Shinia is a central region on the continent and one of the most overall diverse places. The norther parts of Shinia, at least the northernmost regions, are primarily untamed wild mountains, part of the gigantic range that makes up the Savage Lands. Cored and Fants call these lands their home and this is where many intrepid souls travel to find riches or die trying. On the eastern side of the kingdom, Shinia progressively gets drier and drier, turning into arid plains as the power’s borders meet with Atra Oblor. Lower down and further west, Shinia shares the lush, green plains and forests of the Order.
Excerpt from the introduction to ‘Power Geography – Salor Takana’
Dinner was, for once, a somewhat lively affair. With the royal family, Ashe, and Sammath, Erin’s parents were pressured to speak up in order to entertain their guests, so the entire meal was filled with idle chatter as people talked about what they’d been doing for the past few months, since they’d last seen each other. As it turns out, Sammath hadn’t been doing much. He spent the entire time complaining about how boring the lessons were, how he expected that he would be able to go and explore Arikar, making dad jokes – which Ashe seemed to be completely fed up with and hoped was just a phase, and irritating Erin. Despite the incessant annoyance that Sammath was, though, it was a… good annoying. Sammath was annoying in the same way a mosquito by your ear was annoying; you didn’t get truly mad, but you really wanted him to just leave you alone.
Ashe, however, was more stimulating conversation. Ashe eagerly shared everything that he’d learnt over the past few months, talking about all the Runes, how to better manipulate his Ink, the visualisations that he’d tried to help him manipulate his Ink; chalk, sticks of graphite, paintbrushes, quills, and more. He talked about his combat training and about how he’d chosen to try and use gauntlets as his primary weapon and about how he was learning unarmed combat. Ashe told Erin about how different his life was now; how he didn’t have to worry about finding food, how he never went to sleep hungry, how he never had to worry about waking up as the target of a manhunt. Finally, he spoke about how he’d missed Erin and how much he was anticipating the upcoming journey. Erin’s heart had clenched slightly at the last part and she’d smiled at Ashe, lying about how excited she was, too.
The third person that Erin talked to was Prince Kaiden. During dessert and towards the end of the evening meal, Erin and the prince had talked quietly to each other, just bantering back and forth about nothing in particular. “Really, Kaiden? You’re telling me that I should take better care of my hair?” Erin pulled at her hair, hanging loose over her shoulders, and brought it around for to look at properly, seeing it was perfectly healthy, “My hair is fine as it is. If anything, you should be paying more attention your hair.” It had clearly been a few months since the prince had gotten a haircut and his normally straight, spiky hair had gotten long and scruffy. Thankfully, he’d been shaving his facial hair but he clearly hadn’t been to a barber to get his hair cut.
“What’s wrong with my hair?” The prince frowned at Erin.
“Well to begin with, it’s not very presentable in court. I mean many of the nobles that have visited over the last few months probably think the crown prince is quite… shaggy, even if he does dress well. Then there’s the fact that it doesn’t really belong in the military, which you are in, might I remind you. You look more like you’ve been lost in the beast mountain range for the last six months, rather than helping to run a kingdom. Some twigs, leaves, and dirt would really complete the wild child look you seem to be going for.”
Frowning, the prince looked away, “If you didn’t like it, you could have just told me. You don’t have to be mean about it.”
Erin rolled her eyes and shook her head, “When did I say I didn’t like it?”
“But you just-” Erin raised an eyebrow, cutting the prince off, “Well I mean… I just thought… it sounded like…” Kaiden sighed, “You didn’t.”
“Exactly. In fact, I don’t think it looks bad on you. In fact, with some proper styling, you could probably drive some of the aristocratic girls wild.”
Kaiden blushed and groaned, “Not those prissy, dithering fools. Half of them will be more fixated on trying to show the others that they’re good enough to bag a prince.”
Erin leant back, “Come on, not all of them are like that. There are a lot of smart, competent aristocrats, as well. Take Miara for example.”
“Yes, but I’m not interested in Miara or any of the other aristocrats, to be honest. I’ll never really be sure that they’re with me for me and I don’t really want someone who’s just there to give their family some more power.”
Erin frowned; Kaiden wasn’t gay, so that ruled out the other male aristocrats. “Maybe just a normal girl, then? I reckon you could drive one of them crazy for you? You’d have to disguise yourself, of course, but you’re not so well known that anyone would recognise you. It’s a little unconventional but your mother did it and, if she supports you, I don’t think anyone’s going to argue with the strongest ruler in Arikar’s history.”
