When Enri said ‘morning’, she actually meant ‘ass crack of dawn’. I was less than thrilled to be shaken awake before the sun rose. She looked irritated that it took more than one try to wake me, but when she rolled me over, I could tell from years of having Sayla as a sister that she was going to roll me off the bed.
“I’m up, I’m up!” I said, flailing to get loose from the blankets. In just a short time, I’d become tangled in them. “If I get rolled off this bed, I’ll raise hell like you wouldn’t believe.”
I heard a small snort as Enri chuckled. “Then get up. You’re the one who wanted to go on a walk.”
“Not this early,” I sighed. With a big stretch and a hefty sigh, I rolled myself out of bed. Next to the bed was a pair of walking boots just my size. I was too tired to even question it.
I was still in the clothes I put on yesterday, but since I hadn’t done anything but eat and sleep, after a quick trip to the bathroom, I pulled on the boots and followed Enri out.
She took a less rambling route than Zann did as we made our way toward the main doors. In the early light, I got a better look at the palace.
It was beautiful in the way all old architecture was beautiful. It had a clear and storied history, certain parts of it had more upkeep than others. The area we had been in was the most used and looked newer than the rest. The closer we got to the door, the newer it looked until we got to the entrance. There was a large crack down the center of the foyer that climbed up the wall to the roof. It looked like it was only a stiff wind away from collapsing.
“Was there fighting here?”
Enri was quiet for a moment before saying, “A long time ago. Before the current war.”
Her tone made it clear she didn’t want to delve deeper into the subject, and I didn’t push. I didn’t need her clamming up when I had other questions.
Enri handed me a long duster as the palace gates creaked open with agonizing slowness. I shivered as the cold air hit, grateful for the long coat. Below us was a bustling city full of people. It looked like my hometown on a festival night, and I was hit again with a wave of homesickness. Tears sprung up, and I quickly wiped them away. Crying would do nothing, even if I wanted to curl up in a ball and not move for a month.
Enri ignored my sniffling and said, “They’re preparing for the Bright Dusk Festival. A celebration for the turning of seasons. The harvest can begin soon, and the soldiers will have a moment of reprieve.”
We took out time on the road, giving me time to get my questions in. “Where am I? Like, I’m from Earth.”
She smiled, glancing at me from the corner of her eye before looking ahead again. “I know where you’re from. This planet is Ornus, and the continent is Enyo. You know the kingdom.”
“Did the war really start after the nonaggression treaty was signed? Why?”
“It did and…” She trailed off, staring ahead at the festival preppers. She looked lost in thought as she said, “I’m not sure. Never have been.”
“What’s the battle like? Are the magic users being used to their full advantage?”
She pulled her shoulders back and, if I wasn’t mistaken, she looked a little proud. “I command the mages and yes, they are being used to their full talents. Magic, however, has its limits and isn’t the end all be all in every situation. Regular soldiers are still very much needed, and they work in junction with us.” She said that last part with a hint of bitterness and I had a feeling the soldiers’ commander was probably a bit underwhelming, or at least unfortunate, in terms of leadership.
“Other countries have mages as well, which is why we’ve been at an impasse for the six months. There hasn’t been an active battlefield in well over a month and we used that time to get you here.”
As we approached the town, it was clear that this was much newer than the palace. Everything looked just finished down to the paved road that didn’t even have a single weed poking through the stone. Buildings were tall and crowded together along the main road, likely housing their owners above their shops.
Side streets branched off into less crowded areas, looking more like restaurants and shopping centers than the vendors and popup shops of the main road. From our vantage point, I could see homes populating the edge of the town, and after that, woods that a tall wall cut through to block out the outside world. I couldn’t see much further out, but I could see one building standing tall above the rest near the edge of the shopping district, a star above the door and the cleanest building I’d seen. If growing up in the south had taught me anything, I knew a place of worship when I saw one.
The streets were crowded with people in high spirits. Decorations were on doors and roofs: streamers, empty baskets, and little wooden carvings of animals. Kids were running through with reckless abandon and adults were chattering about, getting their shopping done.
“What is this festival for?” We stopped at a vendor selling shirts and I picked through the ones up front. The ones in the palace were fine, but these were made of thin materials and pretty colors. Enri mentioned the harvest and if that was the case, it was going to get warm, and I was hot-bodied.
“The turn of the cold season to the warm season and renewal of life. The animals coming back to the forests.” Enri stood to the side and watched me look through the shirts. I had no money, but looking was nice. “The sun won’t set tonight, instead it will touch the horizon and the ground will come back to life.”
I dropped the shirt I was looking at and turned to Enri. She was smiling, like she was expecting my reaction. “The only place the sun doesn’t set in my world is where it’s coldest. You’re telling me it’s gonna be bright all day and night?”
