There are several things that can wake a person in a panic. A sudden loud noise, an unexpected sensation... but not Aiden. Only the recollection of his journey has stirred him back to consciousness. But when he sat up, neither the comfort of a well-earned sleep nor the relief of waking up registered in his system. Before Aiden could examine his surroundings; which were foreign to him, his senses had already recognized the stationary pile of rubbish around him. The stench of rot within the area was the last punch needed to get Aiden back to his feet and examine his whereabouts.
The first thing Aiden realized upon looking around is the lack of light source in the area. It was nighttime, after all, but any presence of alternative lighting thereof still baffled the Forest's Keeper. He pulled his poncho tighter around him, turning around in search for any clues regarding his location. He thought about his belongings, but the Darkness around him hinted that it was nowhere in the general area. Aiden grunted at his predicament, but he cannot seem to accept the fact that it was due to his carelessness that he ended up in the strange place without any recollection prior.
In his frustration, Aiden pulled on his sea hair. "I'm not going anywhere with this!" he exclaimed with a stomp. Waving his palms and showing it to the ground, Aiden attempted to create the powerful water pillars he had used a couple of times to soar the air. His palms began to glow, but Aiden shrieked as his beams of water fluctuated, raising him a foot up from the ground, then disappearing, and he landed on his butt with a yelp. He immediately stood up, resistant to the failure he just experienced. Once more, he did exactly how he had done it before, but what he did with ease before, now took more effort from him. Aiden grunted more, his posture stiffer, as if pushing out every last drop of water he can create from scratch. His chest tightened the more he attempted to retry the feat. By the fourth time, Aiden was on his knees, heaving and sweating profusely. What is happening to him?
In his time growing in Hele with the Heleian Encantos, he has not exerted this much effort in manifesting his gift. While the elders of the capital did caution them about the repercussions of doing it frequently, he had never experienced a point in his combat training to be this challenged prior or after. Aiden clutched his chest while heaving big breaths, and flinched at the jagged, foreign sensation beneath his shirt. Slipping a hand under the fabric, he almost screamed at the strange texture he had run his fingers into. With a trembling hand, he gulped all the remaining courage and slid it under his shirt again, fingers brushing cautiously against this strange object. Panicking, Aiden tried cupping it, realizing that the object is no bigger than his palm. The edges where the object and his skin meet did not sting in any way, which made the sensation even more bizarre that he retracted his hand with a disgusted grunt. How long has it been there?
Trekking out of the alleyway, Aiden noticed the new path under his feet and the road ahead lined with white stone seemed to glow, as if leading him somewhere. The streets are solitary, Aiden understood that it was because of the night, much like in the West. This street is somehow lit with the small lamps hanging in posts that neatly line this particular road in equal gaps. The symphonious flickering of the flames within the lamps eventually matched the Forest's Keeper's steps and he was able to give his predicament some thought. Looking up to the sky, the moon has recently revealed itself from behind the clouds. The dry wind blew to the west, and the cold made him hug his poncho even tighter. Looking around, Aiden considered finding an inn to stay for the night. However, nothing seems to suggest that any of the establishments within the limestone streets are welcoming for a stranger.
But Aiden persisted. He trudged along the white road, following each speck of light with no destination in mind. The silence of the area unsettled him, and he shuddered. He understood that people outside of Hele may not spend the night out of their homes, but he hoped that some of them--any of them--may be out, and he could seek help from one of them.
Coming at a turn on the white road, Aiden noticed the silhouettes of two people approaching from the opposite direction. The growing loudness of metal clanking sounded like relief to him and he rushed to meet them. As he ran past one of the buildings, however, its wooden door swung open (without making a sound, mind you) and two small but strong arms stretched out and pulled Aiden inside the establishment. The door, peculiar as it is with its silence, swung back close, its lock clicking back in time when the silhouettes walked past.
Before Aiden can even chortle out an understandable complaint, a small index finger zipped his lips silent. He followed the fading clank of the metals with his right ear until the finger dropped from his lips. At that point, Aidem clamored to stand.
Looking down, he found a little girl who owns the sturdy arms, looking back up to him. She has a pair of beautiful round golden eyes, which glistened behind a thick pair of oversized rectangular glasses. Her hair was short and hugged her round face, though with the lack of proper lighting, Aiden couldn’t figure what color it was. She twirled on her heels, further towards inside the house, and jogged along, her heels clopping on the wooden floor. Aiden peered down the Darkness, unsure if he should follow her. But he soon heard a click! and a pop! and then the room glowed with light in a blink of an eye.
