I once read something interesting while in the royal library. I believe the term was 'confabulation'. Apparently it was something that mentally scarred people sometimes did in an attempt to keep themselves more or less sane. They would insert some made up memories in between what actually happened and be convinced it's all true...

"No no no, you're not mad, Sig," Kristya covered my hand that held the crystal with her own, finally making me stop staring at it. "And none of the stuff that happened was your imagination. I was there for the most part, and there's proof for the part where I wasn't present - that prophet guy is gone, and so is one of the horses."

I sighed heavily. "Sorry... it's just so crazy..."

"I know, but don't make it harder for yourself..."

I just nodded and sipped at my tea. We sat in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of another blizzard rolling over the village.

"What will you do now...?" Kristya asked eventually, her voice soft.

"I'll... join him, what else?" I muttered, not exactly enthusiastic. "I might have as well given him the answer straight away... I was just overwhelmed..."

"You know you don't have to force yourself..."

"Well what else should I do? Allow that Caydranth guy to do whatever he pleases and hope he won't one day find my family in this wilderness? That he won't find you? That he'll somehow turn away from the idea of returning Earlindon to what it was before our ancestors came here from Laixya?"

"I guess the options aren't exactly great..."

"Yeah... I'll just start preparing for spring. And prepare others for my departure too. The sooner I do it, the better."

"I hope no one will try to lock you up for your own safety."

I sighed. "I'll just tell my family and Elithia... the word will surely spread anyway once I'm already gone, but they won't be able to stop me anymore."

Kristya smiled a little. "You never cease to amaze me... you're kind of like a young birch, bending under the pressure of wind sometimes, but no storm has actually broken you yet. And there have been some crazy ones..."

I felt my cheeks heat up a little. "I'm just fighting against things that feel wrong to me... wouldn't anyone do that?"

"Probably."

Kristya's break was soon over and she had to return to work, so I thanked her for the tea and headed home through the annoying wind that really made me feel like a feeble birch.

I didn't bother waiting and told my parents about my plans during lunch. At first they thought I had some crazy dream because of my exhaustion yesterday. The second theory was that I caught a cold and was fighting a fever. They then proceeded to check if I hit my head somewhere on the way to or from the mountains. I didn't give up though. I asked them to tell me random things so I could prove that I can now distinguish lies using a beautiful crystal that looked like it was worth half of our village, and once the storm died down in the evening, took them to Tavris' house so they could see it abandoned, mostly empty and cold.

I told Elithia the next day too. I planned to play a prank on her by using the tunnel connecting our houses, but upon going further than I recently did with Kristya, I discovered that it unfortunately didn't survive the two years of vanity. The moldy wooden beams gave to the weight of earth, which now blocked the path at about one third of its length.

And it was for the better, because she had caught a serious cold after the trip to the mountains, and probably wouldn't have handled getting scared very well. Unlike my parents though, she immediately believed everything I told her while I kept her company until Adriael came back from a morning stroll.

She was trying to hide it under her coughs, but I could tell she was anxious and saddened. And I couldn't blame her. In this village, we were always considered a set - where I was, Elithia was not far behind, and the other way around. I barely started to feel like we've restored our bond fully again, and now I wanted to go someplace far away, not even exactly knowing where. I reassured her that I would be coming back as often as possible, and promised to protect her from anyone who might want to harm her and the rest of our family...

~

The rest of the winter felt like hibernation in comparison to what happened up until Siaril and Tavris left. Making sure everyone had enough firewood, improving my hunting skills, trying to not die of boredom along with Elithia and Kristya, suffering occasional pain in my back and repeating it over and over. As time passed, I somehow started to look forward to Siaril's return. The perspective of facing some insane mage who was responsible for mine and my family's pain still wasn't too thrilling, but on the other hand, the perspective of telling him a thing or two as thanks - maybe using a sword - felt really tempting. And it made me excited to think I would become capable of using magic... sort of. I still didn't know enough. But I was eager to find out.

Two months later, days started to become longer, the air warmer, the merciless layer of snow reluctantly retreating and starting to reveal the frozen ground, roofs of huts and bald tree branches. I spent more time outside with Elithia again, mostly helping with dispelling the last remnants of winter untidiness.

But even when the last stains of snow disappeared and spring enveloped Earlindon for good, the Disciple of Ralethiel, the Blue Dragon was nowhere to be seen.

