A crowd gathered near the buildings around us. While I scanned their faces that were painted with a mixture of expressions, a sigh rolled over my shoulder. Two Guards of Eyngard paraded down the street toward us.

“We’ll take it from here, Knight.”

“No, I can’t say you will. You listen to me carefully. You have my permission to scamper back to whatever hole you two crawled out of. I’m not about to have an example made of these three.”

The Lieutenant’s voice was cold, but his warm, buddy-buddy tone sprung back.

“We clear?”

“Hey, no skin off our back, less work for us.”

The Guards waved away the crowd. Receding into homes and continuing on their way, the sea of onlookers dispersed and the streets returned to their uneven flow, but the Lieutenant kept me hoisted up.

“Marina. Let’s go for a walk.”

“Oka- eh - oyoyo”

The Lieutenant shifted me under his arm and carried me in the same manner that the Corporal did earlier that day.

“You two too. Come join us for a drink.”

Two roads over, we funneled into a small tavern on Tendril street called the Mom’s Pop. Inside, I buried my face in the gloss of the dark oak floorboards to hide my embarrassment from Evie and Kael. The Lieutenant carried me to a table near the back and plopped me down in one of the chairs.

Along the wall, walnut colored frames held pictures from different stages in Eyngard’s development. Destruction. Migration. Ditch. Moat. Dimple. Mound. Donga. Mountain. Chasm.

Back from his break, the piano player punched a melody into the keys. The Lieutenant folded his hand around his mouth.

“Hey barkeep, how about a round of four- make it five glasses of Darkrock Whiskey.”

Ehehe~ My favorite - it makes your head spin the fastest.

The Lieutenant hunched his forearms over the table. It leaned and rocked when his weight came off it.

“I forgot you need a bit extra to get relaxed. Been a while since we’ve been out drinking together. Oh, I should have asked this before I ordered for everyone. How old are you son?”

“369.”

“Nice.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

Evie and I snickered before the Lieutenant continued.

“You’re kinling, right? How long you been in town?”

“I arrived just this morning. It’s my first time in the Material Realm.”

“That so? Well, on behalf of the Knights of Alindra, we welcome you. I’m Iris - Evie and Marina here just call me Lieutenant though.”

“I’m Kael, thank you for your hospitality.”

“Oh, just one more thing before I forget, a word of warning son. As a general rule try not to use magic outdoors,” the Lieutenant pointed his finger at me. “And no starting street fights.”

“Hehe~ Sorry.”

“It’s fine, it didn’t look too bad anyway. Just managed to draw a crowd of worrywarts. But, reason I’m here is we got a tip about someone that stepped through a strange looking portal.”

The Lieutenant leaned back in his chair causing it to creak.

“We thought it might be someone who crossed over from the Ethereal Realm, so we took a less direct approach instead of freaking out whoever it was with the bulletin. Lo and behold that would probably be your friend here.”

“I’m sorry, what’s a bulletin?”

“Ah geez. You-”

“Hey now Marina, is it really fair to lecture him when you’ve broken the law three times in one week and got off pretty easy?”

“Ahaha- Lieutenant you were-”

“Yup, beautiful job on that eye thing by the way.”

“Thanks. I’m still not very good at it, but I had good teachers.”

“But whew, if Captain Reistrong caught wind of it. Now, I’m no expert, but that looked like it was at least Centurion tier.”

Kael whispered across the table to Evie.

“Are centaur tears bad?”

“I think he said centurion. Spells are ranked Sage, Archon, Bastion, Centurion, and Denizen based on how much of a threat they are. Every city’s rankings are different too, it’s like a tier list.”

“What the hell’s a tier list?”

“Ahaha- you uh- you’re not gonna tell her, are you?”

“Oh, I could never keep my superior in the dark about potential crimes I may have witnessed. But gee, it’s funny, you know, if someone were to purchase our drinks for us this evening I might drink mine a little too enthusiastically. And boy, it sure would be difficult telling what I may or may not have seen after drinking with so much enthusiasm.”

Ech. I knew this was too good to be true. I guess I kinda deserve this.

“Mm. Fine. And I guess it’s not your fault if you just got here Kael. You remember when I was talking to my friend Alaphan?”

