When we finally forced ourselves to get out of bed the next afternoon after crashing in Rinko’s room sometime in the early, early morning, Torgrud made us breakfast. I was just sitting down at the bar to eat, when the doors burst open behind us.
“There you are.” An angry voice sounded from behind us.
“Oh, you’re back Elidyr.” I said, turning to face my older sister.
“Where’s your tome?” She asked, marching towards us, her riding boots thudding on the wood floor.
“Why?” I asked, my heart racing, as I turned my body fully to face her, hiding it behind me.
“Give it here. I know you have it.” She commanded, holding her hand out for it.
“But-” I yelped as she snatched it off the counter from behind me, clipping me in the head with the metal corner of the book.
“Magic’s been banned. All tomes and artifacts are to be turned in to the Astral Order of Mages immediately. Cough up anything else you’ve got.” She said, holding her hand out to me, her dark blue eyes colder than I’d ever seen them before.
“Since when has it been banned?” I said, standing up, angry that she would take it from me like that.
“Since this morning. If I find out that you have anything else, you’ll be turned in to the Order yourself for hiding anything. That goes for all of you as well.” She said, turning her attention to Torgrud, Rinko, and Beth before she abruptly turned on her heel and left before I had a chance to say a word. All I could do was gape at her. She’d always been insufferably bossy, but this… this was a whole new level, even for her.
I snatched a piece of bacon off my plate and ran after her, barefoot and shivering in the cold winter air as I still had my dress on from last night. None of us had bothered to change out of anything. “Elidyr!” I called out.
“What.” She snapped, stopping a short ways ahead of me, looking back.
I caught up to her and she took a step back. “Why?” I asked, looking up at her as she turned towards me.
“You wouldn’t have handed it over to them yourself.”
“You never even gave me a chance!”
“Oh right, like that makes a difference. You would have run off to hide it, instead of turning it in.” She said, waving my tome in the air.
“Of course I would! I’ve spent the last 12 working on filling it with spells and I’ll be damned if I turn it in without a second thought. You still could have at least given me a chance to turn it in myself. Instead, you barge in and snatch it from me. I’m not a child anymore!” I growled.
“You’re acting like one right now. Go back into the tavern with your little friends and-”
“No.” I said, standing up straight and squaring my shoulders. “Give it back. It’s not yours to hand over.”
“I don’t trust you.” She said simply, turning away, heading back to the mechanical carriage a short ways from us. “Besides, I’m doing you a favor. Lord Silvo knows you have this, you’d be one of the first to be arrested. The last thing this family needs is a criminal.” She called as she climbed into the carriage and shut the door.
Shaking with anger and despair, the last spell I cast was a blood magic spell, sealing my tome so it could never be opened by anyone but me. She was always right, but that didn’t mean they would be getting what they wanted. If I couldn’t have access to my spells, neither would they. I could have just used a spell to take my tome back, but then what? Live as a fugitive for the rest of my life? No thank you.
I stood there in the cold winter air, watching as my sister’s carriage took her back to the capital, barely registering Rinko and Beth coming to stand on either side of me. It was then that something inside of me broke. At the time, I hadn’t a clue what. But from then on, I couldn’t bring myself to speak cordially with my older sibling and I threw myself utterly into my sword practice, vowing that I would dismantle the Astral Order brick by brick if that was what it took to bring magic back.
The next several months flew by, riots frequently breaking out as the Astral Order arrested any who refused to give up magic artifacts if they couldn’t be convinced to join the order. The home I lived in with my parents had been raided on numerous occasions, trying to catch me hiding any magical items from them. I avoided going to the cave that I practiced in, hoping that my pixie, sprite, and fae friends were able to keep it hidden for me. It was a veritable goldmine of tomes, weapons, and artifacts in there, if they found it… I couldn’t think about that.
The only time I drew a rapier and dagger was when they started forcing any non-humans further into the forest, putting up a veil to keep them locked away from the rest of the world. They could take magic from us, but they couldn’t take us from each other. We protected our own. I hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone, but when it became kill or be killed, Shalana and I had drawn our weapons and taken down as many as we could to protect those that couldn’t protect themselves.
