Isyd kept discussing with Agna and Prashan well into the night. He shared his life at the Academy while the siblings talked about all the places they visited during their travel, the various food they’ve tasted and all the things they would do once they were back home in Shikhara.
When the siblings finally went to sleep in the cabin, Isyd remained up on the deck. He let his thoughts wander as he gazed at the distant shore. The events of the evening had brought back memories from long ago, from the time he lived in Shikhara. The homeland of the Antims was an archipelago far in the East that had remained independent for centuries before falling under the protectorate of Matizna, the Eastern Empire. This isolation had resulted in the Antims developing a culture apart from the rest of Ziemia such as their unique language, their strong naval tradition and the Mātā-Marga , the philosophical pillar of their society.
Unfortunately, even their geographical situation did not spare them from the Obcys’ invasion and just like the rest of Ziemia, Shikhara had been destroyed.
And Isyd had been at the forefront of it all.
He turned to see Chandra Sharma approach in his direction.
“Brother of my people, you told me to warn you when we approached Blotnia,” the man said. “We will reach it in an hour if the Mother’s willing.”
Isyd rose from his seat and bowed respectfully. “ I thank you for your aid, Chandra Sharman. I will be in your grace until the Great Sea dries. ”
“ Aye, the pleasure is mine. It is the least I can do to help you, Wisest One! ”
Isyd suddenly stiffened at this appellation, and he sharpened his gaze on the old man. Before he could say something, Chandra spoke first.
“ Aye, no need to say anything, I understand! The children are too blind to see, but I have sailed long and far, Wisest One, and I have seen many things in my life... Having walked the Path of the Mother, one learns to see those who stand ahead — and even those who stand the furthest ahead... ”
“ I see… Well, I am still learning ,” Isyd said. “ When did you find out? ”
“ I had my suspicion the moment you stepped into my ship, Wisest One. We Antims can feel this sort of thing. Your profound understanding of the Path in front of the children was the final proof. Do not worry, Wisest One, you are a Brother of my people, and your secret is safe with me. ”
“ Then once again, I must thank you, Chandra Sharman. Now, as we approach Blotnia I must leave. ”
The man looked around confused; he wasn’t sure where Isyd wanted to go. There was no harbour or pier in this part of the River.
Isyd saw his confusion. “Just approach the ship near the shoreline,” he said. “No need to get too close or to moor.”
Chandra hurried to obey while Isyd gathered his stuff and stretched to relax his muscles. He watched the slow approach of the shore as the boat adjusted its course until there were only a dozen of meters left.
“ There is just fine! ” Isyd shouted to Chandra.
“ Are you certain, Wisest One? How will you get there? Do you intend to swim? ”
Isyd gave the man a reassuring smile. He clasped his hands and bowed profoundly to him. He thanked the man and told him to pass on his goodbyes to his niece and nephew.
Isyd turned to face the riverbank. The sails had been lowered and the ship was drifting only slowly downstream. Still, it was too large of a gap for anyone to make if not by swimming. But Isyd wasn’t anyone. He closed his eyes briefly and opened himself to the Holy Grace. It flowed in him and along came the sensations of sweetness on his tongue and jitters in his belly. There was something energizing about the Grace infusing every fibre of his body. The feeling wasn’t unsimilar from drinking fresh Water…
Suddenly, Isyd opened his eyes and dashed forward. Before reaching the side of the deck, he leapt high and far. Under the amazed gaze of Chandra, Isyd sailed through the air effortlessly. Legs first to soften his landing, Isyd reached the gravel of the riverbank and stumbled a bit before regaining his footing. Naeht, that had been watching him excitedly, whopped next to him and raised her fist. Isyd turned one last time in the direction of the boat that was already sailing away and waved at Chandra. He then turned to Naeht at his side and pointed at the forest that stretched behind them.
“Let’s go!”
Isyd made his way through the shrubs and bushes of the forest but did not walk far enough to lose sight of the River. Since the day has not risen yet, he summoned a rapid Lightsphere to light his way. Soon, Isyd whipped up a good pace, akin to a light run. This was made easier by his darkveil which protected him from branches and the undergrowth snagging at him and slowing him down. Isyd enjoyed the exertion. The War had habituated him to an intense lifestyle in the wilderness, far from what life as a Pupil at the Academy could offer.
“So... what are we doing here in the middle of nowhere?” Naeht said as she flew effortlessly next to him.
Isyd slowed down his pace so he could answer her but he kept his eyes on the ground. “It is in the middle of nowhere that we will find Blysht.”
“Out here? On the ground?”
“Obviously not! Blysht doesn’t grow on plants, it has to be mined. And if my memories are correct, it is near here that used to be a salt mine. Here, I found it!”
He brought the Lightsphere closer and with his foot, pointed at something that protruded from the ground. It was two rails, rusty and overgrown by vegetation, that extended toward the River on one hand and more deeply within the forest on the other. It was easy to miss if one did not pay attention.
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“As soon as the salt was mined out it was sent out on those rails, put on boats and shipped to Blotnia. That city was pretty much built out of the salt trade. Now, the mine has been abandoned for a few years, I reckon”
“And it is in this mine that we will find the Blysht...”
“Yeah, so let’s hurry.”