“You were actually talking to someone?”

“Yeah, with my mind- kinda. At the end he cut me off which was super rude.”

Waah~ Alaphan how could you reject a poor girl’s simple request for an undyingly loyal nerd servant.

“They kinda do that, but it targets an area instead of individual people. When you go to a city you gotta register with them so that their officials can brainwash you into making the messages they beam into your head easier to cast. That’s what they mean by the bulletin.”

The Lieutenant laughed and caught the attention of a few other tables.

“That’s an interesting way to put it, but don’t let it scare you. It’s just a homemade blend of potions and curse magic. Makes it so the prima from the special alloy of metals we use throughout the city don’t interfere with the handful of transcendent based spells we use. It also lowers a person’s innate ability to resist the spells we use.”

“Ah- an ability he doesn’t have.”

“Oh, sorry son. I didn’t mean to imply you’re not a person. Forgot all about that. Regardless, its influence should only be limited to the city itself and is the culmination of years of testing and centuries of tangential research.”

“Oho? You sound like its spokesperson Lieutenant.”

“Well not to brag, but I am a Lieutenant of Alindra’s finest military branch after all.”

“It seems like yesterday when you were just joining them.”

“Yeah, time certainly flies-”

Kael bowed, but banged his head against the table causing it to rock.

“I am sorry, I didn’t know I was skirting something so important.”

A waiter slid our drinks across the table, leaving trails of condensation. Two glasses were placed in front of the Lieutenant, but the second one was redirected toward me.

“It’s no big- ah, thanks. - It doesn’t matter much. I’ll get you all set at Castle Eyngard, so we can expedite it. If you’re ever in a city you’ve never been to before you’ll want to let them know at the gate. Chances are they’ll have you do something similar. Anything smaller, like a village or town, I can almost guarantee won’t have the resources available to coordinate something like that.”

“I see. Thank you for the warning.”

“So, Kael. Now that we’ve got our drinks, why don’t you regale us a tale of how you came to visit our wonderful city.”

I grabbed the drink in front of Kael and slid it next to my two others.

Ehehe~ My collection grows. Ech. I forgot I was paying for all these.

“Yes, please do regale us.”

“Marina, that’s not-”

“Kinling can’t drink or eat stuff Lieutenant. Their insides are like giant suitcases.”

Kael met the Lieutenant’s inquisitive look with a nod and the Lieutenant brought his own drink to his lips.

“Well I’ll be. You learn something new every day. Sorry, please continue with the regaling.”

“Kael Hes Ura Tekt is my full name. I lived in the city of Vul my entire life and never really went anywhere on my own. I was third in line for the throne-”

Choking on his drink, the Lieutenant hacked up a lung.

“No kidding- you’re royalty?”

“Yes. I was set to rule the country of Alaroth if my father, uncle, and brother relinquished their rights to the throne. This last century it hasn’t been something I cared about, so what happened before I came here doesn’t fill me with regret. Three days ago I happened upon a book in our library.”

●

It was an ordinary afternoon. The red skies above the palace didn’t host a single cloud. I had taken an armful of books to do some light reading in the southern courtyard before it got too dark. I’ve always found it overwhelming to start something new, even something as small as starting a new book, so I leaned my head against the back of the boney chair I sat in and my eyes followed the lines of the gazebo that surrounded me to its center.

After a while of being lost in my own thoughts, I opened the first book to a random page to get a feel for it. The page I opened to laid out a ritual for what was described as allowing “average beings” to cross into other realms. Immediately I thought that meant I could visit the other planes of the Ethereal Realm like Dominium without assistance, but as I read on I didn’t recognize some of the names. Atlus, Vitalus, Arcanus.

I brought the book to the keeper of the royal library and asked him about those foreign lands. He told me all about the rolling hills and lush forests between quaint villages where people worked together to live their lives in harmony. The part that intrigued me the most was how the rain that falls there does not melt your skin or erode your bones and is cool to the touch.

He placed a few texts in my care and told me to keep them a secret. I spent all night captivated with stories of heroes and legends of Arcanus’s past. The diversity of architecture between the different lands. Wondrous technologies that seemed more magical than magic itself.

