Kelso leaned his head against the train car window allowing the amber rays of the warm morning suns to kiss that bit of exposed nape where his uniform collar couldn’t quite meet the tips of his hair. Every jostle of the train car aggravated the gut-wrenching migraine he was dealing with.
True to the text Brennan had been up and out of the apartment when Kelso had woken up the only evidence of his departure being the stack of elderberry pancakes. Unfortunately, the golden stack of fluffy discs had been reduced to a mushy paste thanks to the extra helping of syrup Bren had drizzled on. Kelso had also found a carefully packed lunch not only for him but for Bukè as well the special undead “sauce” already mixed in. He could already see Bukè’s face, the little perking up of scapula and flexing of decomposed fingers preceding the disappearance of a meal only ever to be remembered by Bukè’s exposed stomach.
The doors parted for the gusts of wind carrying the fluctuating din of conversation in from the overcrowded platform outside disrupting Kelso’s mental scene and forcing his attention onto the flow of Derwulanian citizens coming in. Wealthy-looking women and men came aboard first snagging up any prime seating before everyone else. Then the first aid responders, Kelso could never tell if they were just getting off of work or going in. Thanks to their advanced understanding of healing magiks which seemed to surround them with a constant wreath of rejuvenating power they rarely ever looked tired… or old oddly enough. Apart from their eyes of course.
Artisans and craftspeople were followed closely by flying magikal automatons relaying a variety of important metrics concerning whatever mind-boggling contraption they were in the process of designing. Adventurers on their way to the city limits to scour the expansive job board and meet whatever dubious client that chose to hire their services. Beams of light shot off a group of adventurers most likely on their very first expedition given the lack of notches in their armor. Only the freshies were foolish enough to waste money on making their armor shine.
So went on the hierarchical order of Derwulan life ending only after the undead boarded. Bukè came in after everyone else as usual since Kelso was usually given seating closest to the door making the fight to be the first one on the train meaningless. As predicted Bukè made a b-line straight to the wooden box that held the coveted meal only stopping to sign good morning to Kelso which he appreciated given how the Undead don’t sleep.
“YOU!!!”
Kelso’s head shot over to the door once again. The loud noise immediately tore him away from watching Bukè methodically pick apart the prepared meal until there was nothing left. Amidst the bits and baubles adorning the crusty earth-brown blanket, the trash-wearing figure sat upon was a large wooden bowl where a few telluade had been thrown in. The would-be oracle had an accusatory finger aimed straight at Kelso, a mad glint hidden past the gray veins surrounding his pupils.
Bukè set the box back onto Kelso’s lap, stood up, and began to threaten the old one… probably. Ivory script outlined the old one’s scalp while ethereal green script encircled Bukè’s skull. The old one looked over to Bukè. The two seemed to be ranting about something from the way the old one’s hands were moving. The repeated pointing over to Kelso did nothing for his anxiety and was beginning to build a heavier load onto his migraine. Just breathe.
“A JILTED PRINCE SOUGHT OUT. FEAR THE COIN A FACE UPON EITHER SIDE RESTS FOR THE SHELL C-C-CONTINUES TO B-BREAK!!”
Thin lines of fiery energy materialized out of wavy pockets in the air winding around one another to converge into one swirling lance of ethereally green fire. Teal green script circled around Bukè’s raised wrist as one bony finger unfurled slowly in the oracle’s direction forcing the old one’s voice to break during the last few words of some crackpot prophecy.
Kelso grabbed Bukè’s wrist and yanked him back with a twist of his wheel causing the flaming bolt to dissipate into the background of the universe. The two doors slid back together cutting off any more speeches and reduced the oracle to merely throwing fearful looks at Kelso until finally the train took off northeast bound toward Malverna High School.
Kelso spared a glance to his right and found the rest of the traveling residents pushed up against one another in an effort to get away from Bukè. Kelso sighed. Every damn time. Bukè spun around knocking loose any foul emotion that may have befallen him just moments ago to finish off what remained of the meal.
No matter where they seemed to go or what part they played in the randomness of the city's diverse ecosystem Bukè and Kelso always ended up disturbing the peace. Bukè wasn’t some thug set on pushing people beyond their limits though if you asked around the neighborhood each and every resident would testify that Bukè was nothing short of a savior. Well short of one thing..