Spring was starting to creep into the corners of the world when they finally left us alone, putting the veil up just before the village, locking us away from the rest of the world. No one seemed to mind at all, even though it made getting certain supplies more difficult, but we managed. The hunters and merchants started working more closely together to make sure the village could self-sustain.
During one such meeting between the two groups, Shalana and I were sitting at the bar, me with my apple juice and her with her beer, listening to them discuss what else they were missing.
“Still set on joining the King’s Army next week?” Shalana asked, taking a sip of her pint.
“Absolutely.” I said, gripping my cup angrily. I had to be careful, of course, the Astral Order and the King’s Army were two separate entities, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still be arrested for the times I raised a weapon against the kingdom’s mages. My unusual green hair didn’t help matters any at all, making me stand out like a sore thumb, but I had to do something.
“Good.” She said, passing her pint to Torgrud so he could refill it.
“Good?” I said, surprised she was on board now.
“Watching you fight, fight for us, made me realize you might actually have what it takes. It’ll be tough, but you go and get your power and strength to make a change.” She said, her brown eyes glinting angrily in the light. “We’ll rally behind you, whatever standard you bear. I know I speak for myself and a vast majority of this forest. You proved yourself that day to us all. Don’t do anything brash, don’t forget us, and don’t lose sight of your goal. If a coup is what it takes to regain our freedom, then so be it.”
“I only hope I have what it takes to do what needs to be done.” I said, chugging the last of my apple juice.
“Keep your head down, follow orders, stay alive, and do what you can. You’ll get there.” She said, her eyes flashing as a sinister smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “We’ll continue what we’re doing out here, biding our time, building our strength, and waiting. Now, you should probably make an appearance at home, test the waters or so to speak.”
I nodded. It was true, I hadn’t been home to see my parents since the day Elidyr took my tome. I hadn’t said much, but I hadn’t needed to. The sadness etched into the lines on my mom’s face, the dark scowl, Alisdair, my younger brother had, and the deep shadows under my dad’s eyes were enough to say everything. Elidyr had come in about the time I’d gone to give my parents a hug, a smug smile on her face as she proudly proclaimed what she had done and berated me some more. She was 18 so she had every right to do what she did, my parents had shared a look and I’d gone straight to my room, too angry and hurt to stomach eating dinner. All I could do was bury my face into my pillow and weep, not just for the loss of the last 12 years of my life’s work, but for the loss of magic as a whole. I’d felt it in the mana. It was angry, cold, and wouldn’t allow itself to be manipulated any longer. The longer it went unused, the more wild, untamed, and stagnant it became. Miasma was thicker than ever in certain parts of the forest, making large swaths of it unlivable.
After dinner, Elidyr had come into my room and sat on the end of my bed. I refused to acknowledge her presence, I didn’t even care if she called me a brat for throwing a temper tantrum over the loss of my tome. I was empty and had no room left for her in my heart right now.
“You know I had to do it.” Was all she’d said. Maybe so, but that didn’t excuse what she’d done. What she’d helped become reality. Reilu Tuuli had once been known as the City of Magic. Now? I hated to see what it looked like, but I imagined it was a reflection of what I felt. A hollowed out husk. “You would be rotting in a prison cell right now if I hadn’t.”
She’d laid a hand on my shoulder and I smacked it away sitting up.
“Don’t touch me.” I’d all but snarled at her. Angrier than I’d ever been before.
“I’m sorry.” Was all she’d said, backing out of my room.
Maybe I would be rotting in a cell right about now, but only if they’d found my tome. It was true that it had just been sitting out in the open on the bar, but if they were confiscating tomes, the Order wouldn’t have come straight for me. They would have started in the capital and worked their way outward, making this town one of the last places to check. She was either sent by someone, or came straight to me herself, knowing I had it. I wasn’t sure I could or would ever forgive her. “I don’t trust you.” Believe me, dear sister, the feeling is mutual.
I’d gotten up and jumped out of my window, landing on one of the tree branches below my window, climbing down the the tree as quickly as I could, before sprinting to the dragons that roosted above the cave I had claimed as my own.
I’d heard their mournful song before I saw them, it was full of heartbreak and loss. As ancient as they were, they remembered the Astral and Umbral War, and even hundreds of years before that, when the gods had retreated to their abode, leaving the demons and sages to rule in their stead which eventually led to the Astral and Umbral War. A repetition of history.