Doubts intensified especially while doing tasks that didn't require much concentration, like helping Elithia tidy the seedbeds behind her house. The only thing to soothe my mind was the bright chirping of titmice - the most beautiful sign of spring.

Eventually, my friend apparently wasn't able to stand the sight of my worried face anymore and stopped weeding the patch meant for cabbage. "Are you sure he said he'll return here? Maybe you misunderstood something and you're supposed to meet up with him somewhere?"

I struck the hoe into the hard ground one more time and paused too. "No, I'm sure he wanted to come get me," I said, but without much conviction. "I just hope Tavris didn't do anything to him on the way to wherever they headed..."

"What did he even look like? Maybe it'd be good to search for him in the neighborhood in case he got lost somewhere? When you visit a place only once in winter, it's possible to not recognize it again in spring..."

"Well..." I tried to recall the, by now a little fogged, image. "I assume he was about my age... maybe just a bit older. He was taller than me, had green eyes and a very calm presence. It was kind of hard to take a good look, it was pretty dark... though his hair was way darker..."

"Looking for someone?" came a sudden, gentle voice from behind our backs.

We turned around. Between the trees, half hidden in their shadows, stood Siaril, an amused expression on his face. Elithia just gaped, but I couldn't hold back a relieved smile. "I was starting to think that you wouldn't come at all."

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting..." he bowed his head slightly. "I got held back a little." I frowned. He seemed... weakened somehow, pale and fatigued.

"You alright?" I asked.

"I'm just a little tired, please don't worry."

"How about you rest a bit and meet my parents then? They wanted to get to know you anyway, and I can prepare in the meantime."

"I would be grateful."

I leaned the hoe against the back wall of the house. "Oh right, introductions... Siaril, this is Elithia, my childhood friend."

Siaril came closer and gently took one of her hands in his own. "We already know each other in a strange way, but it's still a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he placed the lightest of kisses on it. Elithia flushed a shocking shade of cherry-red, which I would have considered impossible with her pale complexion, and I had to turn away to stifle laughter. I gestured them to follow me home.

While I was gathering everything I thought I would need, my parents mercilessly interrogated poor Siaril. At least he didn't seem to mind, just calmly answered every question, enjoying the warmth of the hearth and a home-made meal.

Not all of his answers satisfied them though. Of course he wasn't able to guarantee my safety and wasn't able to predict every single incident on our path. After all, we intended to traverse a big part of Earlindon in order to get to the oldest forest of this land that was said to be inhabited by creatures long believed extinct. We also wanted to learn how to use magic and face a not very sane, but powerful enemy. So basically everything that could be associated with the word 'dangerous'.

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I didn't rush my preparations mostly to let my new companion rest, but also because now that the moment came, I knew it would be hard to leave despite the excitement. Also, I still couldn't put my finger on what was so weird to me about him...

Finally though, I swung my haversack over my shoulder and interrupted the questioning. "Dad... I already explained all of this to you. I'll be fine, don't worry."

My father just smiled, retaining whatever question was about to leave his lips.

"Are you ready?" asked Siaril, putting the empty cup back on the table.

"I think so..."

My mother brought Lisiel from the bedroom and we returned outside. The sun was high, not obscured by even a single cloud, pleasantly warming the still raw soil. Perhaps that was a good sign...?

I felt a hand touch my shoulder and turned to look into the worried features of my mother.

"Please be careful..." her voice was breaking a little. It almost physically hurt to see her like this...

"I will, cross my heart. I..." I had some more words prepared for this moment, but was suddenly interrupted by Lisiel, who extended her tiny hand towards me.

"Siiian..." she mumbled.

Everyone looked at her with raised eyebrows. It was her first more or less clearly said word, and we could even tell what she meant. I smiled and gently took that hand between my fingers, which earned me a happy laugh. "Not 'mama', not 'papa', but 'Siiian'?" I asked, allowing her to squeeze and shake my index finger a little. "I feel honored, my lady," I placed a light kiss on her hand and turned to my father.

Once I was done saying my farewells to him and to my teary-eyed childhood friend, I joined Siaril, who was watching us from a respectful distance. "I'll be back," I looked Elithia in the eyes. "I promise I will."