They followed the tracks away from the shore. Where the rails remained, the path had been cleared out of the trees and stones and levelled as to allow for better transportation and the forest had still not healed. In a matter of minutes, Isyd emerged from the trees to a rugged cliffside. He knew immediately that they had arrived. Isyd raised his Lightsphere to have a better look: in front of them, the very rocks of the cliff had been ripped open and reshaped into an arch. It was not a natural occurrence; such a thing could only have been done with the Arts.
Unfortunately, parts of the arch had collapsed and the rubbles blocked the entrance to the main cave. Isyd suspected that it had been intentional after the mining operation had been discontinued. He wasn’t that disheartened by it since he expected and began searching for another way in. Hundreds of meters from here, he found the remaining of wooden buildings and just behind them was another entrance. This way was far narrower than the main door and it slopped down somewhat abruptly. Isyd did not hesitate and walked into the mine.
The way eventually led him to a larger cavern. It was where the main entrance was supposed to open on. Gigantic pillars of stone supported the roof of the cavern alongside thick beams of wood. Isyd guessed that he stood in the main room as demonstrated by the presence of discarded minecarts and the pulleys and elevators in the centre. From this room, a network of caves stretched out deeper into the earth in research of the precious salt. Stairs had been carved directly into the stone and wooden ladders led to the lower level. Unfortunately, Isyd did not dare take one more step since he couldn’t see anything; the mine was pitch-black. He could raise his Lightsphere all he wanted, it did nothing to chase the darkness that appeared endless.
“What do we do now?” Naeht asked him.
Isyd stretched his ear as if he was listening to something only he could hear. There, he stood immobile for several seconds, lips silently moving as if he was counting. Suddenly, Isyd brought his Lightsphere to his lips and crushed it in his palm like it was an egg. The ball of light exploded into a burst of flames and Isyd whispered into his fist:
“[Enlighten]!”
When he opened his fist, thousands of wisps of light spurt out and flew out inside the caverns. They shot toward walls and wherever they touched the rock, a Lightsphere appeared. Soon, as if the veil of darkness was literally being pulled out, the cavern was slowly illuminated with the light of thousands of Lightspheres.
Naeht let out an impressed whistle. “You know, you spend so much time pretending that you are a normal Pupil, that sometimes I forget you are the best Artyst I know!”
Isyd gave her a satisfied smile. “You don't know a lot of Artysta, Naeht.”
He then took down the stairs, not trusting the wooden constructions to be still sure enough. For what seemed to be hours, Isyd and Naeht looked around for the precious Blysht, with no success. Time seemed to flow differently so deep beneath the earth and it was hard to keep track. Naeht was sent ahead as she fazed through the walls and look further into the twists and turns and the narrower hallways. Isyd on his end was more focused on the mining traces that ran alongside the wooden platforms and the stairs. At each level, he stopped to look into the remaining mining material; he found broken pickaxes and Lightspheres, glass bottles, clothes, and many other things, but no Blysht in sight. So, he continued deeper and deeper. His right hand followed the smoothness of the stonewalls while being unable to feel it. At times, they came across engravings made into the rock by the miners. Often, they were landmarks to indicate the road ahead, but sometimes they were lucky charms, sculptures, or even messages meant for other crews.
At the fifth level, Isyd began to see the signs that he had almost reached the bottom of the mine. The rock appeared less smooth and more stuff had been left around — probably too much of a hassle to bring back up. He also perceived the distant sound of running water.
Isyd was musing on that when he stumbled on a larger cavern. He stepped around the stalagmites and approached a section of the walls where a cluster of white crystals stood out. At the same time, Naeht appeared next to him.
“Seems like this part of the mine was untouched,” she said.
“Yeah, they probably reached here, but couldn’t mine everything out.”
Isyd let his eyes wander on the white crystals. They were strikingly similar to the Blysht and it was easy to mix them up. The crystals were halite, salt crystals, and it was what the miners had been looking for and excavating. But Isyd knew that it was near halite crystals that Blysht was often found. He looked around and his gaze landed on the corner of the grotto that had been used as a dumping ground. He shuffled through the mess until he found a hessian bag filled with broken, unassuming white crystals. Their appearance reminded of milk, and miners were trained not to cofound them with halite and to discard them. Since they were too brittle to be turned into jewellery or used for anything else, the crystals were often treated as junk.
Isyd lifted the bag as if it was the most precious thing he ever held. There was the Blysht.
“Finally!” Naeht exclaimed. “Do you think we will find some more a bit deeper? I can go and check if you—”
Both Naeht and Isyd suddenly perked up, eyes turned from the way they had come.
“There are other people in the mine,” Naeht said.
“Two,” Isyd confirmed.
He put down the bag and headed out. He stepped out lightly and breathed softly as his mind raced to decide what to do. His head peaked out of the hallway and he looked up to the higher levels. Making their way from the first level, their voices echoed thunderously in the cavern.
“No way in hell we’re walking the stairs to go back up,” one of the men said. “We’re taking the elevators next time!”
“You lazy ass! You’d trust that old piece of wood? Bet this thing does not even work anymore!” his colleague said.
“I’m sure it does! Look at the Lightspheres, they’re still working just fine all, right?”
The other man let out a disgruntled groan. “Aye, thank God for those lights! Ain’t no way in hell, we would have found anything in the dark.”
“This is such a stupid job anyway! I mean, why do we need to go look for stupid crystals? Weren’t they all mined away?”
“Apparently not! It’s a different kind of crystal and there may be some left.”
Isyd retreated back into the cavern, gaze hard and cold.
It turned out he wasn’t the only one who’d been looking for the Blysht...