Eloken tried, but couldn’t remember the time he first came to the Island of Moire as a child with his parents. He recalled their house on the island, the bustling city of Thalasyn, and its lively people. When they departed, on that tragic day, he paid little attention to the port or its massive gates as he was too engrossed in a game of hide and seek with his brother—a memory he would never forget.
The fact that he had sailed close to the island several times in the past decades was the only thing that prevented his jaw from dropping, unlike his companions. Their faces painted pictures of awe and shock at the sheer size of the cliffs encircling the entire island. The Island of Moire loomed like a colossal entity, its shadow stretching over the water, giving the impression it was attempting to rise from the ocean and reach for the stars.
Murmurs of astonishment escaped the lips of his friends and students from the Academy of Magic. The cliffs, bathed in the golden light of the afternoon sun, endowed the island with an ethereal aura. The sight of the massive gate, carved into the steep rocks, widened even Eloken's eyes—a spark of recognition igniting the masterful craftsmanship of the gates. As his friends looked up to him, Eloken subtly nodded, acknowledging their shared wonder.
As they neared the Viridian Gate, passing by numerous ships coming from across the continent, a small vessel bearing the flag of Moire approached them. This was the Moiran way of welcoming guests whose turn it was to dock inside the port. They waved their flag with the Moiran sign of welcome, followed by another bearing the symbol meaning "follow us." Eloken instructed the captain to follow the small Moiran ship toward the gate.
Eloken had heard several stories about the origins of the five massive Moiran ports. Two prevailing theories existed: one suggested that centuries ago an earthquake had created five smaller openings within the island, which settlers later expanded into ports; the other proposed that ancient Moirans, with the help of their gods, had crafted the five ports and their massive gates. Eloken didn’t bother his mind on how the ports were made but acknowledged them as wonders of nature or craftsmanship. any
As they passed through a small tunnel leading into the port, Eloken's two ships were carefully guided on where and how to dock. Flickers of memories from when he arrived with his parents as a child began to resurface, or at least he thought they did, uncertain if he was fabricating them. The port lay in a massive opening of the island, surrounded by a large wooden dock that stretched nearly up to the gates on both sides. There were already at least twenty large and twice as many smaller ships docket at the port.
Viridian port [https://i.ibb.co/YRFDRFZ/Viridian-Port.png]
Directly in front of them, on the far side from the gate, was a large building that had at least a few dozen royal guards in their golden armor guarding it. That building was the only way inside the island, where each member of each ship had to go through rigorous control before they were allowed in.
Above the ground, several more levels went almost fully around the inside of the island’s rough outer wall. Each level was connected with five sets of stairs and it gracefully spiraled upwards towards the top of the cliffs. There were two elevators located behind the large guard house. One of the elevators was used by the people, mostly visiting royalty and the elderly, while another larger elevator was used only for the large goods that were coming or leaving the Isle of Moire.
By the time they were in the middle of the port sailing towards their designated docking spot, the whole crew was out on the deck watching the breathtaking sight of the port.
“Holy hell,” Dalamir said taking the spot next to Eloken. “I knew the stories, but this, this looks unreal.”
“Yep,” Eloken answered putting his left arm on Dalamir's right shoulder. “This whole Island is full of weird and amazing things.”
“What’s the plan once we dock?” Dalamir asked.
“I think I’ll give the rest of the day free for everyone to explore the festival and enjoy themselves,” Eloken said. “But we will see once we pass the inspection in the guard house.”
Ships docked next to each other on the right side of the port. The whole crew was escorted by four pairs of regular port guards towards the large wooden guard house, there they were handed over to the royal guard and Eloken was taken forward to present all the necessary documentation in one of the small side rooms.
“State your name and, the land you come from and please provide all the available documents,” The man sitting at the table said without lifting his head.
Eloken fiddled with the papers inside his bag and put them on the table next to a large pile of documents. “My name is Eloken, I come on behalf of the Isari Empire to enjoy the Festival and trade some goods while we are already here.”
As he heard the name Eloken, the man slightly jumped in his chair and took a good look at Eloken, his demeanor softening a little bit. He took all the documents, went over them thoroughly, and said. “Welcome to the Island of Moire, Eloken of Isari Empire, enjoy the Festival and your stay.”
Eloken nodded and left the room to meet his team he was in the process of leaving all their weapons and other stuff that was not allowed on the island. Eloken had left his sword hidden at the ship, knowing that the visitors were not allowed to bring their weapons on the island and not wanting one of the Imperial Swords to end up at some random warehouse.