I couldn’t bring myself to go see them, even though I knew they needed me as much as I needed them in that moment. All I could do was sit under the tree and curl up, my silent sobs wracking my body, as the magic of their song worked its way through me.
The sun had set hours ago and the night chill had set in, but I couldn’t bring myself to move. I was really cold, but it didn’t bother me near as much as the events of the last few hours. Eventually, I had fallen asleep, only waking when the sun was coming up through the trees. Raflessia, Egen, and Cereus had found me at some point in the night and were sitting in silence near me. I sat up, and silently, Cereus had shifted closer to me and wrapped me in a tight embrace. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face into her shoulder, unable to cry anymore.
“We’ll be okay.” I whispered, my voice hoarse from crying too much. She’d only nodded, her powder blue faerie wings fluttering in the breeze. Raflessia sniffed hard from where she was sitting on a mushroom cap, holding Egen’s hand. I held my hand out for them, and they both fluttered to my shoulders, hugging my neck.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
The dragons’ mournful lament continued as I made my way back home, Cereus had assured me that she would go to them, but she wasn’t sure they would be happy to see a human, even if that human was me of all people. So I’d gone home, walking with a tiny bit more pep in my step after singing with Raflessia and Egen for a bit, trying to will away the negative thoughts and emotions. I’d gone to the cave and sealed it up with blood magic, layering an illusion over top of the seal before leaving the deep part of the forest for the last time in a long time.
When I got home, I went to the dining room, where my parents were sitting around the table eating lunch. I still wasn’t hungry, so I sat at the end of the table, on Mom’s right, in my usual spot, listening as they talked about the goings-on in the capital.
“Some of the merchants have left the country altogether, with many more packing up to leave soon.” Dad said, shuffling papers around on the table, his sandwich lay forgotten on his plate.
“Unsurprising.” Mom said, before taking a bite of her sandwich.
“It’s not looking good.” He said, shaking his head, as he picked up his sandwich and then set it back down, pulling another paper out of the stack, reading something on it.
“Hey kid.” Mom said, bumping me with her elbow.
“Hey Mom.” I smiled halfheartedly.
Dad sighed heavily, picked up his sandwich and finally took a bite, shoving the papers away with his elbow.
“Are you sure you have to join the army?” Mom asked.
I snatched a chip off her plate and ate it. “Yeah. I do. Becoming a merchant sounds like a failing business right now, being a mage is out of the question, and there really isn’t anything else I want to do. Becoming a knight is one of the most steady jobs currently.”
“If you joined the Astral Order, you could become a mage.” Dad said, looking at me over the top of his sandwich.
“After what they’ve done? I-”
“Ribbit, we know. We know more than we’d like to.” Mom sighed. “We’re just not sure joining the army is going to get you to where you want to be.”
“Not that we’re entirely sure where you want to be. Maybe that’s our fault as parents for not keeping up with you more, but we just want to be sure you’re happy and aren’t just jumping into something blindly.”
“Originally, I wanted to become a magic knight, but that plan’s gone to shit.” I said, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest, ignoring Mom’s disapproving look for my language. “Now, I’d like to become a member of the royal guard.”
“You do realize how long it takes to become one, right?” Mom asked, before finishing the last bite of her sandwich.
“Yes, but I have to try. Captain Teodoric thought I might have a chance at making it far enough to become one.”
“You don’t have to join the king’s army to make it anywhere. You could become an apprentice apothecary and work in the palace, or somewhere else.” Mom said, leaning back in her chair.
“I could, but I’m not… I’m not Elidyr. I’m not good at staying calm, or being patient, or dealing with people in that kind of setting, I’m not…” I trailed off. I’m not good at anything other than magic. I thought to myself. “You’ll never amount to much at this rate.” Elidyr’s voice came flooding back.
“It’s true, you got your impatience from me, but Riv, you’re not giving yourself enough credit.” Mom said, dad sat silently, lost in thought if I had to guess.
“I’m joining the army.” I said with finality, standing up from my chair. “I’ve got some things I need to take care of before I leave.” I leaned forward, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too, kiddo.” Mom said, hugging me back and kissing me on my cheek.