Two days later, I entered my room to find the books the keeper had given me gone from my desk. When I visited the library, the keeper was not there.

That afternoon I overheard my father yell with a heated rage against my mother. He struck her to the ground and he cursed her. The threat of ending up like the keeper came at the end of his tirade.

My heart was beating loud in my chest. I returned to my room and grabbed the one book that wasn’t in that stack. The one that started this all.

That night I snuck into my parents’ chambers and crawled my way under where my father slept. For seven hours I scratched my nails into the floor to create a ritual circle. I went inch by inch, careful not to wake him.

My solemn regret was when I completed the circle, I hesitated for a moment. When dawn broke through the sky I invoked the spell and called out its name.

“Kiseki.”

●

“And that’s how I found myself in your world. I don’t know why my father did what he did. What I do know is because of the spell’s requirements he won’t ever be able to again.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The Lieutenant stood from his seat and held his arms out toward Kael.

“Oh, no, Mr. Iris, that’s alright I-”

Knocking against the table and rocking our glasses, the Lieutenant wrapped his arms around Kael and hoisted him into a hug. Evie and I threw our hands in front of us to keep the table steady.

“Oyoyo-”

“I’m sorry kid, that must have been rough. Oh. Probably not proper for me to call you kid when you’re hundreds of years older than me.”

“It’s alright, it’s strangely comforting.”

The Lieutenant set him and himself back down and tapped his fingers against the rim of his glass.

“I take it you’ve got no desire to go back then - not that we’d in good conscience let you with a spell that’s got a price like that.”

“No, I am here to stay in my new home.”

“Good to hear, like I said before, we welcome you. Oh, but if it were me, I’d keep that little story a secret for the most part.”

“Probably a good idea. It sounded like Marina knew you before you joined the military, but how did you all meet?”

“Well now, we’re taking a trip down memory lane. Twelve years ago I was working as an adventurer. My funds were just about dried up even after getting my stipend, so I ended up returning to Eyngard to find a new line of work.”

⦿

Before the job hunt, I decided to visit my brother. He was living in the Gardens at the time, but when I got to his home the Guard and several Knights were staged up outside it.

“What’s going on?” I asked one of the Guards.

He placed his hand on my chest and started trying to push me back. A couple of the other Guards walked over to us and blocked my view of the house.

“What’s going on? Is my brother okay?”

One of the Knights walked over after hearing the commotion.

“Iris Brightwater? - Please come with me.”

I followed the Knight without a word spoken between us. We turned into one of the shops a few streets over and an order was barked at the shopkeep. Without a moment of hesitation that shopkeep left the building and the Knight locked us in.

“Your nephew’s fine, but his three fathers have passed away. That includes your brother. We’re going to do everything we can, but in the meantime-”

“Slow down. You don’t suspect me?” I said.

“I never said it was-”

“I’m not an idiot and I know those three better than anyone.”

“You’re an adventurer-”

“Was. I was an adventurer.”

“I get you’re going through a lot, but shut up and let me speak. You were an adventurer. We have extensive records detailing your journey, so there’s no need to waste resources or put you through any unneeded trauma.”

“Not even conspiracy?”

“I have my own personal doubts, but I don’t get to make those calls without proof. I’m just a Corporal.”

“I appreciate your skepticism. You know, I’ve become jaded. People die. It hurts, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sure it’ll hit me when I least expect it, but right now I’m holding back my anger more than anything.”

A fist banged against the door and a woman’s voice rang out from behind it.

“Oyoyo Chika, let me in~”

“I’m in the middle of-”

“Ah- got it.”

The bolt sprang back and the door burst open. Standing there was a woman about my age with short blonde hair and a jovial look on her face.

“Private Marina Elysera reporting for duty ehe~”

“What did I tell you about using magic in the city?” Her superior said with a hook of annoyance in her speech.

“Only indoors- but, I mean- that’s technically inside.”

“It technically isn’t and it’s Corporal Reistrong.”

“Yeah, yeah. Ah- you’re Darius’s brother. I’m so sorry about what happened.”

“Thank you. You mentioned my nephew, what’ll happen to him?” I said turning back to Corporal Reistrong.