3 bony fingers and their two fleshy siblings rapidly took up Kelso’s field of vision and brought him out of his head. He had been hunched over staring at his own box of prepared food until Bukè having finished his began forming signs. He felt the sun tickle his nape once again.
“You look worse than I do.”
Kelso scoffed.
“Didn’t sleep. Blanked out during an important talk with Bren, something about me meeting my bios can’t remember what I said though.”
“I think it’s time you give hypnosis some serious thought. Did you try texting him about it this morning?”
Kelso gestured out ha-ha slowly while rolling his eyes.
“Nah I couldn't, you weren’t there. Bren almost gave in to the Hunger. Besides Bren thinks we already talked about everything we needed to. It'd be suspicious if I brought it up again. He's already got enough shit to worry about.”
Bukè hesitated for a moment. Very few undead enjoyed the release of inhibition the state provided and those who did usually didn’t vocalize it. Bukè is just like any other undead wanting to stay off the Stained Order’s radar. Accusations lead to court dates and then to the work camps. You never really heard anything else from then on. It was better to leave it as is. Distance yourself.
“Well, are we all still going to the venue tonight? “
“Yea, Bren’s gonna be at the ceremony after an errand so we’re all heading over as one group. Don’t worry about covering the train ticket there by the way.”
Bukè’s head perked up.
“Ohoho all kinds of gifts today. Still not gonna tell me HOW you’re able to afford these things?”
Rhythmic tapping of bone and flesh found its way into Kelso’s ears. Bukè steepled necrosis-ridden fingertips and began tapping them together conspiratorially. A short chuckle built itself up in the back of Kelso’s throat.
“What were you and the old one talking about? Must’ve been something awful to get you to use your magik so publicly.”
“Oh it was just the same dragonshite he was screaming at ya before the doors closed don’t let it take away any of that precious brain space you so desperately need.”
“Well least I can… uh…”
Bukè just stared at him. Kelso stared back.
“Yea?”
“Shut up.”
Outside the train window buildings of every size and architectural design began melding into that all too familiar amorphous goop bubbling within Derwulan’s vast melting pot. The indistinct skyline of Sanamie’s Grotto quickly vanished from sight leaving Kelso with an incomparable view of the city. This was about as perfect of a view as he could get unless he had 700 telluade to fork over for a Wyvern Tour. Oh wait…
Mythical creatures of behemoth stature sat just outside the equally massive Zancorian Steel wall at regular intervals and stared out with anticipation at the untamed Feterlands. It was rare to see the colossal beasts in motion nowadays thanks to years of their… destructive protection. Most threats not immediately intimidated by the mechanical replicas learned long ago that an attack upon the city meant certain death no matter where in the food chain you may stand.
Some people who either never bothered to think about the giant automatons or just couldn’t afford the time off to travel the city believed they served no other purpose besides marvelous decorations. Kelso could see the script though. It was as clear as the blue sky opening above their heads, granted he could only see it swirling around their heads and necks thanks to the wall. Each had a different color; it was as if a rainbow had suddenly thrown up all of its colors onto a group of snakes and left without another care.
Kelso’s favorite, a golden-gilded minotaur, had teal script spiraling down heavily plated silver horns giving the beast a ghostly crown when the suns snuck away at the end of the day. Its double-headed war ax sat beneath overlapped hands covered in hateful combat-enhancing runes ever sharp and ready for glorious battle. The glittering fangs of the Cockatrice beside the Minotaur imposed the same deadly threat as did the ever-vigilant eyes of the metallic Griffin.
The train made several more stops along their predestined route until an hour and a half later the AeroMag coils noiselessly guided the train into the station nearest their High School. Bukè leaned down on the push handles sending the caster wheels into the air and over the lip of the platform, Kelso had always gotten stuck on. Once on the platform Bukè let go and kept pace beside Kelso. The duo made their way over to the elevator and patiently waited for the box to come up… well Kelso patiently waited.
“I just don’t understand why they can’t just connect the school to the Telecircle system.”
“What a marvelous idea Bukè! Then whenever some dastardly cult or disposable assassin wants to end the next generation of ‘prophesied saviors’ they can just track their Essence prints or send the school a congratulatory bomb in the mail!”