Siaril bowed and made his way into the depths of the forest without a word. But before I could turn around and follow, we suddenly heard a slightly panicked, distant: "Sig!"

I glanced towards two nearby cottages, between which the bell founder workshop could be seen further back. A figure was running towards us, cheeks dusted with soot, something pressed to the chest by delicate hands.

Kristya stopped in front of me and took a few seconds to catch her breath. "Sig... I wanted to give you something before you go..." she managed eventually, lifting her head to look me in the eyes, determination sparkling in hers.

Before I could respond, she extended both her hands to me, something slim resting in them. It had the size of my forearm and was wrapped up in a piece of rough fabric. "Please take it with you on your journey..."

I carefully took the gift and unwrapped it. It was a dagger, at first glance not very different from many others I've seen in my life. But as soon as my fingers brushed the surface of the blade, I immediately felt that it was fundamentally different.

It was heavy, but not too much, perfectly balanced between comfort and deadliness. The leather surrounding the hilt was layered with careful precision, the steel of the blade holding a shifting shadow to it that showed hours of work that went into its creation. It was simple, but this wasn't just the work of a craftsman who did their job for a living because that's what their ancestors have been doing for decades and saw a weapon as a piece of metal that takes shape in their hands. It was a blade created with the instinct and passion of a genius, who put her worry for me and the warmest wishes of my wellbeing into each strike of the hammer.

"Is this...?"

"It's the first piece I finished all on my own," the former maid fiddled with the hem of her dirty work shirt. "I know it's not very fancy and I didn't have the time to sort out a sheath for it, but..."

"It's perfect..." I whispered.

She lifted her head in surprise.

"I mean it Kristya, if this is what you can do after just a few months of training, then in a few years you'll be the greatest blacksmith in all of Earlindon."

She blinked a few times, first in surprise, then to fight tears. Even so, she gave me a beautiful smile. "Please be careful..."

"I will be. You've risked your own life to help my heart return where it belongs. I'm not wasting that gift..."

This time Kristya covered her face with her hands and started sobbing quietly. Elithia walked up to her and embraced her gently. I had to smile. I knew how close those two have grown together since Kristya started her new life among us, and I was at ease leaving them in each other's care.

"Go, before someone else tries to stop you," Elithia told me with a sad smile, stroking Kristya's back.

I bowed lightly, mimicking Siaril, and when he took the first step into the forest, I finally followed. It was hard... I felt like a piece of my heart just got ripped away from the rest of it and stayed behind. But at the same time I had a feeling that it was worth it. That something really wonderful was waiting for me ahead... I kept looking over my shoulder every now and then, but when the group disappeared behind the curtain of trees, I resolutely turned in the direction of our march.

"I hope you don't regret your decision," Siaril's voice reached my torn mind.

"What? No no, don't worry. It's not like I'm leaving forever, I'll see them again... right?"

"Things can turn out in diverse ways," he seemed to pick his words very carefully. "I wouldn't want to discourage you..."

"Then don't finish, please. I don't want to get discouraged either, so let's not dig into this topic. We shouldn't worry about things we don't know will even happen, right?"

Siaril just smiled gently and nodded.

That. That was it.

I suddenly realized what bothered me about him this entire time. It was probably thanks to the fact that he was the only person I could focus on among the woods, and I had daylight helping me.

His smiles... didn't seem very genuine. Not in the sense that I felt like he was being dishonest, but... it was like his lips were smiling, but his eyes were unable to. Emotionless, green like a forest lake, its water starting to bloom in spring, but remaining cold from the winter chill still holding onto it... Could it have had something to do with what he told me about when we first met each other...?

"You still don't look very good," I said, wanting to shove away those unpleasant thoughts. "Did something happen on your way here? Maybe we should rest a bit before going further?"

"Nothing happened, I'm just a little tired, that's all. I can manage until evening."

I frowned. I thought I felt a tiny gleam of warmth on my chest beneath my shirt but it died out immediately. I was completely confused now. Why would Siaril lie if he knew exactly that I would notice it? Or was the flicker of heat just my imagination?

Even if it wasn't, I didn't feel like asking him about it. Just because I was given an ability to detect lies didn't mean I had the right to stick my nose in other people's lives... Everyone had the right to have their secrets, and he wasn't obligated to tell me everything... but wasn't he? It was because of him that I left my family again and was on my way to who knows where... no, that wasn't quite right either. It wasn't his fault that some crazy mage was about to go on rampage...