What greeted the Forest’s Keeper’s eyes is somewhere between the ordinary and the strange. The light that had illuminated the area came from a large glass lamp that hung by the center of the room. It doesn’t seem like the flames that Aiden had been accustomed to. When he slowly raised his head, Aiden realized that there was not a flame within the lamp, but a small orb of orange light. Frowning in confusion, he scanned the room he was in. Towers of wooden crates flank a small carpeted path, some of its contents, which Aiden can only describe as “strange trinkets”, spill on what remains of the floor. Interestingly, Aiden eyed the area carefully and whispered under his breath, “Corde ioi K’raas jahn..” before he tread down the path inwards. While the crates were obviously messy, it wasn't old and worn out, so it had kept most of its contents.
Pushing through further inside, Aiden saw a wooden counter carved with unknown, intricate figures. Opposite of it is a staircase leading somewhere next to a doorway curtained with colorful beads. On the wall next to it, the little girl stood expectantly, as if waiting for Aiden to arrive.
“Why did you drag me in here?” Aiden asked the little girl while moving towards the counter.
“To keep you safe.” The little girl responded flatly. “The Bellodore is not keen to keep unwanted visitors alive.”
Aiden’s frown deepened at the remark and he intended to ask more information about it when a large dark-skinned woman appeared from behind the counter. She dressed as colorful as the beads by the doorway and her puffy curled hair had given her an even larger physical disposition. Her appearance startled Aiden so much that he threw himself away from the counter, tripped on a cluttered crate, and landed on the messy floor with the trinkets piercing against his thick poncho. He coughed twice in pain as the little girl and the woman peered at him worriedly.
“So sorry!” The woman’s voice was as gentle as the summer breeze, which momentarily made Aiden’s frown disappear. “I should stop doing that to potential customers, for the love of Halli!” she commented as she offered a hand, which Aiden slowly reached out to.
In a big swing, Aiden was back on his feet, and the little girl had pushed a wooden stool for him to sit on. Gaining his composure, Aiden cleared his throat. “A-Apologies! It’s just that I did not expect to see another person so soon.”
The woman’s painted lips worked up to a grin and she shrugged dismissively at the remark, rummaging through the counter’s drawers while muttering how it’s a usual occurrence for visitors in her shop. “...Oh yes! As a welcome, do allow me…” she said as she pulled one of her palms out and blew loudly. Whatever powder is on it, it immediately smacked Aiden square to the face, and the Forest’s Keeper sneezed twice.
Sensing it as a possible threat, Aiden jumped off of his seat and drastically flapped his arms. “What did you do?!”
“A gust of ‘Obscurity’! A new concoction!” The woman proudly announced while clapping her hands off of the excess powder. “Now to check how long it will last.”
“Hey! I did not sign u--” Aiden sneezed again. “--I did not sign up to be your guinea pig!”
“Ah, but neither have you asked us to save you from the Bellodore, hm? Don’t you think it’s fair that you do something for us in exchange for being saved?”
“I don’t need saving..” Aiden wiped his face, angrily staring at the women. “What does it even mean?! I just got here!”
The woman peered at the little girl, her grin got smaller, but it was still on her face as she moved from behind the counter and towards Aiden. “Unless you are sealed away in the deepest part of the Western Rainforest, you should have known how Valaz had limited entry to visitors and foreigners for some time now!”
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“And if I came from there..?” Aiden sputtered in between coughs.
The grin on the woman’s face disappeared. After a seemingly long time of silence, she whispered, “Oh… so… a Forest’s Keeper?”
Aiden slowly nodded. “I am Aiden Maris from Hele.”
“Oh. Oh dear.” The woman placed her hands on her cheeks, eyeing Aiden from head to toe, her orange round eyes growing large at recognition of the intricately woven poncho. She looked at Aiden again, face still stricken with a serious case of surprise. “...You are indeed a Forest’s Keeper. Oh my…”
Clearing his throat, Aiden inhaled and spoke as he moved to reclaim his spot on the chair. “I was traveling to enroll myself as an Iska in Magna Picea. I’ve read from the scrolls of the West how prestigious the guild is and how promising I can be as an Elemental Warrior once I finished my studies there.”