One of the dock guards overhearing Eloken’s name rushed towards him and started asking him random questions about the Magic, how it felt to cast, if he could become one of them, all the questions Eloken had already heard a million times in the past year, but he politely answered all of them. Before the guard, who introduced himself as Tamsin could barrage Eloken with another set of questions one of the Royal Guards approached them.
“Contain yourself, soldier,” He said with a stern face.
“Yes, sir,” Tamsin said his enthusiasm and curiosity quickly replaced with fear. “I am sorry sir,” He said and scurried away.
“You must be the famous Eloken, the topic of the day,” The older guard in glistening golden armor said. “I am Commander Galam of the Royal Guard, welcome to the Island of Moir,” He said looking Eloken straight in the eyes.
“That would be me,” Eloken said not breaking the eye contact.
“I hope you instructed your party well on how to behave on the Island,” Galam said pointing towards Eloken’s crew. “Some of them were surprised they could not bring the weapons past the entry post.”
“Of course I told them, Commander,” Eloken accented his title a little bit. “But boys love their shiny toys, you know how it is,” Eloken said with a smug grin on his face. “But don’t you worry, Commander, they will be on their best behavior.”
“You all better be,” Galam taking a step towards Eloken. “I’ll be watching you closely!”
Eloken could feel Galam’s breath before the Commander turned and walked away. Eloken stood in the place not sure what to make of the man’s threats, before Dalamir walked to him. “What was that about,” His friend asked.
“I have no idea,” Eloken answered truthfully. “I’ve told you their Royal Guard is full of themselves but this is weird even for them.”
“Yeah, they’ve been rude, to say the least,” Dalamir pointed out.
“But, the people of the Island are quite opposite, so don’t hold this against them,”
After they went through another set of checks, the crew was finally allowed on the island, and Eloken gathered everyone in a half circle outside the guard house, next to the elevators.
“Ok, so,” Eloken started. “I will give you today to enjoy the festival and everything it has to offer, we can go together or you can go on your own. Once we are in the city our guide will show you your rooms.” Eloken turned towards the students. “I want you all in the bed by ten o clock tonight, no partying, no doing stupid shit, understand?”
All of his academy students nodded. “Where will you be sleeping,” One of them, a boy in his late teens asked.
“We have some business to attend, so we will be staying in the famous in the hearth of Thalasyn.” He answered. “We are close to you, so don’t think you can sneak around,” Eloken said with a half-serious tone.
Most of his academy students were young, ranging mostly from thirteen to twenty-five years old. For some reason, the ability to channel magic mostly manifested in younger people, and those older who got the ability to channel didn’t want to join the academy or kept it to themselves. Magic was still a taboo topic, a lot of the religions around the continent had prophecies and stories of the doomsday succumbing to the planet once the magic appeared. Eloken thought it the biggest bullcrap ever, but people were gullible and scarred, so he had to tread lightly.
The young boys and girls that joined his academy were mostly street kids or came from poorer families so the concept of the academy, where they get a warm bed every night, a meal on time every day, and a complete safety was too good to pass on. He took out his pouch and gave each of them a decent amount of coins to spend at the Festival.
Students split from them as soon as they arrived at Thalasyn and Eloken was left with four of his close friends, Dalamir, Zoras, and Yaub. They left their bags at the Drunken Dragon Inn, and Eloken tried to show them as much of Thalasyn as he remembered. The city was bustling with people, even the smaller alleys were filled with people chatting, drinking, and singing.
Dalamir insisted on seeing the Two-Way River, so as soon as they grabbed something to eat at the food markets, Eloken brought them, a little north of the Thalasyn where the water games would be held. The mystical river was at its widest and fastest at that place on this side of the island. The games would start tomorrow, but few of the teams were practicing between two fires, so they took a few drinks from the local stands and enjoyed the show in the late afternoon sun.
Before the sun started to set and the festival turned into a one big night party the crew decided to go back to the Drunken Dragon Inn. Eloken chose this inn for him and his friends for several reasons, the main one being that his father used to sleep there before they moved permanently to the Island of Moire.
The inn kept the lavish style of old Moire architecture on the outside but kept renovating the inside with the latest innovations and styles from all around the continent, to be able to appeal to all of its guests.