“This world isn’t all that bad, is it?”
“If I get to see something like that, then I’d have to say no.” I leaned down and picked up the shirt, folding it and laying it back down on the table. “When you say, ‘the ground will come back to life’, what exactly does that mean?”
She turned away, continuing towards the center of the town. “I guess you’ll have to stay and find out.”
“I can’t believe you’re bribing me with cool nature stuff to get me to stay.”
“Well,” she said, dodging a kid running full speed without looking, “you can’t really leave as it stands. I figure you could use another reason to stay for a while. This festival isn’t the only natural magical occurrence.”
“Oh? And here I didn’t think you care whether or not I stayed.”
She raised an eyebrow as we walked into a pub. It was bustling with people going in and out. There weren’t any empty tables, but as soon as a group of soldiers saw Enri, they stood at attention. She waved them away, and they scurried out, taking their food with them. I felt bad as we claimed their table.
“What made you think I didn’t care?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because you seemed less than thrilled about it. You don’t know me either. Even if I agree to take on the training, I could be deeply unlikeable.”
She rolled her eyes and raised her hand to flag down a waiter. “I want this war to end and you being here is a surefire way for that to happen. As for you personally, you’re right. I don’t know you. But as of right now, I think you’re just fine. You’re scared and confused, and I can’t blame you for any of that. Take your time with your decision. Whether Zann likes it or not, if you’re pushed into this, things won’t go as planned.”
I looked down at my hands, trying not to fidget. “Thanks.”
“Iban, can I get two waters and a breakfast platter?”
The waiter nodded and started back toward the front counter, relaying it to the woman sitting behind it.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Do you always call Zann by his name?”
“It’s one of my perks. I’m sure you’ll continue to use it whether he asks you otherwise or not.”
“I mean, yeah. He’s not my king. To me, he’s just some guy with a nice house.”
Enri laughed, her whole face lighting up and her body shaking with the effort. I think that might be another reason for me to stay. Seeing her smile was like watching the sun rise after a long night. The cold seemed overwhelming until suddenly, it wasn’t. “I’m sure he’d be devastated to hear that.”
“Devastated or not, it’s true.” I pulled my duster closer against me as the door opened and the wind swept in. “If I start saying Your Majesty in a non-sarcastic way, you’ll know something is wrong.”
We (mostly me) ate the breakfast platter with alarming speed, and we (mostly Enri) decided we needed to take a walk after. She took me around the city, stopping to visit stalls and booths to taste the food and even pick up a trinket.
“Do you want that?” Enri looked over my shoulder as I stared at an intricately carved wooden necklace. It was a dove perched on a cluster of daisies. The stems were circling the scene, pushing the dove in toward the flowers.
I stood, ready to leave. “I don’t have any money. And I’d probably lose it, anyway.”
“We’ll take that one, miss.” Before I could protest, money was exchanged, and Enri was holding it out to me.
“But I can’t pay you back.”
“Gifts don’t require an equal exchange. And if you really want to pay me back.” She leaned forward and put the necklace on me. Her hands brushed my neck as she put the clasp on, and I felt blood rush to my cheek. She leaned back and smiled. “You can think of this as another reason to stay.” She turned the pendant over to face the right direction. “Perfect. Let’s pay respects and find a good spot for the sunset.”
We turned away from the bustle of the town center and moved more to the outskirts. Before the shops gave way to residential, there was the temple. It was massive; the pavilion taking up more space than a house and the main building was even larger. Pillars made of white stone supported a domed roof with a mural artfully painted. It was the woman made of stars looking down on us, her arms outstretched. In each quadrant her body made, there was a natural element represented. A raging ocean, a forest of trees, a spewing volcano, and a tornado.
The pavilion was full of people milling around, stopping at bells that hung at the end of long woven ropes. With a gentle shake, chimes filled the pavilion as they bowed their heads in prayer. The doors to the building were firmly closed, but no one seemed to notice or care.
They decorated it much the same as the rest of the town, with colorful streamers and baskets of what looked like dried flowers.
Enri walked over to one of the bells, gesturing me next to her. “This is where we worship.” She reached out and shook the bell, a hearty chime sounding as she bowed her head. It was the first time I got to look at her without a million other things running through my head, and I was shocked to realize she was shorter than me. Not by much, but she held herself in such confidence that I wouldn’t have known if not for her head bowed.
I looked around again, realizing that some of the people wandering around were in uniform. In heavy, layered robes they looked almost like monks, but there was something about them that made the look sleek, like they could strip off a layer and start fighting. I watched as they walked around, checking in on people and asking if there was anything they could do. An older man leaned against a pillar, listening to a young boy talk excitedly, and an intense wave of déjà vu washed over me.
“Kaiya?” Enri’s voice snapped me away from it and I looked over. She had followed my gaze to the robed figured. “Did you want to ask the priest something?”