I sighed and told my brain to stop trying to be logical.

There was a different matter I felt like I had the right to pry about though. "How's Tavris?"

"He's fine, I think. We didn't stay together for very long, he went his own way right after we reached Saille."

"I see... I'm curious though, you suggested to head for Shinestone back then. There was a reason behind it, wasn't there?"

"I thought you would have figured out from Tavris' response. He pretty much confirmed where Sharish is hiding, didn't he?"

"I..." I trailed off, a small snort of laughter escaping me. "I really am stupid."

"You're not, you were just overwhelmed that night."

"I guess. Why is he there though? Not like Shinestone is inhabited by mages only, there are humans too. And he's just plotting against them right under their noses?"

"Rather over, not under..."

"Eh?"

"There is a stronghold in the mountains high above the city. It once belonged to the lord of Shinestone, but I heard he died some time ago..."

"Don't tell me Sharish killed him to make himself a pretty hideout..."

"I don't know. I suppose we can try to find out as we go."

"Maybe..."

After about two hours of calm walk, we left the shelter of the trees and wandered down a narrow path, meandering on the edge of a cliff at the border of an enormous valley. There was a narrow strand of trees beneath, their crowns swaying lazily almost close enough to touch. The grassland was divided by bright ribbons of two rivers, in spate from the recent thaw. They eventually connected somewhere in the distance. The plain itself was still a bit faded, speckled with darker spots of enormous solitary trees or small groves. Some snow managed to survive in their shadows in winter's last, desperate attempts.

I've been here once or twice with my dad and knew it was called the Serelath Valley, but only from Siaril I learned that 'serelath' meant simply 'speckled' in the language of either mages or the illathan, he wasn't sure. Far away, beneath the western horizon, towered a massif of huge mountains that stood like a majestic barrier at the border of the plain. A bit closer, in the south, loomed the dark expanse of a vast forest.

We left the path upon finding a gentle slope and descended into the valley. When dusk arrived, the edge of the young moon, growing for the last three days, appeared above the horizon. In Earlindon, we called the moon that is born in the first month of spring the Moon of Changing Winds. It was because of the warmer breezes that freed our land from snow and ice, but this year, it had quite a different meaning for me... As the last glow of the sun died out above the horizon, we stopped underneath a branchy hornbeam, standing lonely among the grasslands. The outmost sprigs were covered with tiny, light green buds.

"You've been so quiet for a while..." started Siaril suddenly, when we finished stacking twigs from nearby scrubs into a campfire. "Is something wrong?"

"What? No... no, I'm fine, why would something be wrong?"

But he seemed to sense the uneasiness in my tone. "You look like something is worrying you."

"Well... I just..."

"So there is something."

I sighed. Apparently my face was so readable that he didn't need a sirath to see through me... I really wasn't keen to reveal my thoughts about his behavior though...

Siaril took a seat on the yellowish grass at my side. "If there is some problem, you can just tell me," his voice was warm and gentle as usual, which didn't exactly help me in this situation. "After all, it's only the two of us for now, I think we need to support each other whenever necessary."

I looked him in the eyes, into this lifeless, cold green... and lowered my head almost instantly. Now I really felt like I didn't want to talk about it.

But he seemed to understand even without words. "Oh... it's about that..." he turned his gaze away, as if not wanting to creep me out further. He started striking a fire.

"Why...?" I asked finally. "They're so..."

"I know... most people seem to notice it, but I think you're the first one I'm talking about this with. I'm not sure, but I think it started after Sitriel... died..."

"Your friend...?" Siaril just hung his head, so I tried to soothe: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked and reminded you..."

"It's not your fault. I wish it would come to an end too... I just don't know what to do to stop thinking about it..."

"Maybe another friendship would help? I think you know very well what a bond like that can achieve..."

"No Sigrian... better not..." Siaril made sure that the flames enveloped the branches for good, wrapped himself up in his cloak and laid down. I guess he concluded that to be the end of the conversation.

I felt that jab of guilt again. I went too far... We hardly even knew each other, I shouldn't be saying things like that so carelessly...

I sighed and covered myself with my blanket. That wasn't quite the beginning of the adventure that I've envisioned...