Drunken Dragon Inn [https://i.ibb.co/x3ShQsP/DALL-E-2024-01-20-22-59-02-In-a-grand-fantasy-medieval-setting-at-night-the-Drunken-Dragon-Inn-is-an.png]
Fabrisos the Inn’s owner was well known and respected for his hospitality and mannerism towards the guests, which in turn reflected in the highest prices on the island. The Inn was founded by his grand-grand-grand parent on this location same location more than a century ago. Each generation added something new to the Inn, Fabrisos’ contribution was in terms of expansion, he bought two adjacent houses and expanded the Inn to be able to hold forty more guests and offer lavish hot baths.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
As Eloken and his companions neared the Drunken Dragon Inn, Fabrisos, the innkeeper, emerged from the doorway with open arms, his face breaking into a warm, welcoming grin. "Greetings, Master Eloken," he called out, his voice rich with genuine pleasure. "I regret missing your earlier visit today. My apologies for not being present to greet you."
“Don’t worry about it,” Eloken responded dismissing the innkeeper’s concerns. Eloken firmly took in the older man’s hand, and before he could continue, Fabrisos drew him into a hearty embrace.
As Fabrisos released Eloken, he turned to the rest of the group with an inviting smile, introducing himself and offering a handshake to each member, his eyes twinkling with friendliness.
“You look so much like your father,” Fabrisos remarked, his voice tinged with nostalgia as he placed a hand on Eloken's shoulder, examining him with a mix of admiration and reminiscence. “Hope you don’t mind me saying that we were friends, good friends I like to think,” he continued, giving Eloken's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“I don’t mind at all,” Eloken's smile grew tender. “I like hearing stories about him, and he often spoke of you when he spoke of true hospitality,” Eloken added, offering a compliment that brought a proud, satisfied smile to Fabrisos's face. “Well, friends from Azarim should have arrived I told them to call on my name once they are here.”
“Ohh yes, they are here, Master Haraz I believe,” Fabrisos inquired, receiving a confirming nod from Eloken. “I welcomed them in, showed them around, gave them lunch on your tab as you requested, and relayed the message you left to meet you in the private booth at eight tonight!”
“Thank you Fabrisos,” Eloken said with a wide smile returning the gentle shoulder squeeze. “Let’s go inside and grab a drink you can tell me stories of my father while my friends go settle and unwind before the dinner.”
The old man nodded and smiled, gesturing them all to enter his inn before following them inside. Dalamir, Yaub, and Zoras left for the rooms on the upper floors, Fabrisos giving them a designated staff member to watch over all their needs and show them all the facilities that the Drunken Dragon Inn had to offer.
What was supposed to be one drink turned into a long series of drinks intervened with stories and Eloken and Fabrisos were still sitting at the bar fifteen minutes before eight when his friends came downstairs. Music was around them, Eloken had a big smile, something Dalamir dearly missed about his friend lately. Eloken was hugging Fabrisos with one hand, saluting with the other before grabbing a handful of coins from his inner pockets and tossing them at musicians.
“Play my song again,” He drunkenly yelled at the musicians. “Rise bright sun,” he commanded, his hand flinging a scatter of coins toward them.
“Rise bright sun?” Dalamir quipped, a wry smile on his face as he made his way to the bar, noting Eloken's choice of song. “You are Isari nationalism songs levels of drunk I see.”
"Dalamir, my dear brother," Eloken called out, his words slurring together in a merry jumble. He wrapped an arm around Dalamir's neck, pulling him close in a clumsy embrace that reeked of alcohol. “Come, come, have a drink!” With a hazy gesture, he signaled the bartender to pour another round, insisting that Dalamir join the revelry.
Dalamir knew better than to object to Eloken’s offer and surrendered to the moment. He took everything the waiter threw at him for a few minutes and joined Eloken in singing and cheering around. Not long after Yaub and Zoras joined them, Eloken repeated the same process with them. They threw eyes on Dalamir and he just shrugged his shoulders and raised his glass in salute.
“Hey,” After a few more minutes Dalamir pulled Eloken to the side. “You have Haraz and his friends from Azarim coming down in ten minutes, maybe we should move to the private booth.”
Eloken's eyes widened in sudden realization. "Oh, damn," he muttered, scanning the room as if the notion of time had just dawned on him. "Is it that late already?"
“Yep,” Dalamir confirmed with a nod.
“Fuck,” Eloken let out a loud chuckle. “Time flies when you are having fun I guess,” he paused, catching a whiff of his ale-laced breath
“You smell and look drunk as hell… just so you know,” Dalamir said truthfully.
“They won’t mind,” he assured Dalamir. “But just to be sure I am going to wash up quickly in the toilet and I am going to use Vit to get myself sober, you happy with that?” Dalamir nodded and called Zoras and Yaub to the secluded booth.
