The port city of Nivet was one of the oldest ports in Distria, with a towering lighthouse and markets unparalleled in the Seven Nations.
Ezo had been there once as a child to help his uncle gather supplies and trade for goods needed by their village. He’d stared at everything with wide eyes and asked a hundred questions as they walked through the stalls. It was nothing compared to Nivet during Nivala, the great Festival of Tides.
Nivala was celebrated across Distria, but if there was a home to the great sea spirit, it was the waters of Nivet Bay. Legend said that Nosah created a great nest to lay her eggs there. When the eggs cracked, she coddled her brood and created the walls and sands of Nivet Bay. After the serpents had fed from Nosah, they fled in all directions. The shells created the mountains and peaks of the earth and her life’s blood had filled the oceans. Thus, all life came from the ocean and all life returned to it.
Every stall in Nivet was decorated with hanging lanterns and kites decorated to look like serpents. Ezo stopped to get a meat pie at a stall, then took it to the hillside above the port. The view was amazing, but by the time he reached the top, he was licking his fingers clean of the meat pie’s juices.
The beach below him was full of laughing children and vendors hawking their trades. People created the likeness of Nosah and her children in colored sand sculptures for everyone to marvel at.
Ezo closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He had been traveling hard the last few months and had nearly overtaxed himself a few times. Growing up, he’d never come close to his limits, and it wasn’t until he started traveling that he began to learn them. The hard way, often, but he was smart, and he didn’t make the same mistake twice. He was very good at making all new ones though.
Today was a chance to relax. He’d made note of a few things he might be able to help with in the coming days if he chose to stay, but he wasn’t going to make a single offer today. Not even a mention of being an elementalist.
He could almost hear Uncle Jacob laughing at him.
From the hilltop, he could see the mountains that surrounded the seaport, and on the other side, an amphitheater had been carved out of the rising foothills. A wagon was pulled up and a band of traveling players was performing. The audience broke into applause and Ezo thought he might try to catch a performance later in the afternoon. For now, he wanted nothing more than to enjoy the warm sun and the cool breeze.
And if he happened to fall asleep, his weren’t the only snores on the hillside.
###
“Damn it!” They were the first words out of Ezo’s mouth as he woke to screams. He jumped up and turned around, looking for trouble. The noise came from the docks and Ezo began running towards them. The docks were set to the east side of the city where the mountains ended in deep caves. The jut of the caverns created a natural break from the tides and protected the boats and the city.
He ran through the crowd and finally stepped onto the docks. It was chaos. The air moved with a swarm of small creatures. As he ran closer, he could see the long scaled tail and feathered wings of the beasts that harassed the crowd.
Amphithere.
Full-grown amphithere were small and these feathered serpents were still youngsters.
People ducked away and covered their heads, while sailors concealed their day’s catch as best as they could. He watched the swarm turn and attack a young man who covered a wagon full of fish fresh from a ship.
Ezo closed his eyes and focused on the world around him, pushing aside the swarm and the people. He felt the earth beneath his feet, always ready for his call. The water at his side pulled for his attention as well, but it was the wind that rushed through his hair and brought the scent of the sea that he reached for. There was so much power around him and the desire to fill himself with it was tempting but dangerous. He pulled at the wind, using his magic to divert a small part of it away from its path. He opened his eyes and directed the air into the swarm.
The creatures squawked and broke apart, then regrouped. Ezo pushed another strand of air towards them and made it stronger, knocking them further away from the docks and the people around them.
“Send them to sea!” someone called behind him.
Ezo released his hold on the element as he watched the swarm fly away from them and towards the mountain above.
“What did you do?” An old man turned towards him, glaring. “Why did you stop?”
“I drove them away.” He watched the man and realized a few others gathered behind him. They all wore the same scowl.
“You could have done more than that!”
“I didn’t need to,” he answered. “They stopped and are returning to wherever they came from.”
“They’ll be back! They’re a menace!” One of the women behind him pointed towards the mountains where the creatures had gone. “Get rid of them!”
“Everyone, calm down.” The crowd that was beginning to form moved aside as three people came forward. The woman in the center nodded in way of greeting Ezo. “You’ve done us a service. Please forgive their less than appreciative words. Since the weather has turned, the winds have brought this pestilence upon us. You have sent them away, and for that we are thankful, but our people long for a permanent release from their presence.”