I left my dad to his thoughts and problems and headed up to my room, shutting the door behind me. While mom was a very talented court apothecary even with as headstrong and impatient as she was, it wasn’t what I wanted to do.
The tree we lived in creaked as it shifted. As if reading my mind, some roots shifted, bringing my suitcase and various weapons I had laying around the room to me, dropping them at my feet. I looked curiously at a book that was half buried under one of my dresses I’d left in the floor.
I reached down and picked it up, gaping in surprise at a tome I thought I’d lost years ago. I’d gotten mad at it and hurled it across the room after several spells I was trying to make failed in succession. Once I’d finally calmed down enough to think clearly, I’d gone in search of it and couldn’t find it, even after moving all my furniture around.
“You had it this whole time?” I asked, looking at the walls around me. No response. I shook my head and opened it up, thumbing through the pages, cringing at my handwriting and drawings I’d made as a kid. I stopped when I got to some of the pages Elidyr had filled out, back when we enjoyed magic together.
“How to catch your sisters pants on fire (without using a dragon)”
(and her nose)
#1 take one cup of burnt cricket legs and put in a bag.
#2 take slime fudge patties (snail scented) and place in bag (5 cups)
#3 take Elkwood droppings (3 teaspoons) and place in bag
#4 slip in sisters pocket………………… SMELLY!!!!!
All I could do was laugh at it and the little doodles she’d put all over the page. I didn’t remember her doing this one, but I was probably too busy practicing magic with James.
I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do with this tome, but I set it beside my suitcase anyway.
“Thanks.” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I sat and opened the suitcase, picking through the clothes that I’d already packed months ago for when I left, making sure they still suited my current tastes. As if they’d changed at all, I mean, there was only one or two color choices I could pick from that didn’t clash with my hair. The tunic I’d be wearing once I officially joined the knights was red and I’d been debating on just dying my hair black. I’d grown attached to my natural green color, but I’d be less of a target if I dyed it.
I picked up a rapier and a dagger and shoved them into the suitcase before resting my hand on a bow that my brother had made me when he first became the blacksmith’s apprentice. I’d always wanted to use it, but my aim was horrendous. He’d spent days on end trying to help me aim better, but I just never could get the hang of it.
Suddenly struck by a thought, I picked up my dagger and started notching runes into the smooth metal of the bow, wondering if I could fix my terrible aim. I hadn’t been working with simple runes much, since magic circles were made up of different types of runes put together, almost like writing a detailed sentence about what you wanted the outcome to be. Runes by themselves were seen as being too archaic, but for what I wanted them to do, I figured it would be fine. I notched runes for stability, power, precision, good luck, and I giggled to myself as I put one on it for multiplying. Hoping it would do what I intended it to do.
Once I was finished, I slung my bow over my shoulder and climbed out of my window onto the branch and climbed up the outside of the tree house, up to a high branch I could sit on. I grabbed my bow and pulled the string back, channeling magic into it, the gears clicking. My bow hummed with an almost terrifying amount of power as the runes glowed, magic circles appearing before me with many magic arrows in the center of each one.
My eyes wide in shock, I held onto the string as I slowly let it go slack, watching as the magic circles disappeared. It looked like it would do way too much.
I looked around for a target and saw one of my target dummies still standing a short distance away. I snorted to myself, wondering how I missed one when I was hiding them in my cave. I focused on it and dug around for some mana to create wind magic to pull the dummy into the air and rested it on an air current, holding it in place.
I sat for a few moments, wondering if it was a good idea, but I really wanted to know what my bow was capable of now, almost wishing my brother was home so I could show him.
I pulled the bow back again and waited for the circles to appear and realized they weren’t going to stop. I slowly let the bow string relax and laughed silently to myself. If I ever got the chance to use it, I’d have to be extremely careful. I quickly pulled the bow string back and released it, still managing to send a large number of arrows flying to the dummy. I watched as some shifted to dodge tree branches to reach the dummy, all of them hitting their mark with an explosive force. I scurried down the tree branches as fast as I could to go inspect the damage and clean up the splintered mess.