Bukè arms folded into one another. A small pinging noise preluded the elevator car’s sliding doors opening before them. A bony finger jammed the ground floor button in. After a couple more seconds of waiting, the doors closed and their descent began.
“Ok then how about solely for the handicapped then it just seems like it would be easier for you if-“
“I don’t need things made easier for me, I can handle getting around just fine.”
Bukè’s hesitation sent a sliver of guilt through Kelso’s heart.
“Besides anyone can build an Arcubane it’s not like explosives are limited only to people without disabilities. Give me enough Ganera root and even I could build a bomb in an hour or two.”
“Noted. Keep Ganera root on the top shelf. But that’s like saying I don’t need a beating cardiovascular system which I mean obviously I don’t but it’d definitely make my life easier. I just want things to be easier for us. You’re… semi-right though… I guess… can’t risk being frisked every time I enter the building. What would we drink if my flasks got taken away.”
“Glad to see your mind’s focusing on the important things.”
“Our continued mental sanity? Oh yes, it’s always at the forefront of my decisions.”
A stuttering halt to their descent marked their arrival and as the doors slid open the pervasive din of conversation wormed its way back into Kelso’s ears. The sidewalks were overflowing with students en route to Malverna High School, most were fussing over their outfits and hair out of paranoia for the graduation ceremony. Some like Kelso who were unlucky enough to not get a sponsor sulked behind everyone else, each vacant face sported darkened bags under their eyes.
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That was something they could all share at least.
Normally once students hit their senior year of GenEds they’re allowed to join expeditions outside of the cities to see whether they want to pursue work outside the cities on the Adventurers Path or within the city on the Scholars Path furthering the collective understanding of magik. It is on these expeditions that potential sponsors tag along to glean a student’s abilities and if impressed send them off to one of the many magikal academies as their Candidate for extensive training. Or at least that’s what the pamphlets outside the guidance counselor's office said. For most people the lack of a sponsor was just about the worst thing that could happen to them; they had no future or at least not a profitable one. Potential mediocrity scared his classmates and he understood why. They wanted songs and stories written about them, not Vorilax from HR yelling at them the minute they stepped into the office.
Kelso understood because he knew. From day one. What adventurer or scholar would sponsor a magikless cripple? None of them. That gave him a certain advantage in the long run though he had time to develop other skills. He had a whole life after this and he wasn’t going to waste it, not after all of Bren’s work.
Kelso’s chair suddenly jerked to a stop jacking his torso back into the old drake leather backrest and bringing him out of his ruminations to find an ornately dressed student bordered by drakes stumbling to the ground in front of him. Bukè’s shadow fell over the two. The whistling of the wind through layers of fabric and exposed ribs set the hairs on Kelso’s neck erect against the breeze while a hand rested protectively on his shoulder.
The drakes released a unified growl. Their chests began to glow with elemental light while the air began to distort around their chests rising in conjunction with the lights until their jaws opened to globules of acid and lighting respectively beginning to flick out. The student now on one knee whirled around. A spark of annoyance blinked into existence behind hazel eyes and an amber glow grew within his throat while a powerful breath escaped his nostrils and with it billowing plumes of smoke. A scarred hand slicked sandy blond hair back into place above two shaved sides while the other swatted away the dust on a pristine maroon robe.
Kelso was stuck in a shocked haze. Where had he come from? Why was he all the way back here with the rejects excluding Bukè of course whose hand had left his shoulder and was now standing beside Kelso.
Kelso’s face began to burn.
“Oh.. oh oh my Divines I’m so sorry I uh wasn't paying att-“
The student’s mouth cracked open but if it had been a breath of fire or a scathing tirade neither Kelso nor Bukè, who had ethereal script slipping back out from hidden crevices of arm bone and a thinner line of energy forming in the air, got a chance to find out. The student cast a downward glance noticing the wheelchair. Then the look. Then the apolo-
“Thank you for apologizing. I'm sorry as well me and mine are taking up a lot of space on the sidewalk. I am of equal blame for this as I was rushing. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”
The student gave an elegant but curt bow both to Kelso and then oddly enough to Bukè as well garnering a couple of odd glances from passing students. To be fair both Bukè and Kelso were equally as shocked. His draconic companions followed suit after he finished rising in front of Bukè. First, the left one, an acidic drake with shining obsidian black scales, gave a fluid bow almost as if it were combining its apology with a much-needed stretch. The right, a cerulean-scaled beast with jittering muscles and an endless amount of electrical energy zipping about its body bent erratically into a bowing position but within the blink of a human eye, the beast was back up chasing its sparky tail.