Kaiden gave a little smile at that, “I think you’re right but, to be honest, I’m not going to leave my mother alone now and go gallivanting off around the kingdom to find myself a wife.”
“So, just like that, you’re going to deny some poor girl her dream of becoming a princess? You’re cruel, Kaiden.”
The prince chuckled at that, “I’m afraid so. I’m not making anyone a princess today.”
“Too bad for the kingdom, then; all those prayers to become a queen one day going unanswered.” Erin shrugged, “But you’re going to have to find someone eventually. It is your duty, after all.”
“I know, I know.” Kaiden looked down at the table.
“But that’s beside the point. The point is that I like the haircut. What I don’t like is what the haircut means. You like cutting your hair short so, unless you’ve suddenly changed your mind, it means you haven’t been taking proper care of yourself, Kaiden.”
Erin laid a hand on Kaiden’s leg, “I’m going to be gone for a while and I don’t know when I’ll be getting back, so… you need to take better care of yourself, alright?” Kaiden looked away slightly, “Alright?”
“Okay.”
“Good. Now, let’s see who can eat their dessert the fastest.” Kaiden grinned and looked over to find Erin was already shovelling the fruit pie into her mouth, barely chewing before swallowing, and he hurriedly started.
Queen Bloodletter looked over, catching Erin’s eye and winking, “Kaiden Bloodletter!” Kaiden looked up, his eyes widening, and he started choking on the dessert. Anita ignored her son’s spluttering coughs, “Who do you think you are, shovelling that into your mouth like a pig? I raised you better than that. Eat your food like a prince should!”
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Kaiden opened his mouth to protest but a glare from the queen had him closing his mouth before uttering even a word. On the other side of the table, both Sammath and Ashe snorted, earning themselves a glare from the prince, and Kaiden kicked Erin underneath the table in revenge.
After dinner had finished, everyone retired to a comfortable sitting room, lounging on couches and sitting in plush armchairs, and it was there that everyone said their goodbyes to Erin, Sammath, and Ashe. Erin hugged the queen and all of the royal children. Kaiden asked if they could speak later, and Erin nodded in the affirmative. Sammath and Ashe both thanked Erin’s parents for letting them stay in the manor and Ashe was especially grateful as he bowed to the queen in thanks for her help with feeding Cab; they were going to be moving out soon and he didn’t know when the demon would next need feeding or where he’d get the… food.
A mild surprise came when Erin’s aunt and head of the Sarin clan, Grand Duchess Malka Sarin, turned up to say goodbye to her niece. That was a… tense affair, to say the least. Erin’s aunt, Malka, and her father, Emyr, were rivals and had been since before they’d been born. The Sarins and the Dawnblazes had been in competition with each other for centuries, ever since the first king of Arikar, and that had extended to Emyr and Malka as the heads of their families. Erin was the attempt at reconciliation, the product of the two families, but it would take more than just a child to ease the centuries old rivalry between the two clans. It didn’t help that Emyr and Malka were high-ranking members of the army and the House of the Crescent Blade respectively, which both played key roles in defending Arikar and had their own rivalry.
With the queen there, however, to reign in the tempers of the two powerful people, though, tension was all that the rivalry amounted to. Malka was ironically, to the mild amusement of Erin, remarkably similar to Emyr. Both of them took their jobs extremely seriously and dedicated themselves to the job above all else. Neither of them was very emotional and they both allowed their actions to be dictated almost entirely by logic. Their strength, both magically and physically, was almost identical and they both had a strong dislike for the other.
Erin embraced her aunt, though, giving the tall, black-haired, blue-eyed woman a hug as she said goodbye. Malka patted Erin’s head, “Enjoy your time away. I’m glad you’re getting out from under your father’s influence. He really has stifled you.” Erin could practically feel the heat of her father’s glare as it shot over her head and hit Malka, who she guessed was probably giving Emyr a chilly smile, “Just make sure to come back with some information about what the other powers are doing. It saves me sending out an agent.”
Erin nodded dutifully to her aunt and stepped away before turning around to say goodbye to the rest of the room one last time.
Erin was emotionally spent as she sat on the balcony of her room, next to Prince Kaiden. The two of them had been given some space by their parents, which Erin was glad for. Kaiden was her best friend; practically her brother; and they’d been connected for so long. Erin loved her parents, but she wasn’t very emotionally connected to them, beyond that. Her mother was better as she would sit down and talk to Erin about her day and ask her how she was, but Emyr was quite distant; something that came, part and parcel, with the responsibility of power.
Erin let out a large sigh as she leant back, looking towards the stars, “I’ll miss you, Kaiden. It won’t be the without the ability to just talk to you whenever.”
