Shadows of Redact

by RG Long

  Jurrin was surprised at the king’s calm demeanor. He would have lashed out several times over at this point were he in charge. No matter how many times the King or Lord Evan denied having knowledge of the three separate attacks that had occurred since they had parted ways, the High Judge of the Court of Three and Commander Sefen continue to insist they must have known something about them. Rerial was the only country that has airships, after all, they reminded everyone.

  Back-and-forth the debates went over where the attacks it happened, how banners that belongs to Rerial had been seen or left behind and Court of Three citizens claiming over and over again to have spotted the orange rimstone magic that powered their air ships lighting up the night sky.

  And time and time again, King Belfast pleaded for peace.

  “I do not want to see our two nations at war again!” He said as he stood to his feet and paced the fire. “Was not enough lost the first time we warred against one another? We’re talking about tens of thousands of lives lost between the two of us. Since that time, I’m sure the Court of Three has grown in its knowledge of magic as we have grown in the capabilities of our airships. Do you not fear that we would only succeed in killing more of our countries off?”

  Jurrin saw Commander Sefen and High Judge Aerert shift only slightly in their stance. Neither looked towards the other.

  “All that we see,” High Judge Aerert said as he also stood to his feet. “Is Rerial attacking our nation despite promising not to fly any airships over our country. What other conclusion can we come to, then, other than that you desire war? Three hundred of our people were slain in those attacks. Mostly women and children. How are we to respond to such violence? By doing nothing? Listening to you tell us you did not order such an attack?”

  High Judge Aerert scoffed.

  “We cannot believe that you had nothing to do with it. Only Rerial has airships. Only airships attacked us. What more evidence do we need?”

  “My word as the king,” King Belfast snarled. “Or does that mean nothing anymore?”

  “Your father said many things that were later found to be untrue,” Commander Sefen said with his own snarl. “Perhaps the apple has not fallen as far from the tree as you would like us to think, oh king of peace.”

  Lord Evan took a step forward and opened his mouth but King Belfast held out his hand to stop him.

  “I will not be mocked or made a fool of or called a liar,” King Belfast retorted.

  “But let it be known that if a war begins it was because you refused to listen to my pleas for peace. I would rather be known as a king of peace then a king who sought after or for war sake.”

  King Belfast turned to look at Jurrin, Blume, Galp, Lord Evan, and his other attendees.

  He looked at them each in turn, right in their eyes.

  “I am a king of peace,” he said. Jurrin wondered if he was saying it more to them or to himself.

  “But I will not allow our nation to be attacked without repercussions. Strategy and good commonsense would tell me otherwise but here is what I propose.”

  The officials from the Court of Three stood wrapped in gold and stared down their noses of the king.

  “Take your man back to War,” King Belfast said. “Disarm and disengage. I will fly both my airship and all others here with me back to Rerial. I will leave no troops for the fortress beyond the Gift of Laurels other than what is there now. But if word reaches me that you marched these men over into our sovereign nation,” the king said as he soberly eyed the delegation.

  “I will be unyielding in my response. I do not wish for war. I beg and plead for you to return home with your men. But if you march them into my nation, I will obliterate them from the sky.”

  With that, the king turned and left the Gift of Laurels. Jurrin look awkwardly from Lord Evan to Blume to see what they should do next.

  Lord Evan put his hands on his hips and addressed them both.

  “Do not think that because he is a king who advocates for peace and integrity,” he said. “That he will not be kind and merciful in war.”

  Lord Evan looked down at Jurrin and his two friends.

  “Follow me,” he said.

  With that, the meeting was over and they were returning to Rerial with Galp.

  “I don’t think that’s how the king wanted things to go Miss Blume,” Jurrin said under his breath. “What do you think?”

  Blume wasn’t looking at Jurrin. Instead, she was staring hard at Galp.

  “Are you all right?” She asked. Jurrin heard real concern in her voice.

  “I am...tired,” Galp said.

  With those words, he fell to the floor.

  33: Siblings

  Ealrin woke up to breakfast and found that there was no one at the table. His father had taken Blume and Jurrin with him on a journey to the Gift of Laurels. Ealrin had been glad not to return to that place, even though he was concerned for the safety of his friends and father.

  Nothing about the Court of Three had given him any hope that they were a reputable nation. Instead of worrying here, he ate his breakfast of toast and eggs as quickly as he could and purposed to go and wait in the hanger for their return.

  It was strange to be waited on and even stranger to have Skrilx as those who took care of him.

  He tried to learn their names and ask them questions, but most nearly shook their heads and walked away.

  Neither Urt nor Teresa had come down to breakfast. He wondered what they were up to and how he would spend their day.

  One of the books Teresa had been looking at was on the table and he reached over to grab it see if there was something he could learn from its pages. Perhaps knowing a little more of the history of Rerial would help him grasp the history of this nation and the people he had claimed before he had lost his memory.

  He had just opened the book when a door up the stairs opened. He looked up to see Elise coming down the stairs to the dining hall. She stopped halfway down the steps as she saw him, as if contemplating whether or not she wanted to eat breakfast with him at all.