Just moments after Eloken got back looking refreshed, their waiter brought Haraz and his two companions inside the private booth area. They all wore beige loose clothing with red undertones, a famous Azarim clothing choice that complimented their darker skin well.
Eloken rose to greet them, his movements a graceful echo of Azarim customs. He executed a slight, respectful bow first to the right, then to the left, before extending his left hand in a warm, welcoming handshake. Eloken gestured for them to sit across his friends in the leather booth. Eloken gestured to the waiter to bring them drinks and start bringing courses of food.
As the drinks and food kept coming the party chatted about nonformal things, talking about things they saw at the festival and that happened in their life since the previous meeting a few months ago. The drink flew nicely and just as Eloken liked his meetings everyone was in a relaxed state, just a little before full-on drunk.
Eloken gestured for the waiter one more time telling him to bring them Jugs of wine and ale and close out the booth give them privacy and not to come here unless they called for him.
“So,” Eloken said as the waiter left the small extension of a room where the booth was located and pulled on the wooden folding doors separating them from the rest of the Inn and giving them privacy. “What is going on?” Eloken inquired.
“We have found it,” Haraz declared in an exotic accent only desert dwellers could produce. “A week ago we secured the site and started the excavation.”
Eloken leaned forward, his excitement visible. “You found the door?” he asked.
Haraz nodded. “We found a stone structure buried below the dunes as you requested,” he explained. “It could be a door, it’s large, I am not sure what it’s exactly.” Haraz proceeded to describe the stone structure they found with the mysterious hieroglyphics written all over it.
“That’s it,” Eloken exclaimed leaning back into the leather booth and clapping his hands. “I could kiss you right now.” He said to Haraz making him smile.
“Anything for you,” Haraz responded his tone a mixture of loyalty and humility.
Eloken chuckled a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. "For me and the generous support of my coin," he teased, eliciting a faint blush from Haraz. “That’s fucking great,” Eloken continued unable to hide his excitement. “Let’s toast in that name,” he raised his glass high and then clanked with everyone in the booth.
As they continued to discuss the finding of Haraz and his team and whether Eloken should leave the Festival right away, from the corner of his eye through an almost fully closed window Eloken saw something move outside.
“Excuse me,” Eloken said standing up. “I will be right back.”
Eloken dashed towards the door of the Drunken Dragon Inn took two right turns and ended in a small dark alley behind the Inn. At the end of the alley was a dead end, he saw a slim figure in a cloak and hoodie climbing trash cans in swift motions to scale a tall stone wall.
“Hey you, stop!” Eloken yelled and the figure turned around slightly. The hoodie and the darkness of the alley hid the figure’s face almost completely, but Eloken could see by its gentle facial features that it was a young girl. “I just want to talk.”
The girl lingered for a second as if thinking about his offer before leaping on the large wooden wall in one swift motion. Eloken drew upon his Vis and did a quick haste spell closing the distance between him and the girl in seconds. Before reaching the wall he cast a quick strength spell to be able to use the momentum of his speed to jump the wall that was almost as twice as high as him in one jump.
Eloken landed with a thud on the cobbled stones at the other side of the wall, the echo of his boots reverberating through the empty alleyway. The nights at the island were cool and a faint mist clung to the ground, wrapping the cobblestones in a ghostly shroud. He looked ahead, his enchanted senses catching a glimpse of the hooded girl darting between the shadows.
The girl was nimble, her movements fluid, almost cat-like as she weaved through the maze of narrow alleys. Eloken had to draw more of his Vis and use a stronger haste spell so he could keep on the girls’ trail. A sudden left turn took Eloken into a narrower alley, where the moonlight struggled to penetrate the cloak of darkness. The walls of the houses were close, almost claustrophobic. Up ahead, the girl made an unexpected leap onto a stack of creates and from there another leap onto a low-handing balcony.
Eloken was tired of the chase, so he drew more of the Vis and enchanted his strength and speed further. To finally catch up with the girl he ignored the crates and sprinted forward using the narrow alley walls to scale a balcony in two leaps just ahead of the girl.
Eloken raised his hands in the gesture of peace. “I meant what I said,” he panted slightly, his voice steady despite the adrenaline. “I just want to talk.”