Kelso’s hand flew to its normal position rubbing the back of his curly mullet up and down while he struggled to form a sentence on his lips.
“O-o-of course no need to apologize.”
The student nodded his head once.
“Very well, have a wonderful day and may the Divines bless your Path.”
With that, the student spun on his heels and sped off rejoining the stream of students passing through spiraling wooden gates into the over-decorated building that served as Malverna’s main atrium. Black silk woven throughout the back of the robe came together to form the many bellowing heads of a Hydra. Kelso and Bukè turned to each other. Bukè pointed at the shrinking back of the student.
“Did he… apologize.”
Bukè’s finger spun around to point at its puppeteer's face.
“To us?!”
Kelso blinked.
He sat in his study hall classroom surrounded by chittering cliques of students trading last hugs, sorrowful good lucks, and prideful bragging of lucrative sponsors. Kelso peered out the window into the curated lawn below where a grouping of Druid sponsors sat meditating around a giant Aconia tree. The whisper escaped his lips before he could restrain himself.
“Divines damn it all.”
Kelso popped the lid off the pill case, dropping an amber and moss green lyligan capsule into his tremor-racked hand after he set the lid on his lap. His green eyes lingered on the capsule for a few more seconds before he popped it into his mouth and gulped it down. Within a couple minutes the ingredients within took effect relaxing his grinding jaw and tense shoulders with a flood of numbing calmness. He knew the nausea and irritable bowels would come back to haunt him in no time but all he cared about right now was sinking back into his chair. The wooden handle appeared in one hand and a length of maroon yarn was pulled out of his travel bag by the other.
Nothing special like the creations he put up for sale on the DivSite he just needed something to calm him down.. a granny square.. yea that’ll do.
He began.
Chain fifteen. Yarn over. Push through the third chain from the hook. Yarn over. Pull through. Repeat along the rest of the chain.
Scarred hands. Flecks of gold hidden throughout hazel irises. The glinting points of the drakes’ claws as they bowed with the student. Bowed.
He had apologized to them!
But who was he? Kelso had never seen him around the school before but then again he had never really bothered to remember faces. They all tended to avoid him a couple days after meeting him anyway. It didn't do you any good to hang around a magikless person, especially with sponsors prowling about the school. Kelso had bad juju.
He chuckled to himself. For someone without magik he was pretty good at setting curses on others though best not to actually say that since the Stained Order outlawed the common usage of curses 20 years prior after a group of Freefolk sold some nepo-cloudwalker a “Marital Aid Spell” and ended up binding their magic and… other tools rendering the cloudwalker impotent. The twists and contortions within the pictures that got leaked made Kelso grateful for the lack of feeling below his waist and a little more wary of deals with the Freefolk.
He’d have to find that student again after the ceremony. Kelso’s hands froze and the drug-induced haze blurring his vision cleared for a second. Why? Why did he want to find the guy? He had just been nice. That was all. Nice enough to be a friend?
Kelso looked down at his lap where the first half of the granny square had been finished. Snippets of the white yarn had woven their way into the square. It looked familiar. What was he designing again?
Oh yea, a Hydra. For that kind student. He’d have to find the guy after the ceremony and give him the granny square. Someone’s hand found its way onto his shoulder.
“Hey Kelso? You good man? We’re heading to the atrium now… do you uh… do you need me to push you there?”
Kelso looked up. The hand was attached to just another blurry face. Their lips moved. Veiled words of help forced out by guilt and pity. Kelso took a breath. It didn’t make it any better. He smiled and kindly refused sending the face off to join the others as they made their way out of the classroom toward the grandiose amphitheater for their big day. Kelso released all of the frustration that had built up during that short conversation in a single sigh and looked down at the unfinished…
The granny square sat complete on his lap the yarn and hook already neatly placed within their respective containers. The suns had risen higher in the sky and the grouping of Druids had long since vacated the expanse of greenery below. His hands began to shake. He had blinked. But… he hadn’t?