“You are not wrong,” the little girl appeared to their side, holding onto the woman’s arm. “Magna Picea is still one of the most notable guilds to master the craft of knightly training and academics. However, a recent change in the academe has limited Valazians’ access to this education.”
“What do you mean?” Aiden frowned.
The woman placed a hand on the little girl’s head as she returned behind the counter. “Due to the Head Magistrate’s declining health, the management of Magna Picea fell into the hands of the ‘Three Kings’, who are three officials assigned by ISoS to govern guilds outside the Central Post. They arrived to ‘look after’ (the woman’s face contorted with doubt as she said this) Magna Picea, standardizing the curriculum to match with how education is done in Solferino. This has been a country-wide change, but for Valaz, they limit access via scholarship offered to Mavens outside of the Capital and have made the enrollment process tedious for any Valazian.”
“Has there been an exact reason why this change was implemented?” Aiden leaned with curiosity.
The little girl and the woman stared at each other, perplexed at the inquiry.
The woman sighed. “I guess on account of your seclusion… and your youth, you may have not heard about this.” She cocked her head to the little girl. As if understanding the request, she immediately disappeared behind the curtained doorway and the woman continued. “The Digma Academic Pan has been removed from office and persecution of similar academics has been ongoing. This is the main reason we believe why Valazians, the majority of which are Digma Dwaharos, have been deterred from taking up academic studies.”
The statement got Aiden thinking back to Catherine’s words back in the Southern Postal House. Since meeting her, the experiences and information Aiden had been getting reinforced the idea of an underlying agenda within the academic world. Who is Pan and why did the country go after him? Where is he now? And why is the whole Capital suffering because of his past actions?
“Talking about this,” Aiden began after a moment of contemplation. “It seems to me that you are allies of the general Dwaharo population. Can I trust you with the information I have?”
The woman perked up at the statement, and nodded firmly. “Pela’s Boutique of Oddities and Alternative Medicines is the only place in the High Street that you can count on! From strange gadgets to fruitful propaganda!” she winked.
The name struck a bell in Aiden’s ears and he took off from his seat and lunged to the counter gleefully. “Do you happen to know a young lady by the name of Catherine Nobles? She had asked me to get my shoes fixed here!”
Equally reciprocating his reaction, Pela bounced happily. “You’ve met the lady of the Nobles Family?! Oh what great news! Is she doing well?”
Aiden nodded and Pela squealed just as the little girl returned from the doorway carrying a silver tray of some things.
“Hear that, little Ember?” Pela came rushing down, picked up the little girl by the waist and twirled joyously. “Catherine made it out of Valaz! She can finally seek out her true purpose!”
The little girl made not so much as a yelp from being raised to the air with a tray full of knick knacks, but Aiden found her smiling as Pela put her down. “That’s good news for the young lady!” she commented.
Aiden threw his hands in the air in celebration. “Great! Can you please undo whatever you did to me with the strange powder?”
Pela, still in the giggles, shook her head. “Ah, about that… since it’s a new medicine, I am not quite sure how to undo it… but!” She turned to the tray little Ember was carrying and picked out a simple metal chain necklace. “I can tell you that it is most advantageous for you as an alien in Valaz right now. It will make your presence somehow invisible to people. You’re still there, in body! But it will take a lot of concentration for people to see or even remember you.” She offered the necklace to Aiden.
“Is that even a good thing? I wish to be known to Magna Picea for the great things I’m about to do there!” Aiden replied as he eyed the chain and leaned away from it.
“I understand that, but… if you wish to continue your learning about CANDEMARO, an indefinite blanket of a low profile should be advantageous to your cause.” Pela added, gently pushing her hand towards the Forest’s Keeper again. “Besides, if you’re getting your shoes fixed here, it’s quite guaranteed that you’ll be getting in up to no good on the High Street.”
Aiden took the chain in defeat, shoving it to his pants’ pockets. “What does that even mean?”
Little Ember seemed to have seen this action and rushed to Aiden’s side to take the chain. “It is quite boring to simply tell you.” she said as she tiptoed towards him, drawing the chain out with both hands in an attempt to wear it around his neck.
However, Aiden drew his poncho away to reveal the ebony choker already wrapped around it. Laying eyes on the odd crystal, little Ember scrunched her nose and planted her heels to the floor, fixing the chain on Aiden’s right wrist instead.
