Orenda did not sleep well in the ship’s cabin that felt stolen, even with the alcohol she had taken with her tea. They had no proper beds, and were, instead, expected to sleep on hammocks- straps of fabric that had been hung from the walls and sung wildly with the motion of the boat. Stephendore had expected that Orenda may fall ill again and had brought in a bucket for that purpose. He was more right than he could possibly know, and Orenda prayed that they were all right about the sea-sickness, and that it would eventually dissipate on its own.

Though she doubted it. She was unsure any of them had ever met a fire mage, or understood the severity of her condition.

She stared up at the lamp swinging from the ceiling and thought it was a wonder that the ship hadn’t caught fire before she had arrived. She thought she may be exaggerating the motion in her mind, that it may be a gentle sway that someone, probably the water elf, could find comforting. She may be being a bit harsh because of her affliction. She threw one arm over her eyes and tried her best to sleep.

Sleep would not come for her, but she laid there and pretended, soas not to have to talk to Stephendore, who kept returning to check on her and seemed to believe her ruse, and soas not to be bothered in general. She knew that had she gone to Tolith’s cabin instead very little sleeping would have occured. She was still angry at him for faking his death without telling her, for deserting his responsibilities, and for dancing around the topic when she asked whose corpse he had sent to his mother.

She did not know how much time had passed before the lamp above her sprang to life and began to speak.

“Rendy?”

“Bubbi,” Orenda sat up weakly and extended her hands. She took hold of the lamp and stared hard into the flames, “I'm so sorry, I can barely see you. Are you alive? Are you well?”

“Yes!” Bubbider shouted with joy, “Yes, Rendy, we're alive! And we're here! And Lady Glenlen is dead!”

“Can you hear me?”

“Ali?” Orenda nearly fell from the hammock, “I'm... I'm on the sea. I can't see much of anything. But I can hear you. I can feel you. You're alive?”

“We're alive!” He shouted, “We're alive and we're together! We're… not exactly on the run, but perhaps close to it? But I have the djinn and he is angry! His name is Lapus, and he has been held against his will for years! It was amazing, Rendy! He's attached to a cup- it's quite beautiful, really, a metal I've never seen before- sterilite! All set in with magic crystals of different sizes and types. It's beautiful, but it's a prison. He was trapped there, just as I was. Rendy, you would not believe how many of the boys in the harem were great fighters! We had to cull a few of them who would not forget their loyalty, but overall it was a triumph! A huge success!”

“The colony is free?” Orenda asked, in awe. It didn't seem real, hearing it like this, second hand.

“No,” Bubbider cut in, “It isn't as easy as all that. We took out most of the royal family, but a government does not fall just because you destroy those at the top. There are still nobles here, and they are fighting fiercely. But this battle has been won, and we have retreated to safehouses to hide. Besides, now, even if they do find us, we are ready for them! You should have seen it, Rendy! How the Djinn wiped them out! Lightning reigned from the heavens, storms rocked the seas and tore their ships to shreds-”

“I saw one guy get hit with a bolt,” Ali cut in, “It fried him from the inside out! You could see it burning!”

“Half the city is burning!” Bubbider said in wonder, “They will never forget it, Rendy! The devastation was strangely beautiful. When lightning strikes a tree it burns from the inside, too. I couldn't stop looking at it. It was so beautiful, it reminded me of you!”

“The entire school flooded,” Ali said, “Strangest thing I'd ever seen. The town was dry, it flowed like a river and came cascading down from the tower. It was beautiful- it was all so beautiful! They're definitely weakened, and our army is approaching. We expected war, and we got it. We planned for this. They didn't know what hit them! It came from nowhere! We've taken the mansion on the hill.”

“The guards that came for us... I had never seen anything so gruesome,” Bubbider did not sound as if the experience had been so unpleasant as she claimed as she went on, “Oh, Rendy, you should have seen it. He clenched his hand and stilled the blood in their veins. They turned red, then he released it, and it all came pouring out everywhere- their eyes, their mouths, nose, ears- everything. Watching that blood spray from their eyes... I'll be seeing it in my nightmares.”

“They deserved it,” Ali said, “If you knew what they did to me, to us...”

“But you're safe?” Orenda asked.

“Safe?” Bubbider laughed, “Rendy, so many humans, Knights or not, have come here for safety. We're being protected by an impenetrable vortex of water pulled from the sea. We have all the late Lady Glenlen's provisions, and the cosmic power of a djinn! Our army advances from the mountains in full force. These Urillians are doomed!”

“That's amazing!” A smile split Orenda's face despite her infirmary, “Tell me, how did Lady Glenlen die?”

“Screaming,” Ali cackled, “It. Was. Satisfying. I didn't even have to order it- it was the first thing he did. He took me to the school with him to see it- oh that was amazing. He had quite a bit to say to her. I've never seen anyone so angry. He held up his hand- all of this, by the by, was done with no crystals, no focus at all, and I watched him pull the life force from her. It was slow, Rendy- and all this while we heard the water rushing up the streets and the storm gathering, all this while the lightning was striking people dead and setting the fires, he looked right into her eyes, and he told her that she had kept him from his beloved-”

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“It was so romantic, Rendy,” Bubbider chimed in.