“Perhaps, you could join us, Elementalist?” The man at her right side motioned back towards the town. “We would like to discuss a proposition.”
“If you want me to kill them, I won’t do it.”
The crowd grumbled around him, but the third man stepped closer to Ezo. “We want them to leave us alone. If we can do so in a peaceful manner, we would prefer it. We just haven’t found a way ourselves. We didn’t have an elementalist though.”
“Did you notify the capital that you needed one?”
The man smiled, but it wasn’t warm. It was condescending, as was his voice. “Of course, but the elementalists of the capital are busy defending the realm or recovering from their duties. They don’t have anyone to spare.”
Ezo rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. What was the point of having the academies in Dezra and Malla City if people couldn’t call on them in need? “So, you want me to find a way to remove them?”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“We would pay you handsomely for it,” the woman said.
He thought back, months ago, to the inn in Mason Creek and the traveler’s words. He hadn’t been wrong. Between here and there, Ezo had tightened his belts a few times before he found paying work. The city was well off and could afford his services. “I’ll see what I can do. You have someone that knows the mountain?”
###
Two hours later and they were still arguing over who would be best to take him. He walked away from the debate to find food at one of the stalls. The festival was back in swing, but it was a bit quieter. The traveling players were loose among the streets, performing tricks of acrobatics and singing songs. He took a meat skewer and dropped two fresh apples into his pouch as he walked towards the hill and saw the three elders still in a heated discussion. He took a seat in the top row of the empty amphitheater.
“So, you want to go to the mountain?”
He startled, almost dropping his skewer as one of the crew from the traveling players moved past him to sit a few rows below. “I didn’t hear you.”
“I didn’t mean to bother you,” she said with a smile. “I heard what was happening though, and from what I’ve seen in this town, they’ll argue until the next sun before they agree on anything.”
“Perfect.”
“I might have something that would help though. Or, someone.”
Ezo turned to look when she motioned two boys over to them. The oldest was maybe ten and had a straw hat on his head that was popular with farmers. The younger looked just like him, with freckles, blond hair, green eyes, and clothes that had seen better days even though he could see they’d been freshly washed.
“These two have been helping me since we arrived two weeks ago. Mathis and Tamis. They’re street whelps, but smart as a whip.”
“We can help you,” the younger of the two boys said. “We know the mountains better than any!”
The older boy nodded. “We go up and pick berries or herbs to sell at the market. We go into the caves too sometimes. There isn’t any place up there Tamis and I don’t know.”
“I’m going up there to see what’s happening with the amphithere that attacked this morning. It could be dangerous.”
“Nah, the fledglings leave us alone.”
“You’ve seen them before?”
“Sure,” Tamis nodded. “They have nests up in the mountains.”
“Get me there and back, and I promise you some coin for it.”
The boys both smiled and looked over at the woman.
“I’m Alvrey,” she said. “If you need anything, come find me with the players. I’m a healer. I’ll see you right if you need it. Just take care of these boys. They’ve done a good job for me, and I don’t want to be missing them tomorrow.”
“I’ll do my best. Sounds like they take pretty good care of themselves though.” They nodded, but before they could start telling him just how well they took care of themselves, he stood up. “Ready to lead the way?”
The boys took off in a run and Ezo laughed as he tried to catch up.
###
The brothers led the way, only stopping to show him their usual haunts. They were nearing the higher peaks in the bay’s range, but Ezo hadn’t seen sight of the creatures yet.
“This is where you normally see the amphithere?” It had taken them the better part of two hours to reach the clearing.
“Used to,” Tamis answered. “This spring when we came up, they weren’t here.”
“Where did they come from? Did you see that?” Ezo asked. He looked around but there was no clear nest in view, nor were the creatures out.
“Not now. Before they used to come from Mallen’s Peak. We had an earthquake last year and it fell into the sea.” Mathis pointed to the east. “Over that way.”
“And you didn’t see them after that?”
“Not until they started to attack the docks.”
“And it’s always the docks?”
Both boys nodded.
“What are you doing to do?” Mathis asked as the boys stopped to strip a bush of its fruit. They ate as much as they saved, but they’d given him a handkerchief filled with red berries as well.
“I think I need to end this game of hide and seek,” he said as he popped the last berry into his mouth. He walked a little further away from the boys where he had a clear view of the peaks around them. “Mathis, Tamis, stay low to the ground. It’s going to get a bit windy.”
