t know why they each had a spear, but they were skinny, almost as a spear themselves. Both male and female Serps surrounded us, spears pointed high with ribbons on the wind. The blade on the end was worn out, dirty with old blood, but the arrow point had two hooks on the back of it. Then I understood what they were for.
A man with the longest spear stepped forward with a wicked grin and dug his spear in the ground. As soon as he let go, some of the smaller spears charged at him in attack, but he lifted his weapon and stabbed them all down before they reached him. His hands moved fast for being so thin, but that was just it. It was only a weapon after all, meant to distance yourself from others. The hooks on the sides of the point were most likely for digging through corpses on the battlefield.
“Hey there, children,” the guy said stabbing his spear into a corpse for storage. “What brings you into our territory?” His belt moved around his waist until I noticed it was actually a snake. The maw opened to the fanged beast as it hissed at us. The leader smoothed his hand on the base of the animal’s jaw and it went docile again, coiling back around him. “Everything on this battlefield belongs to us.”
“We’re only passing through!” I said hoping the man was reasonable, but how reasonable could a scrounger be? His whole livelihood was benefiting from the misfortune of others. “Please let us pass!” The man clicked his tongue in a hiss-like sound. The other Serps made the same sound, making it sound like a harmony of laughing snakes.
“Being here makes you my property, girlie,” the thin man said after the sound died down. Tuzin stepped over to hand the tied-up Vesp girl to Rad while he drew his swords. Rake stood fast in a similar fashion, brandishing only a knife in his right hand. This was bad. All these Serps had to do was point the spears at us, and we’d be dead. That amount and length was overwhelming. Just as the poles wavered at the motion of the thin man’s hand, I had an idea.
“HALT!” I shouted as the spears paused. All eyes were on me now. I pulled my thin gloves off to reveal my scorpion tail tattoos of royalty on the back of my hands. I held them up to the faint light for them all to see. It wasn’t a secret anymore. “My name is Cirada Aggrakon, niece to King Tyrsen of the Sillurian Empire! Let my friends go free, and I will surrender to you! I believe my father would pay a hefty price for me, in water, a lot of water!” I didn’t want to look at Rad, Rake, and Tuzin. This was the first time I had nothing to hide from them, but I feared how they would react to this news.
“Intriguing,” the thin man said and stroked his chin in contemplation. Riaduron and Rake both stepped up to me urgently.
“What are you doing?” Rake asked. “You can’t give yourself up!” It was as if what I just said didn’t register with him, or maybe he just didn’t care that I was royalty. A simple mind was always the most oblivious and fun.
“What he said,” Rad added. “It’s a bit of a surprise, but I was wondering how you were able to get five bags full of supplies stored away. The cost alone would have bankrupted a standard Sill family. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I already knew.”
“Ditto,” Tuzin said and met my eyes. His expression didn’t change. I felt stupid hiding it, since most already knew. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain how we’re in a bad situation right now. What do we do, Ira?” Rake and Rad looked to me.
“Don’t do this, Ira,” Ara said. I stepped closer to her to whisper.
“I’ll escape and meet up with you after you clear the graveyard,” I whispered. “I promise.”
“May your path be true,” Ara said. “One that links me to you. Find us again soon, Ira.”
“Alright!” the thin man bellowed. “Your friends may pass! They will not be harmed! You stay behind!” I turned to everyone ready to fight for me and smiled.
“Go on,” I said. “Go with Ara to Aggrevole. Resupply and head back to the capitol maybe. Folks in Aggrevole probable know what happened to our hometown.” I saw Ara pull the boys with her, though they didn’t want to go. Tuzin locked eyes with me on the way past the spear-totting crowd. There was no need for words there. He was telling me to be careful.
Right as my friends walked further into the graveyard, I was taken in a similar direction so that I could watch them make it out safely before being taken to the small camp the Serpians made out of rotting bodies. It was more of a wall where they set up their fires, but the smell was more pungent there than in any other space. The cage I was put into was sturdy, of Vesp make. They always did like digging around in the ground and melting ore to metal. It was believed that Vesps actually invented metallurgy, but being a non-combative race once, they didn’t make weapons before encountering the Sills.
“What’s your name?” I asked of the thin man. Did Serps even have names, or was their type of life based on dominance over the weaker ones of their kind. There was no need for names in such a strange society.
“Itsks,” he said. At first I thought he was doing more of the snake laugh at me, but it was too short for that.
“Do all Serpian names sound like that snake laugh thing you did?” I asked. The man grimaced annoyed. “Your name is impossible to shout. I think I’ll call you Iks.” Iks turned away from her and sat down on a pile of dead soldiers. The armor and weapons were stored in one corner of the walled space. As the other Serpians funneled in, each stabbed their spear into the wall for storage and to have the yellow ribbon dangle toward the ground. After a few minutes of this, I realized I was in a bit of a bind. There were more of these people than I expected.
“Hello!” I called out to try and get any attention from the other Serps, but everyone ignored me. I was a bounty for them, only worth fresh water from the capitol that all desperately needed. It wasn’t until one snake boy came up to me that I got someone to talk to. The youth was often less prejudiced than the adults, for they experienced less hate in their life.
Comments
Post a Comment