  He knew this was still painful to her, so he tried his best to begin by standing and offering the seat next to him.

  “I haven’t seen much of you since the other day we got here. What are you been up to?”

  She didn’t answer his question. Instead, she slowly came down the stairs and took a seat. Not the one beside him like he had offered, rather one across the table from him.

  He sat back down as another Skrilx came out with a plate in hand and poured Elise some of the tea Ealrin had drank last night.

  Elise nodded at the servant before she began to take several bites of food.

  Ealrin let out a sigh.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Elise stopped chewing and put the fork down on the table.

  She looked at him with a penetrating stare.

  A small wind ruffle through the house and blew over the dinner table, send a few napkins flapping.

  “You truly don’t remember anything?” Elise asked.

  Ealrin shook his head.

  “I’ve been truthful with you,” he said. “I don’t remember anything before three years ago. Before I washed up on shore in Good Harbor on Ruyn. I’ve tried to remember. I’ve had glimpses of things. But it’s foggy. Like trying to see far off through the mist. Everyone keeps saying how good of friends we were. You and I. I’m sorry. I wish I could remember everyone and everything. I don’t remember father. Or mother. And I’m sorry I don’t remember you.”

  Ealrin shook his head.

  “But at least father is been open. He’s explained things to me. He’s told me what I’ve missed in the time I was gone. He told me a little bit of our family.”

  He took a sip of his drink. If nothing, to look away from the gaze of his sister for just a moment. She was so intently looking at him that he felt like he might have holes burned into his forehead.

  “It’s been three years. If I could I would snap my fingers and reme
mber it all. But I can’t. If you would like to re-start a friendship or start anew as brother and sister, I would like that. But I’m sorry. I just don’t remember anything.”

  Elise squinted her eyes at him.

  Ealrin wondered what she was trying to figure out. What she was trying to communicate to him without using words.

  She put her knife and fork down.

  “Okay.”

  “What?” Ealrin asked. He was stunned that she had spoken.

  “Okay,” Elise said. ‘We can start over.”

  Ealrin smiled at her. She didn’t look happy exactly, but perhaps, just a little, she looks less sad.

  “The other day, King Belfast said you would take me around. Show us places that we used to go together. I’d like that. Since we’ve arrived at Rerial the only part of the city I’ve really seen has been the towers. There’s a lot more city that we didn’t get a chance to explore because well...”

  “Because you nearly started a riot at the military academy?” Elise said with a sly expression on her face. “Always one for the attention.”

  Ealrin chuckled.

  “Did I cause this much trouble before?”

  Finally, Elise smiled.

  “You have no idea.”

  34: The Rouse

  In one hour’s time, Ealrin found himself walking through the city market with his sister.

  His sister.

  It was still so strange to think that he had a family. His father had accepted him with open arms and had begun sharing everything he could talk about with Ealrin. How proud he had been of him. How he had flown airships as the youngest pilot the academy had ever allowed. How they had trained together. How his father had one day hoped that Ealrin might take over for him as Commodore of Rerial’s ships.

  What better future could it be for a captain?

  Such a prospect for exciting to Ealrin. To think that he had a past and future and a purpose in Rerial.

  His purpose with the swords had been to establish peace. To find the mysteries of Gilia and discover why demons had come to their world. Could he potentially merge these two passions into one? The prospect seemed exciting.

  He had a lot to discuss with Holve when they were reunited. But for now he was with his sister. Supposedly, his best friend.

  At least now they were talking. Instead of Elise asking him questions about his journey and what he had been doing these last three years, Ealrin found himself carrying the bulk of the conversation.

  “You were trying to be an airship pilot, right? We came in while you were beginning orientation.”

  “Yes. You certainly made the day I was supposed to start training as a pilot much more memorable than I had hoped for. Stole the show for sure that time,” Elise answered. Ealrin noticed her sarcasm.

  “I wasn’t trying to steal the show,” he admitted.

  “You showed up after three years of being gone. The famous youngest captain we had ever seen. Son of the Commodore. All of this on the day that was supposed to be about new recruits. But instead we found ourselves captivated by Ealrin Belouve himself. Famed missing hero of the battle of dragons. Way to make my day your own, big brother.”

  Ealrin found himself having a hard time coming up with something to follow up that.

  He looked at Elise who was smiling.

  “You’re joking with me!”

  “Yes, Ealrin!” she said as she walked over to a store that served a type of dried fruit. “Joking. It’s what brothers and sisters do after all. It’s okay though, you haven’t forgotten anything about how to make jokes. You are always slow on the uptake.”

  She handed him a slice of the baked fruit and paid the man a few coins.

  “This is normally when you would joke back however. I’m sorry to say, you’ve missed the timing.”

  She walked on and Ealrin followed after her.

  “Okay, okay,” he said. “So I ruined your big day by showing back up. I’m sorry I reunited our family together.”

  He hoped he said it with just enough light and airiness and she could pick up on his attempt at humor.

  She chewed on her fruit for considerably longer than he anticipated.

  She pointed over across the way at a group of shoppers near another food stall.