He watched them crouch down before he reached out with his senses and felt the wind rushing around him. He pulled flows of air towards him and then flung it out towards the nearest peak. It wrapped around the summit, and he pushed it towards the next. Nothing happened there either and he pulled more wind into his stream and pushed it towards a third peak. The wind burrowed into hidden crevices, making a whistling moan as it sped through. He felt something moving on the breeze and he pulled back to see the first creature break away from the air current he’d created.
“There you are,” he said softly.
“You found them!” Tamis called out.
“What are you gonna do now? You aren’t really gonna kill them, are you?” Mathis asked.
“No. You said they were here before, right? And they never hurt anyone?” The boys nodded. “I think they used to nest in the fallen peak. They built a new nest closer to the town and their feeding grounds changed. We just need to move the nest. If I can keep the queen with the nest, the rest should follow.”
“How are you gonna do that?” Tamis asked.
“First I have to get to the nest and find her.” Ezo fished a few coins out of his pouch. “You two head back into town. I expect you’ll be able to find the best fruit pies before I get back tomorrow, right?”
The coins were more than enough to feed the boys well tonight and leave them extra for their guidance. Mathis started to protest, but Tamis ran off and he waved instead, calling after his brother as he did.
Ezo watched them go, then headed up towards the peak where he’d spooked the creature. Towards the eastern edge of the clearing was an animal trail and Ezo took that towards the peak. It wasn’t a long climb from where he was. Since he’d disrupted the nest earlier, there had been a continual stream of amphithere floating around the peak.
After thirty minutes he found a place where he could watch the nest. The dominant female of the group stayed close to the nest and didn’t venture out often. He watched the nest and found a small nook in one of the rock walls to protect himself from the night’s winds.
He didn’t sleep but spent the night in remembrance of his uncle’s lessons. He rose before the sun began to cast the sky with rays of gold and pink. The amphithere had calmed throughout the night and were sleeping soundly. It was the best time to attempt the move. In other circumstances, he wouldn’t try it. The poor amphithere had lost their home once and didn’t deserve this, but the people of the town would resort to more permanent means if they weren’t moved.
He slowly pulled at the wind around the nest and built a shield of air around it to keep the amphithere from being disturbed. When he was sure he had it built up enough, he slowly shifted the shield away from its rocky cavern and began to move it to a new location. It was slow going, but even when a few of the amphithere flew away from the nest, the female stayed. So long as she did, the others would follow. As the morning sun was high in the sky, the nest finally landed in its home.
Ezo used the last of his strength to push into the water below the peak. He forced a wave onto the rocky shore below, beaching a small school of fish, hoping the amphithere would find their new feeding grounds quickly.
Finished with his task and exhausted, Ezo settled back into his nook. He dumped a healthy helping of leria powder into his canteen, drank it deeply, then took a much-needed nap.
###
Ezo entered the town late afternoon and was met with matching yells.
“Ezo!” Mathis and Tamis ran to him. Tamis grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the town while Mathis grinned broadly at him.
“Alvrey was worried about you,” Mathis told him. “She told us to send you to her, right away!”
Ezo didn’t argue with them. Instead, he followed them through town and towards the amphitheater where the players had just finished a show. They led him towards a wagon in the back and he was set on a stool to wait. A few minutes later, Alvrey showed up with a bowl of stew and a stern face.
“You take too many risks, elementalist. What if you’d been hurt?”
Ezo smiled at the concern. “I’ve been traveling alone for a while now. I’ve managed just fine.”
Alvrey looked behind her and the boys came in, bowls of their own to join him. “I guess I’ll just have to take all three of you then.”
“What?” Ezo mumbled the words, his mouth full of stew.
“Mathis and Tamis have decided to join us on our travels. I think it might be a good idea to keep an eye on you too.”
Ezo was about to decline, but as he swallowed his stew, he thought about it. He wanted to travel the world, and the players would help him do that. He could leave whenever he wanted, but they were more experienced in the world than he was. He could always leave if it wasn’t a comfortable fit.
“What about the rest of the players? They’d agree to take on another mouth to feed?” he asked.
“You’re an elementalist. I doubt you’ll have any trouble earning your keep.”
He looked at the brothers who were watching him closely and he smiled at them. “I think some company on the road would make the journey much more interesting.”