The girl finally stopped and relaxed her posture. She removed her hoodie and a cascade of long dark hair fell around her shoulders, revealing what Eloken suspected, was a girl in her late teens. The hair framed her face, accentuating her sharp, delicate features. Her eyes were what drew most of Elokens’ attention, a striking shade of purple, a rare color, Eloken had seen this shade of striking purple only one more time in his life, they were captivating, drawing his attention with an almost magnetic pull.
“My name is Eloken,” he said, his tone laced with a tingle of warmth as he tried not to spook her away. “But I am guessing you already knew that as you have been following me almost the whole day, I saw you on the rocks near the Viridian Gate, then a few times during the day, I am guessing that’s not a coincidence.”
At his words, a subtle blush tingled the girl’s cheeks, as she nodded in defeat.
“It’s okay,” Eloken reassured her. “What’s your name?”
She hesitated for a moment as if weighing the safety of her answer before her resolve firmed. "It's Cel," she finally replied, her voice a whisper that barely disturbed the stillness of the night.
“Cel,” He repeated. “What’s it short of? I know that young adults use a three-letter shortened version of their name here on Island.” Eloken said showing that he was familiar with the Moiran customs.
“Celestyna,” she revealed without hesitation this time.
“So, Cel,” Eloken continued. “Why are you following me?”
At his question, the blush on Cel's cheeks deepened. “Well,” she began. “I was curious about the magic you can do and couldn’t wait for the showcase later in the festival so I wanted to catch a glimpse of it right away.”
“Hmm,” he murmured thoughtfully seemingly satisfied with her answer. “You are aware that you are using magic, right?”
Cel’s purple eyes widened. “Me?” she uttered, disbelief coloring her tone. “No…”
“How do you think you are that fast and agile?” Eloken leaned slightly forward, his gaze intensifying as he posed the question.
“I have been like this always?” she replied, her voice a blend of confusion with a trace of defensiveness.
“Always?” Eloken's interest was piqued, and his eyebrows arched slightly. “The way you move at a speed far above human’s average and the fluidity of your movements imply that you are enchanted by Vis.”
“Vis?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s the source that enchants your physical abilities, and the way you move it came naturally to you it would seem,” Eloken affirmed, his tone shifting to one of gentle explanation.
Cel shook her head in disbelief. “No way,” she murmured, more to herself than to him.
“Trust me,” Eloken responded, his voice imbued with conviction. “I can explain everything to you if you are interested.”
At this offer, a spark of excitement flickered in Cel’s eyes. “I am interested,” she affirmed.
“Then meet me at the Drunken Dragon Inn tomorrow afternoon,” Eloken said and she nodded. “I have to go back now, but I’ll be expecting you tomorrow.” With that said, Eloken vanished into the night, tracing the alleys back to the Drunken Dragon Inn.
Before he returned to the Inn and continued with his night, right around the corner his vision started to blur and he felt dizzy. He grabbed the cold stones of the building to compose himself and from one of the alleys, he saw an elderly lady with a kerchief wrapped around her head. His gaze focused on her, everything was blurry except the elderly lady. He started to feel a high-pitched sound in his ears before the elderly woman pointed her finger at him and spoke.
“Cabronjace, sje bace vijset, poet,” She spoke in an unfamiliar language with a judgmental tone.
“What,” Eloken said trying to reach her but couldn’t move. He reached for Vit in his reserves, but there was nothing, he reached for other sources, but still nothing. All of a sudden he felt naked, scared, and powerless. “Who are you?” He said trying to reach the old lady, but his legs wouldn’t listen to him.
“Radi ne ot,” The old lady said her voice shifting, changing with each word. “Radi ne ot, Cabronjace,”
Eloken finally managed to take a step toward the old lady and as soon he did his vision returned and high pitch buzzing stopped. He reflexively reached in for Vit and found the reserves completely full. He tried to use Vit but there was nothing to heal, except the tipsiness of root beers he had tonight.
Eloken took a few towards the old lady, “What did you say to me?” He said, now only a short distance from her where he could clearly see her wrinkles in the street light.
“I said could you spare a few coins, son?” The old lady said in a shaky voice.
Eloken took a few seconds to compose himself before reaching into his coat and grabbing a handful of coins laying them softly into the old lady’s shaking hands.
“Thank you, son,” She said as Eloken spun around and walked towards the Inn. He stopped a moment before entering and gazed back to do a double-check of what had just happened. The old lady was still there talking to another set of foreigners and asking them for coins. He shook his head and returned inside the Drunken Dragon Inn looking for their booth.
“What’s wrong with you? Dalamir asked as soon as he set down. “You look pale as snow.”
“I am fine,” Eloken reassured him. “Just tired...”