When I got to the site, not so much as a splinter remained of it. I held my bow out in front of me, impressed and a little afraid of my own creation. I slung it back over my shoulder and ran back to the house, climbing back up the outside to my room. I was going to leave it out to show it to my brother when he got home later, but I quickly thought better of it. He’d spent a very long time making this bow and I’d gone and ruined the beautifully smooth metal with my carvings.
I sighed and shrugged, looking around for a place to hide it. Now that it had runes carved into it, it was a magic item and I wouldn’t be able to use it. I crawled under my bed and put it under the floorboard that popped up when I tapped it. If another mage were to try getting it open, the tree would just move the contents further into the wood. The tree wouldn’t respond to anyone other than one of us Nightingales, and only if the tree approved of their actions. That is, unless someone were to find the soul of the tree, then all bets were off.
We Nightingales, consisting of me, my parents, older sister, and younger brother, were the only humans living in this part of the ancient forest. The massive tree we lived in was a gift to Mom’s grandparents after single-handedly protecting a vast majority of the forest from the devastation the Astral and Umbral War caused. Made of magic, the tree was ever-growing and shifting as our needs changed, allowing us to live as we needed within its roots. Some things, however, would never change within the tree. Including the fact that my sister and I had one room to share. We both absolutely hated it, but she voiced her opinion far more frequently than I did. I had begged and pleaded with the spirit that lived within the tree, but all he would say was that my time would come, but he wouldn’t split our rooms. I had even gone so far as to move all of my belongings to a different room, and had come back to it all returned exactly where it had been in our bedroom. Talk about frustrating. That is, until a few years ago when she and I had had our biggest fight ever. Suddenly, the one room had become two.
I’d met the soul of the tree on occasion when I was younger, hiding from Elidyr and Alisdair, after one particular bad argument with both of them, I’d found a root to hide behind and the tree had opened, swallowing me up, bringing me into a hidden room, tucked away somewhere within the heart of the tree. The tree was ancient, almost as old as Tiamat, one of the dragons who guarded the forest.
I crawled back out from under the bed and leaned against the wall, connecting my thoughts to the tree itself. I could feel the life of the tree humming as I looked for its soul, gasping as I was suddenly pulled into the tree, popping out into the room, sunlight drifted down from a hole in the top of the tree.
“Hello?” I said quietly, as to not disturb the peace too much.
“It’s been a while, Rivienne.” The tree spoke, sounding tired and worn down.
“It has… I’m sorry for that. You comforted me on my bad days and I’ve ignored you on yours.” I leaned against the wall, comforted by the warmth of the tree.
“I don’t need anything like that, but I do appreciate you coming to see me.”
“It’s going to be a long time before I can come back and I just wanted to see how you were doing. Especially with the recent events…” I trailed off.
“I have lived through the exodus of the gods, the rise of the demons, and thousands upon thousands of petty wars. I will live through the next and many, many after that. The goddess of nature dropped a seed, and from it, I grew. I am immortal, living as a physical embodiment of her will.”
“So… the gods haven’t abandoned us entirely?”
“Of course not. She would, no doubt, have some wisdom to impart, but seeing as she is no longer around, would you like some advice from me?”
“I wouldn’t say no.” I said, sliding down to sit on a root jutting out from the wall.
“I’ve lived for thousands of years and one thing humans lack is patience and you are one of the least patient humans I’ve ever met.”
“W- wow.” I scoffed, knowing it was more than likely true.
“I’m telling you this because if you don’t learn to be more patient with yourself and your goals, you’ll take on too much and get in over your head before you know it. I’ve seen many, many of your ancestors come and go from this home. Many leaving before they could make their mark on the world. I don’t wish to see your potential lost before you yourself even discover all of it.” The tree said, before fading. I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling myself drift back to my room.
“Patience.” I sighed again. “Easier said than done.”
I got up and went back to the suitcase and finished stuffing everything into it that I was taking with me before I flopped on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Months later and I still hadn’t figured out what to do with my free time, now that it was difficult to practice magic. I could play around with it some still, but the miasma had been growing too thick and it was too much of a risk accidentally finding a pocket of it. It wouldn’t kill me if I tried to use some, but it would definitely make me very, very sick. It wasn’t long before I found myself dozing in the afternoon sun, so I gave in and fell asleep, tired from the night before.