“I don't know what he did to her,” Ali went on, “He seemed to pull the blood from her and she just... just shriveled up like a plant in the sun. She shriveled and shriveled until there was nothing left but a husk, and in the winds from the storm it just... blew away. It was surreal to watch. I don't know when she died. It was so slow, and... she looked alive, didn't she? Right up until she blew away?”

“That she did, but the change was so gradual I don't know how we would have known. Rendy, her screams were so strange. They began as the sort of shrieks one would expect from death howls, but they became light, raspy things. She really did look like a date set out to dry, so it would keep, you know? But it's over now, the entire Glenlen family is dead, and most of the other nobility too! Their underlings will not be able to fight off the army without them. We can't get too excited yet, we must be vigilant for the Emerald Knight- what?”

“Lapus says that the Emerald Knight won't come for us for a good long while,” Ali told Orenda, “He says that he's not at the capital. He's gone to the frozen north to fight the demon Morgani Magnus? He won't tell us more than that, but that does buy us more time for you to get ready. Have you found Nochdifache?”

“No, I've only been at sea a few hours and I hate it. I've been ill since I stepped foot on this ship. Ali, may I ask you a question? It doubles as constructive criticism.”

“Of course!” the picture was beginning to grow a little clearer, and Orenda thought that perhaps the seasickness was dissipating little by little.

“Why the hell didn't you tell me that Tolith was alive and one of us!?” Orenda snapped.

“Shit, Rendy, I forgot. So much was happening. Oh shit, but- if you see him-”

“I'm on his ship!” Orenda explained.

“Well, tell him to be a lot more careful. One of Lady Glenlen's wishes was that he would stay alive, that no harm would come to him. He's been under that protection since he was born, and now that she's dead and Lapus doesn't have to follow her orders anymore, that protection is gone.”

“Yes, she's safe!” Bubbider called to someone, and to Orenda said, “My mother wanted to know if you were alright, and Jen said to tell you that she's going to be taking the reading workshop that we're offering. Her and the baby, though I suspect he's too young to pick up most of it. We're using the time we have before the war truly reaches us to prepare. Everyone needs to be educated on the ways of the world.”

“And in magic and combat,” Ali added.

“Yes! Lapus transported all the books from the academy library here!” Bubbider said excitedly.

“Everything is so wonderful right now,” Ali said, “We deserve a celebration. I wish you could be here with us, Rendy. It's the only thing I- shit, no! No! That one doesn't count- please! Please!”

Adam screamed from above them and Orenda heard the sound of someone running down the ship.

“LOOK! LOOK! HELLO!?” Adam shrieked, so Orenda grabbed the fire from the lamp and raced to the hall. Behind them, Tolith came bursting out of his room, shirtless again, much to Orenda's annoyance, shoved past her, and went barreling through the kitchen and up the stairs.

“What the holy hell!?” He asked.

Orenda's vision swam as she teetered onto the deck. In the commotion she had forgotten how badly it threw her to be on the deck with all the clear water stretching on for miles in either direction. She could no longer see land anywhere.

“I was just messing with him,” came a loud and booming voice, “I won't take you away, Orenda. Such a strange name... it isn't what they said they were going to name you, you know. In my head, all these years, I've been calling you Bruanna. It means 'hope' in the language of the high elves. But that’s Gary's story to tell, not mine.”

“Who?” Orenda asked, weakly as she staggered to the railing and looked out over the ocean.

A huge face took up her entire field of vision, and she was surprised by how much it resembled the demon she had seen. The creature in the water looked as if Magnus had somehow mated with a water elf. He had his same angular, beautiful features, but none of the evil in his eyes.

“Are you a demon?” She asked, and tried very hard not to throw up into him.

“I don't know what mortals call me,” Lapus said, “They've been saying ‘djinn’. My lover, Xaxac, called me Lappy. I cannot travel to him unless my master takes me, as I am a slave to the chalice. When you see him, and it must be soon, tell him to watch out for Lapus! The boy has gone mad! He's found his grandmother's diary.”

“Rendy,” Bubbider said and her voice was difficult to make out, and reminded Orenda that she probably should not be trying to cast at all, “You sound busy. We have a celebration to join. We're going to tear into that bar! Let us know when you find something!”

“Alright,” Orenda promised all three of them.

“Lapus!” Orenda yelled as the fire dissipated and her illness worsened, “If you love him, why should I warn him of you?”

“You're just like your mother,” Lapus said, “You ask too many questions.”

“You know more than you are telling!”

“Orenda, listen to me,” he replied, “Do not trust the staff, the sword, or the medallion. They were all wrong! Morgan was right, but they don't believe me!”

“The staff in my dreams?” Orenda asked.

“They're in your dreams?” He frowned, “I was afraid of that. Don't trust them! They were wrong about Morgan.”

“The demon?” Orenda asked.

“I don't know what you mortals call him,” Lapus replied, “But ask no more questions. It is not my story to tell. He's lost so much already, I won't take this from him. But I will take you to him. I suggest you take a seat. Don't worry, the illness will pass with time! You still feel the heat of the sun above, and I promise, even though you cannot feel it, the magic of xren's core still burns through you. A little water has never stopped your people before! Go to Xaxac, and warn him.”

“What?” Orenda asked, but she received no answer, because she, like the rest of the crew, had gone careening backwards into the wall that would lead to the kitchen as the boat began to rocket across the ocean at breakneck speed.