“Uh, no. No, I just feel like I’ve been here before. But I grew up in a place with a lot of churches, so I think it just reminded me of that.”
She stared at me for a moment longer, as if looking for something, before putting a hand on my shoulder. “If you ever want to learn more about the gods, the priests will gladly help you.”
I wasn’t religious before, and I doubted I would start now. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
Enri waved to the priest I had been looking at and he nodded in return.
We started to walk out past the temple into the residential area. The homes were nice, if bland. While some were nicer than others, or bigger or grander, they were all pretty similar. One-story stone buildings with gabled roofs and windows surrounding the exterior walls. The one thing they all had going was that none of them were painted the same. They all had the same base coat of white, but it looked like they were given free rein to paint whatever they wanted on the outside.
Many of them had murals of the star goddess, but all of them seemed to have let their kids run free with paint and draw whatever they wanted. It was nice to see that HOAs didn’t exist here.
While most of the residents seemed to be going towards the temple and palace, toward higher ground, we kept moving toward the forest.
It was pretty dead. Trees stripped barren of flowers and leaves and the hard ground crunching under our feet as we cracked the thin layers of ice. I didn’t know how long we walked until I could finally see our destination: an entrance to the wall nearly hidden by shrubbery.
Soldiers stood at attention around the base, giving Enri a brief nod as we made our way up the stairs. She dismissed the two at the top with a wave of her hand and walked out of the parapet before jumping up to sit on the wall that came up to my thighs keeping us from falling over.
“I watch from here every year. Best view.” The sun was nearly on the horizon.
I plopped down on the ground next to her with much less grace, trying not to look down. Just sitting down was enough for my body to try to relax, exhaustion falling on me like a weighted blanket. We’d been up and moving for hours, walking around as everyone finished preparations. As a college student, I didn’t have much chance to exercise.
I laid my head in my arms, struggling to keep my eyes open. “Is it going to happen soon or is there time for a nap?”
“If just walking around for a few hours is making you tired, you’re going to be in for a rude awakening if you decide to train with us.”
“You are not selling it at all.”
“I won’t lie to you about what the training will be. It would only increase the chances of you quitting in the middle of it.”
“So calculating,” I yawned. “You didn’t answer my question. Can I take a nap?”
“If you want to miss it, sure.”
“Have you no pity?” I turned the other way, hoping to get a little bit more sun out of my eyes. “I’m just a little guy. A sleepy little guy.”
She nudged me. “Eyes up. It’s starting.”
I turned my head up, resting my chin on my hands instead as the sun dipped lower.
As the sun touched the horizon, like a high tide crashing on a beach, a change came over the world. The temperature rose, the trees shaking with force as the ice on their branches instantly turned to steam.
Leaves began to grow and flowers bloom before my eyes, faster than I could have imagined—life bursting from nothing with a fervor. The wind picked up, bringing a warm breeze and flowers with it.
The first animal I saw was a dove. It perched on the wall next to us and chirped, tilting its head before taking flight. And like a signal, the forest erupted with noise. Chittering and scurrying and climbing and singing rose from one end to the next until the entire forest was covered in the noise of life.
It all happened in less than a minute, the world changing and coming back to life.
Behind me, I could hear the townspeople cheering and laughing. I could see why they spent so much time decorating to have a festival. I couldn’t imagine doing anything less for something like this.
I hadn’t even realized I was standing until I heard Enri speak from below me. “How was that?”
I felt breathless as I took in the new world. “This happens every year?”
“Every year.”
I looked at her, every bit of exhaustion escaping me and leaving me with a jittery, exciting feeling. I grinned, thinking about what other natural magic this world had to offer. “What else can I look forward to?”
She stood and chuckled. “I can’t spoil every good thing we have if you plan on staying with us. But I can tell you that you should make a wish. It’s customary and, who knows, maybe it’ll come true.”
I looked over to the horizon, where the sun wouldn’t dip any lower, and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and shed my duster, hoping with all I had, just like when I was a kid, that my wish would come true.
I let out a slow breath and said, “I don’t know if you brought me here to show me what’s at stake if I don’t take up the king’s offer, but if it was, it worked. I’ll be his Suriqi mage.” If the war was to ruin something so beautiful, which if it continued, it undoubtedly would, I didn’t want that to happen. Not when the people here depended so much on the short-lived happiness of a festival and the abundance of the ground to get them through the hard times. If I could keep that from happening, I wanted to at least try.
I opened my eyes, blinking into the brightness. I also, at the very least, wanted to know why I felt so much déjà vu when we were in the temple. From where I stood, I could see it was crowded with people, the priests acting more like herdsman than revered people of faith.
Enri leaned against the wall next to me. She looked a little sad as she said, “Glad to hear it.”