“I’ll miss you too, Erin.” Kaiden looked to the stars, as well, but didn’t lie down, “Do you think you can bring back some stuff for me? Beast blood and the like. It would save me from having to go and get it.”
Erin snorted, “How exactly am I going to do that? I don’t have your Bloodline to store it and I don’t have a spatial flask.”
Kaiden scratched his head and looked at Erin as she lay down, looking up at the stars, “I didn’t really think of that, to be honest. I could get you a flask but I don’t know if I could get it in time.”
Erin shook her head, “I’m not just going to give you power, Kaiden. You need to get the blood yourself. But I know that’s not why you want the blood. I’m not going to just let you stay inside all day and try to help your mother manage Arikar. Even if it’s just to go out and get blood for your abilities, you need to get out. Not to mention the fact that you need to get out to meet people and understand the citizens of the kingdom. Just remember that your mother was running the kingdom for years before she gave birth to you and your siblings.”
Kaiden just sighed, “I know, and I know you’re right. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” A silence fell over the pair as they just leant back and looked at the sky, enjoying the other’s company. Kaiden was the one to break the silence, “You know… have you ever tried absorbing light from the stars?”
Erin looked over to Kaiden, blinking in confusion, “No… why would I? I have the Bloodlines from both the Sarin and Dawnblaze families.”
“But are you sure about that? I know you can absorb sunlight and release moonsteel and sunfire in the same forms as each Bloodline, but why can’t you cross them over? Who said that you had separate Bloodlines and not one whole Bloodline? You’ve told me before that, when you look inside yourself, you only see the one Bloodline and use that one to absorb both sunlight and moonlight.”
“Even if that’s true, which it might be… why do you think I should be able to absorb starlight?”
“You’ve read the logs of the most recent astrology debate between the mages, Shinians, and Volkarians. Remember what the Volkarian with the Concept of Stars said?” Erin shook her head; that hadn’t been a main point in the debate, which had primarily been about observing the moon and its effects on the world, particularly the oceans. “He said that stars were a lot more than just dots in our skies; that they were suns in their own rights, but they were just an incomprehensible distance away. So, if you absorb sunlight and stars are also suns, why can’t you absorb starlight. It shouldn’t even be much of a stretch and should just be part of the Dawnblaze Bloodline, the same way that the Sarin Bloodline also has a little more than just moonlight.”
Erin elbowed Kaiden and gave him a glare, “What?” The prince shrugged, “No-ones going to hear us except for people that already know. Unless, of course, the Dawnblaze estate has been compromised.”
“That’s not the point, Kaiden. The point is trying to keep it a secret. The more you say anything, the freer you’ll get with the secret. We need people to actually wonder about how they never see the Sarin clan coming with the glowing armour. The more confident they are that they’ll spot it, the less likely they are to actually succeed. But I understand what you mean and, well, you’ve given me an idea for some things to try out, but I think we should just relax for a little bit. It’s been quite some time since I’ve just… lay down to watch the stars.”
“Alright we can do that. But make sure to keep in touch by sending letters. I won’t be able to respond to you because you’ll be moving around but I still want to know what you’re doing while you’re away. I also want to know the results of the experimentation with stars.”
Erin nodded, “I can do that. Of course the messages will have to be decoded, especially if I’m sending them from within the Order, and I won’t be able to put sensitive information in but I’ll try to keep you updated.”
With that, Erin and Kaiden both fell silent and just enjoyed the other’s company as the moon rose higher into the sky. Eventually, though, it was time for Erin to sleep and Kaiden to return to the capital. Erin hugged Kaiden, “Is there anything else you wanted to say before I go?”
Kaiden hesitated but ended up shaking his head, “No. The star thing was what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Erin eyed her friend, knowing there was something he was keeping to himself, “Are you sure?” Kaiden nodded resolutely and Erin internally shrugged. Giving Kaiden one last hug and a kiss on the cheek, Erin waved goodbye as crimson limbs of blood sprouted from his body and pushed him into the air.
As he faded away into the darkness, Kaiden gave Erin a melancholic smile and an enthusiastic wave, “Have a good trip!” Erin nodded to Kaiden, even as he disappeared into the darkness, and she saw as the queen left the front doors of the manor, clearly having been waiting for Kaiden to leave. On blood limbs of her own, the queen rose into the air, carrying Kaiden’s sleeping siblings, and waved to Erin. With that, Erin retreated to her room and lay down on her bed; everything was packed so the only thing she could do before leaving in the morning was get a good night’s rest.