Pela’s grin was back on her face once again. “I believe it is pretty easy to recognize who among the people in Valaz are our allies and not. When you meet them, you will know, and you’ll act accordingly. I’ll get your shoes ready in a jiffy, so why don’t you spend the night with us?”
Aiden nodded at the invitation. It was what he needed since regaining consciousness. At his agreement, he found little Ember pulling his poncho towards the stairs. With Pela’s reassuring nod, he followed the little girl, carefully navigating the way among the cluttered floor.
“I appreciate your generosity.” Aiden said to little Ember as they climbed the rickety steps.
“Do not sweat it.” little Ember giggled. “My mistress is the oddest resident in the High Street, but that is a testament to her lifelong resistance to the recent changes around here.”
A faint light was coming from the top of the staircase and as they emerged, Aiden laid his sea eyes to a fairly tidy area, with a small lamp affixed on the painted wall to the left; its glow was sufficient to showcase the rest of the painted stone walls and the multitude of large and small specks of colors it had.
“Over here.” little Ember invited Aiden towards the furthest door to the left, one that is barely reached by the lamp’s light.
Aiden followed her, immediately noticing the soft wool carpet under his feet that lined the whole upper floor. Little Ember swung the door open to reveal a quaint room, with a thick plain mattress for a bed, and a table and chair affixed by the lone window in the room. Part of the moonlight peers through the glass, casting faint shadows on the stack of books on the table.
“There’s Magna Picea over there.” little Ember began, index finger pointing towards the triangle flag on top of a little red-tiled tower furthest away from the house.
Aiden moved to where she was, bending down to peer through the glass and lay witness to the gentle swaying of the flag from the distance. In the guidance of the moonlight, Aiden can make out a blade on it. “Seems solitary… like many of the buildings here.”
Little Ember withdrew her hand with a nod. “It had been that way since the Bellodore came and governed Valaz. But people on the High Street have it easier than the people out of it.”
There was a hint of sadness when the little girl mentioned it, but Aiden did not ask about the statement any further. He was the first to move away from the window, plopping on the soft mattress with an exhausted sigh. Extending his arms to the side, he noticed the metal chain wrapped around his left wrist and brought it up in the air across his curious sea eyes.
“Little Ember,” Aiden called without looking at the little girl.
Little Ember chuckled at including her moniker. She turned to Aiden and shook her head. “Ember is just fine.”
“Right,” Aiden affirmed with a smile. “Your mistress seems to easily accept a foreigner like me.” He turned to her, without a smile. “How sure can you be that whatever I’ll be doing here is beneficial to your cause?”
It surprised Aiden at how easy it was for Ember to shrug her shoulders and chuckle at his inquiry, as if the little girl had just entertained a question from a madman.
“Tribal trust.” Ember answered. “There’s a reason why the majority of Dwaharo in Valaz came from Encanto and Digma unions. My mistress trusted you because you’re a Forest’s Keeper. and so will I.”
Aiden took in the sentiment in silence for a while, to which Ember then asked for his shoes. Though confused, Aiden took it off.
“Please rest up. We’ll get everything ready for your enrollment in Magna Picea tomorrow.” Ember said as she exited the room with Aiden’s shoes in tow.
As she closed the door behind her, Aiden listened to the faint clopping of the little girl’s shoes across the carpet disappear before he turned to properly lay on the length of the bed. The mattress was so fluffy that he thought he would be swallowed by it, so he turned to his side, back against the wall. He thought about the last details Ember has mentioned: Tribal trust. Up until the beginning of his journey, Aiden thought the historic descriptions of the tribes of CANDEMARO were mere generalizations and had not seen their tribal identities as justification for their actions. But when he thought about this invisible divide, he thought about the Sorcerers in Mado and Catherine’s disposition at the Southern Postal House. What did the country think of their own people beyond their tribal affiliations? How widespread its effects were and what is being done to address it? Should he exhibit similar precautions in his excursions tomorrow?
Aiden groaned at the questions he posed to himself. He tossed to his back then to his side once more, finally settling on his back, as if letting the mattress swallow him to clear his mind. Whatever his plan of actions will be--Aiden thought to himself one last time before sleep came to him-- he hopes it is not made out of unnecessary spite.
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