“He will need a guardian approved by the popular assembly of the Gardens and their tribunes. If one can't step forward that is deemed suitable, then he will be placed under the care of the lower courts. That means-”

“I’m just a washed up adventurer. My hands are stained in blood and calloused from odd-jobs. I don’t know the first thing about raising a child. There’s not a chance these people will approve that. Even less chance their tribunes bite the hands that feed them.”

“You have to at least try, that boy-”

“I’ll do it.” said the woman in the doorway.

We both turned to her with looks of surprise as she continued.

“Darius was my friend and I’ve hung out with little Alaphan plenty of times.”

“You’ll have to get approval to have your rank rescinded with the Knights to engage in civilian matters like this on your own accord.” The Corporal said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“That’ll be fine. Captain Hollic owes me a favor anyway. I’m sure he can speed that along. Besides, I don’t really think I’m cut out for this kinda thing. Don’t you think, Chika?”

Corporal Reistrong let out a long sigh.

“No, I think you are, but I won’t stop you.”

“Ehe~ Thank you for your blessing Corporal.”

The Corporal turned to face away from us, but I caught the slight semblance of a smile she tried to force down.

“I’ll oversee the necessary preparations. I trust that you two will leave this investigation to us and not hold onto any feelings of revenge.”

⦿

“I never answered her, because I couldn’t sit on my hands. After that meeting I decided to join the Guard. I stuck with them for four years before I got ousted for trying to clean up the crooked things happening in my department.”

The Lieutenant stared into his reflection at the bottom of his glass.

“Not long after I was let go, I got a visit from then Lieutentant Reistrong. She took me under her care as a new recruit. It wasn’t until years later that I found out one of the Guard’s own was responsible for my brother’s deaths. They tried to bury it, but with the help of the Knights we were able to finally close that chapter of grief.”

I leaned forward and scowled at the Lieutenant.

“Say ehe~, again.”

“Ehe~..”

Evie and I clasped our hands and shrieked.

“So cute!” “So cute!”

“Okay-okay- now say, oyoyoyo~”

Behind his glass, the Lieutenant let out a muffled scoff from a smile wrapped in embarrassment. Kael sprung up from his seat and slapped his arms halfway around the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant laughed from his gut, but Kael’s face fell flat.

“That must have been so difficult, but wait- he had three dads?”

“They were all the best of friends. Loved their son more than the world itself.”

The Lieutenant threw back the last of his whiskey into his mouth and exhaled in response to its strength.

“But to cap off my story with a happy ending. Thanks to Marina, my nephew turned out pretty alright. Evie here you could call her best friend. They’re practically inseparable at times. I first met her when Marina recommended her to my boss for a job in city planning and she’s done a great job ever since she was brought on board.”

“Awh~ Thanks Lieutenant. For me, it feels like just yesterday when I met Marina. Six years ago I was just a 20 year old college student working part time as an apprentice alchemist. The shop I worked in teetered just on the edge of the Merchant’s District and the Dens.”

⦿

I was scribbling in my journal some ideas for a new compound and accompanied alloy. It was going to be synthesized using old, FeyFel alchemical techniques I had researched over the previous few weeks. I got so carried away I didn’t even notice I had a customer standing in front of me.

“That’s Feylie script right? Ehe~ tˈɔːl mˈæhoː͡ɹd͡ʒə .”

I looked up to see an old woman- ow-ow-ow, let go of my cheek, eee.

I looked up to see a woman leaning over the counter with her arms crossed behind her back.

“Um- yes.” I said.

“What’re all those numbers and symbols though?”

“It’s um- I’m just playing with an idea I had for making some metal alloys.”

“Ooa~ I know these ones.” she pointed to the notes I had scribbled in the margins. “Those are magic components, but how’re you gonna use magic on metals without gemstones?”

I felt my ears get warm with excitement at the thought of someone else wanting more than just some generic potion we sold.

“With alchemy I can use some esoteric techniques I’ve been researching to create compounds to circumvent that. It’s actually-”

But I panicked and jumped back into my service routine, so I could help get her what she needed. “I’m sorry, welcome to Al’s Chemicals. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Mm. Nah, I’m Marina, what’s your name?”