  “There are some people who haven’t seen the famous Ealrin Belouve airship pilot return. Maybe we should go tell them you’re back? Sign some autographs?”

  Ealrin gave her a playful shove.

  “Little sister, huh? You know I spent the last three years living in other people’s shadows. Kind of nice to have one back in mine for a change.”

  Elise nearly spit out her fruit.

  “That would be the brother I’ve been missing,” She said with a smile after she swallowed her bite. “You’ve almost got it back Though your timing is still terrible.”

  Ealrin smiled down at her but, her happy expression did not last for a while. Before long she looks somber again and continued to walk in the direction she had indicated.

  She sighed after they had taken a few steps and thrown away the remnants of their food.

  “I’m sorry, too,” she said. It’s kind of hard to re-introduce someone into your life that you thought was dead. I really did want to become a captain though,” she said. “It was hard to do when you were the best of the best. I was planning on just becoming someone who would work in the airships. I’m fairly good with the crossbows they’ve installed. And the speakers have been working up arrows that explode when they hit. A nasty little surprise for anyone who thinks we’re just firing bolts at them.”

  Ealrin marveled at that.

  “My airship it doesn’t have crossbows on it!” he said. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure what they’ve done with my airship.”

  “You mean the driftwood you somehow managed to fly nearly into the Gift of Laurels? The sign of peace between Court of Three and Rerial? It’s currently resting in peace inside one of the less used hangers. I think they were going to burn it at some point for kindling.”

  “Burn it!?” Ealrin said shocked. “They had better not! That airship has seen three continents and saved our tails on multiple occasions!”

  “I’m surprised it made the flight from the Court of Three to Rerial without being brought here in pieces,” Elise said. “You could handle an upgrade.”

  “I don’t want to just throw away that airship. The Sky Dart has done a lot for us.

  “Sky Dart?” Elise asked. “So after not having a crossbow on your ship, you go and name your ship after something a crossbow shoots. That’s fair. I think we could scrape up the wood and make a good few crossbow bolts out of it.”

  “Hey!” Ealrin said, giving Elise another playful shove. “How many airships do you have?”

  “Well I am the loyal daughter of the Commodore,” Elise said thoughtfully. “So quite a few.”

  Ealrin chuckled.

  “I want to go see my airship at some point today if we can manage it. I’d like to know if anybody’s working on repairing it or if that something we will have to do.”

  “I can guarantee it’s low on the priority list,” Elise joked back.

  Ealrin took a deep breath. This was easier than he thought.

  The marketplace of Rerial was busy today. All types of banners and shops windows were dressed with the black and red of Rerial as well as their own signs to advertise their goods. The things they found here weren’t nearly as quality or interesting to look at as the things that they had seen in Vanity, but the people were certainly much more friendly and accommodating.

  Ealrin noticed several of them and incline their head at him as they passed by.

  “Do people know?” he asked as another store keeper folded her hands and bowed towards them. “That you and I are both son and daughter at the commodore?”

  “Most certainly,” Elise said. “That’s why we have some guards following us.”

  Ealrin looked over his shoulder and saw that two Skrilx were indeed about ten paces
behind them. He hadn’t even noticed they were there.

  “Have they been following us the whole time?”

  “How have you managed to survive nearly being killed in several circumstances again?” Elise asked. “Have your friends just been saving your life this whole time? You must have been having to rely on them fairly heavily to not notice you’ve been being followed for two hours.”

  Ealrin shook his head.

  “To answer your question,” he said with a laugh. “Yes. I rely on my friends greatly. I would be dead many times over if it weren’t for them.”

  “Remind me to tell them thank you,” she said. “Now that you’re back, I don’t have to be the sole hope for our family’s good name here in Rerial. I’ll let you screw that part up and I get to look great.”

  Ealrin laughed. It felt good to laugh with Elise. She was his sister. After all the years of searching and trying to figure out he was, it felt like he was finally getting a small picture into who he was supposed to be. A brother. A pilot. A son. A friend.

  Just then, somebody bumped into Elise and snatched something off her shoulder. The satchel she had been carrying. She fell to the ground as the hooded person fled down the street.

  “Hey!” she said. “That’s mine!”

  Just as she got back on her feet, Ealrin shouted at the two Skrilx who had been following them.

  “After him!” Both obeyed the order without seeming to even give it a second thought. Both of the Skrilx shot after the man as he ran down the street.

  “Should we help them?” Ealrin asked as he felt for the short blade of the side.

  “Definitely not,” Elise said. “Follow me.”

  Ealrin looked around and saw that most of the crowd was now looking after the two Skrilx as they ran down after the man who had stolen her purse. But Elise was pointing down the side alley.

  “I want to take you somewhere.”

  Apparently Ealrin didn’t have his firm grasp on what he was doing as you thought.

  35: Chapter

  Teresa and Urt had almost locked themselves inside the study of Lord Evan ever since they had returned from the library and eating dinner. The servants of the house kept bringing them food and, even though it hurt Teresa to accept food from slaves, she knew that it was better than abandoning their studies. And continually clearing off the dining room table would suit no one.