“Shit…”
Kelso held out his trembling hands with a horrific mask growing outwards from his eyes to the rest of his face. Sweat began to bead around his hairline most likely ruining the special pomade he had bought for his graduation.
“KELSO!! C’mon I don’t wanna see you in my class next year because you didn’t make it to graduation!!”
The teacher’s brunette curls dangled at an angle. She stared at him from behind the open sliding door, the rest of her body hidden behind the doorway. Kelso wiped sweaty hands on his lap blanket before shooting his teacher a smile and wheeling himself over into position behind the last students in line. Their procession began marching towards the amphitheater as soon as he joined them; the tapping of feet and the squeaking of his chair were the only sounds brave enough to penetrate the nervous silence of the hall. Students fidgeted either with their clothes or just personal ticks developed during childhood while casting nostalgic glances around the halls of the school. They had done it! They had made it through high school now it was on to bigger and better things: fame, fortune, and power. Excitement replaced the nervous energy.
Kelso however found himself outside of that lucky bubble. His blinks were getting worse. The pills were no longer helping.
“…accept this…”
Kelso’s head spun around.
“…accept them…”
There it was again. Who was whispering to him? None of the students had turned around.
“Who’s the-“
Kelso blinked.
A sea of seats filled with eager throngs of students ready to receive their diplomas and sigils from gift-bearing sponsors surrounded Kelso, his eyes already adjusted to the dim glow of the stage lights darted around the cavernous room. Heavy maroon curtains and their golden embroidery sat half open with Principal Tiahal’Akahn standing behind a lacquered mahogany podium in the center while a large overhead light shone down on her. The light was nothing if not flattering to her pearly white scales and scarlet irises sliced in half by elliptical pupils.
She was in the middle of some long-winded speech that sounded like it had been rehearsed far more many times than it should have been. Her clawed hands were being swung around to exaggerate each and every word making the moment ever the more wholesome and connecting for the students and faculty. Somewhere in the sea of students sat Bukè perfectly still waiting patiently for the speech to end with as calm of a demeanor as he could muster. The Hydra student sat in another chair in some random row blissfully unaware of the amount of space within Kelso’s mind that he was taking up. He was scanning the room for the slick blond head when his eyes fell upon Brennan’s ivory calvaria behind a bunch of fleshy-headed parents.
Skeletal hands shot up into the air once Kelso made eye contact with Bren.
“YOU DID IT KIDDO!!! THE SEVEN HELLS THEMSELVES COULDN’T BURN BRIGHTER THAN MY PRIDE TODAY!!! LOVE YOU SON!!!”
Kelso’s guilt forced a feeble smile along his lips. Where was the Hydra student?
Hydra student?
Kelso blinked.
He sat last in a line of standing bodies with the sea of seats to his right and the rune-inscribed bricks of the building to his left. A ramp gave students access to the stage where they joyfully shook Principal Tiahal’Akahn’s opalescent hand while holding the ribbon-wrapped parchment that declared them free of this school. Nausea tore away at his vision forcing the seeds of a migraine into the folds of his brain though from the sudden burst of blank outs or the pill from earlier Kelso couldn’t tell. His fingers curled around the edges of his armrests pulling the skin over his pale knuckles tight. Bile threatened to spill from his trembling lips. The line advanced. Another dream came true. Another handshake occurred. Another joyous hug of loving parents.
Soon only the ramp and two Golem guards remained before him, one of them, a golem the seniors had created on their own and now had a fully functioning vegetable garden on its back, signed as best it could with its stubby clay fingers.
“Kelso need help?”
His vision had begun to tunnel and the ache of turning his head to respond to the golem almost sent him spiraling into unconsciousness. Divines how he wished he could use magik to communicate. Twitching hands struggled to formulate a proper response.
“No… no thank you.”
The golem had taken a few waddling steps towards Kelso but stopped halfway, turning with little taps of its cone-like legs back to its post. Kelso took a few frantic breaths and managed to unlatch his fingers from the ends of the armrests forcing them to the wheels on either side of him.
“And our final student for the class of 4521! Kelso Jingari please step… er come forward please.”