But she didn’t care. She was more interested in what I was doing than finding what she needed.

“I’m- Evie.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you Evie. Actually, you know what, you can help me. I kinda wanna know more about this ancient alchemy technique.”

“But why?”

“Why not? Ah-. There’s two things I care about most. One is learning about things that make people happy. Two is sharing those things to make other people happy.”

She had a kind smile. Oa I did? Ayaya- get out of here, this is my story.

“It’s kinda.. I have an idea that if you have a special kind of metal you can use alchemy to counteract some of the bands of magic it nullifies. The initial reaction is short lived, but with transmutation magic you can transform food to have the smallest amount of catalyst and the reagent will begin reacting with itself. Combine that with curse magic to prolong the effect-”

Her eyes were wide with excitement, but it was evident I lost her.

“Ayh- umm- let’s mm.. Imagine metals make you blind. This potion would let you see, but you could only see the color purple. Eventually everything goes dark again as the potion loses its effectiveness.”

I saw a glimmer of understanding and then her eyes glazed over.

“Instead of having to drink the potion again you can eat a cupcake that has just a tiny little dot that makes the part of the potion you drank react with itself inside you. If all your food was like this you could see purple all the time.”

“Ah- that makes sense. Is this something for the shop?” she asked.

“No, I’m just doing it as a hobby. I don’t really know anyone that could use it.”

“Well, now you know me and I know a bunch of people who might.”

She had a kind smile-. Don’t say a word. Don’t even think about it. Marinaaa..

⦿

I poked Evie’s cheek.

“Uhuhu~, who’s got a big ol’ softie heart.”

Evie sighed and sipped her drink. Her face scrunched sour and she stuck out her tongue.

“She became like a sister I never had. Ah- sometimes a child I gotta look after-”

I pinched Evie’s cheek before she pressed her palm into my face.

“Right back atcha~ Oyoyo-”

“-But, because of my work she encouraged me to continue, we now have the bulletin and I’m now the city’s lead planner for mitigating civilian use of magic.”

The Lieutenant twisted his empty glass back and forth and looked up at the corner of the room.

“Yeah, I can talk. - Negative. - I’m going to be escorting an out of towner for their bulletin meeting, besides it’s already dark out. Can it wait until tomorrow? - I get they’re insistent, but that thing takes time to set up. Have them come back tomorrow. - Alright, thanks.”

He turned back to us before standing up.

“Well now, aren’t I Mr. Popular? We should get going so we can get you checked in. Thanks for the drink Marina, you two take care.”

Kael rose from his seat and crossed his arms. He refused to make eye contact with me.

“Hey, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I was out of line with those things I said about you and the Material Realm. Sorry.”

“Ah- ok.”

“What kind of response is that? You’re not going to say you’re sorry too?”

Evie and the Lieutenant snickered. The Lieutenant threw his hand on Kael’s shoulder.

“She wouldn’t be Marina if she did. Take it as a compliment that she’s warmed up to you. If she did say it to you she’d probably be lying. Because she didn't, you can interpret that how you want.”

I winked and stuck out my tongue.

I was sorry too, Kael. We didn’t argue with each other. We argued against props. Props we set up and splattered with paint. Paint that spelled out crude labels of us against them, me against who I thought you were.

Tribalistic dances may be captivating performances, but the theater of the mind should never stage bad actors. A show that does will garner no applause once the final curtain falls. The only pride that you can take is that you will bow before no audience.

Four adamant coins jingled in my hand. The Lieutenant leaned over my shoulder.

“You know Marina, you wouldn’t have to keep giving your money away if you just followed the rules.”

“I know, but my head gets tight and my brain is like do it Marina, do the magic. I spent so much time as a shut in where I could just cast all the spells I wanted. Want some tea? Woosh~. Magic tea brewing and pouring. Lost something? Zoom~. Just teleport around instead of walking. It’s gonna be tough.”

Aehyh- I kinda miss my old life.

“It’s not like you were any better before that, but we believe in you.”

After a few more seconds of fiddling, I dropped the coins on the table and we made our exit; the Lieutenant and Kael toward Castle Eyngard and Evie and I to the Gardens to finally check out how my new home turned out.