An awkward chuckle followed the summons, pushing Kelso into an ever worse mood while students in the front row tried their best to hide their own fits of laughter. He felt the heat creep into his clenched cheeks while he forced the chair up the metallic ramp eventually coming to a rest on the tip of the stage slightly winded and ready for all of this to be over. He’d treat himself to some Moonberry wine after all of this the MagiYouth laws be damned he had earned it after four years of this demeaning crap.
Principal Tiahal’Akahn stood behind the podium with an outstretched arm pointing out towards Kelso while she faced the onlooking crowd with a maw full of razor-sharp fangs holding back flurries of arctic energy. The stage seemed to contract and extend like rubber while he made his way across keenly aware of the many eyes tracking his journey taking solace only in the knowledge that the officials at the venue tonight would be too busy dealing with elementally energized mosh pits to notice him, Bren, and Bukè downing shots of Draco Liquor. A good time.
Scarlet eyes flashed down to Kelso. Principal Tiahal’Akahn attempted a heartfelt smile for him but the realization had happened far earlier in the day for her.
“Kelso Jingari, a hardworking student if ever I had the pleasure to have met one. Even from day one Kelso never let…”
Kelso was sure she had taken time out of her mood-crippling schedule to write out a unique and touching speech just for him and he admired her dedication to helping her students out. He just couldn’t pay attention. The Hydra student was out there in the sea of featureless faces watching. Where was he? Why did he need to find him? A bolt of pain flicked through the back of his head. Couldn’t she hurry up and get this over with. He wanted… the venue…
“Brennan.”
The whisper rushed out of his mouth like a drowning breath.
“...nd on this day I am proud to pass the honor of Malverna Graduate to the blessed soul of Kelso Jingari may the Divines carve a path of health and virtue out of your future.”
She pulled the roll of parchment containing his specific name laid out in fantastical penmanship by some automatic printer out of a personalized pocket dimension. Silvery script wound its way up along her arm until it spiraled into her right eye giving her pupil an eerie silver glow.
Long draconic talons surrounded Kelso’s deft hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze easing the moment slightly until icey blue tears began falling from her eye slits causing both of them to smile and enjoy the moment. Principal Tiahal’Akahn really did care for her students and he did appreciate that but… it just wasn’t going to change anything for him.
“Now uhm would any sponsors care to offer up a Sigil to our intrepid Kelso?”
There it was. An obligation as per City Ruling to at least ask if a sponsor had not been acquired before the time of graduation. The guttural accent of her draconic lineage was deafening within the silence of the amphitheater adding even more heat to his already rosy cheeks. His neck nearly snapped down so he could just limit his vision to the mossy green blanket that sat above his oak brown robes but he hesitated. Kelso clenched his jaw. He straightened his back and raised his head to look out into the ocean of dark faces. He smiled at Principal Tiahal’Akahn and after placing the diploma on his lap he began making his way to the off-ramp and back into the many faces hidden with the darkness beyond the stage lights.
“O-o-oh!! Madam Peyet I’m haha I’m sorry he cannot hear magikal speak but if you give us a moment a teacher can find an EchoCrystal for you.”
Kelso came to a slow stop, his gaze fixed upon the emergency exit sign in front of the off-ramp and his hands still resting on the wheels.
“Oh press here? Ah, I see how erm… archaic. Ahem… we of House Peyet wish to offer up our Sigil to… Mr. Jingari!”
Kelso blinked.
Brennan and Bukè stood on either side of him while the AreoMag coils catapulted them across a suns painted Derwulan. Both had ethereal script above their heads and were deeply invested in some kind of conversation, one they were very physical about. Kelso managed to raise a tired head only to lean it back against the window. A crisp sheet of parchment sat bound within his hands as the two threw bony fingers this way and that to add foundation to their words. The descending suns warmth only added to his fatigue.
Today had been too much. A glass of wine and a nap was needed. First came the venue though he had spent the telluade and the Plains of Averiose would flood before he punked out on a concert. Kelso closed his eyes, determined to regain whatever energy he had used during the burst of blank outs on the train ride there so he could be ready for the pitchers worth of shots he was about to watch Bukè and Brennan consume. He smiled.
At least there’ll be entertainment.