by Elina Vale
Legends of Shadear
Cursed Boa Riverson
-Elina Vale-
CHAPTER 1
The flames of the bonfire created a lovely glow, making the shades dance on the pines, spruces, and bushes around the small glare. It was a clear night, and Boa Riverson had eaten some bread and ham, he had dry boots—which wasn’t something a traveler should ever consider a minor issue—and he had a big, nice fire warming him up. It was peaceful and quiet, and he liked it that way.
Some days ago, Boa had left the Band of Five behind him, deciding to go rogue. The Band of Five was a group of mercenaries with whom Boa had traveled for three years, fighting, polishing his skills with the sword, earning some silver, but it was time to move on. He was twenty years old, though he sometimes felt like an old man.
The fire crackled, and Boa laid down, stroking his black beard and gazing at the stars above. It was chilly, and white puffs of breath from his mouth dissolved into the night. He hadn’t yet chosen his next destination, he was only wandering around, aimlessly. He would need to decide soon, for his supplies were almost gone. He did know how to set up a snare and had few of them scattered near his campsite, but he couldn’t stay there for long. He needed—no—he wanted a bed. And a fireplace. Maybe some wine…
His thoughts ended, he blinked, and took a deep breath when a familiar feeling crept into his chest again. Boa tried to ignore it, wishing it was only his imagination, but he couldn’t deny it. His hand gently rubbed the marked part of his chest. It pulsed under his palm. He had been running away for five years. He had been only fifteen when it happened. Only a youngster.
The sensations on his chest escalated, and Boa had to admit that it was happening again. They were calling him again, summoning him. Boa grunted and stood up, and began pacing around the bonfire. His left hand rubbed the chest, now burning with pain. He hung his head in devastation. Always when it started, he knew it would only grow to become bigger and bigger until he would lay on the ground, weeping and praying for it to stop. Then a sudden sharp pain shot through his chest. Grimacing, Boa knelt on the ground. Moist moss wetted his trousers, but all he could do was to focus on the agony and keep breathing his way through it.
A deep breath in and a long, shaky, breath out. Again.
Five years ago, they had marked him, and for five years they had been summoning him, and five years he had been running away. The good thing about the summoning was that Boa knew that the harder the pain, the farther he was from those beasts that had done this to him. They summoned him, they had cursed him, and it wouldn’t stop until Boa would be standing next to them, surrendering to their will. But he would never be their slave.
Never.
Now the agony in Boa’s chest had grown unbearable. He collapsed on the ground on his all fours, taking long, deep breaths, the pain pounding in his chest. Boa knew without looking that the black markings on the skin on his chest were now bright red, shining, vibrating, pulsing. All these sensations had nearly vanished when the Band of Five had traveled closer to Sungarden, the capital of Aviden. Boa hadn’t been careful enough. It had happened when they had crossed the border of Aviden—Boa had felt the summoning, but the pain was nearly gone.
The ones who were after him had been really close to him. Too close. Boa had taken his share of the profits and turned around, heading towards the north, running like a maniac to another way, to get as far as possible from his tormentors. And now, here the pain was again, and yes, he welcomed it. Boa’s fingers dug into the cold, wet soil, as he laid his forehead on the ground, his dark brown hair wiping the mud. He bit his teeth together and growled as the markings pulsed on his chest. He would one day find those devils who had done this to him. He would find a way to end it, to kill them. They deserved to die for what they had done to his parents and to him all those years ago. He should trace them, kill them, and… How? Here he was running away from them like a scared child. He couldn’t fight them without some magical weapon, something that could help him block their magic.
Finally, after a time that had felt like hours, the pain ended. It withered away as quickly as it had come, and Boa collapsed on his back, staring at the sky. The clouds traveled slowly in the sky, hiding the moon. It became very dark. Only the flames in his bonfire continued their joyous dance. Sighing, Boa pushed himself up and stood on his wobbly feet. He studied his surroundings and was relieved that he was alone. He was uncomfortably vulnerable during the summoning, and it had been terribly difficult to hide the painful curse among the Band of Five. The summonings had been rare, but about a year ago they started to come more often, sometimes even several times a month. It had been nearly impossible to hide it from the others, so it had been the perfect time to go on his own.
Boa wiped the mud and the sweat away from his clothes, checked his surroundings, and curled beside the fire. Magic was the wicked of this world, and he had made it his lifelong mission to destroy it, as soon as he would find something to fight the magic with. First, he would kill the three senatai who had hurt him, and then he would find a way to get rid of all of them. Worn out by the painful summoning, Boa passed out, hand on the handle of his dagger.
The sound of rampage woke him up. Boa’s eyes slammed open and he jumped up, his curved blade in his hand. The campsite was clear and there was no one there. The sounds came from another direction, behind the bushes. Boa dropped down, crawled forward, and peeked through the dried leaves and branches.
The mist rested like a heavy blanket over the meadow, where three bandits were harassing an older woman. The bandits had brown, old clothes, but they were young, strong-looking guys with one woman. The older woman in the middle wasn’t a sad, unprotected underdog. She stood tall, like a soldier, slashing her sword with long, fierce arches. She was a talented swordswoman, but she was clearly older, thus slower than the bandits—and there were three against one. It was time to even the scale of this battle. Boa swiftly jumped up, ran silently, crouched, and slowly crept towards the bandit woman. The frozen grass slightly rattled under his boot, but the sounds of the fight covered it. Soon, he was ready to sneak up on her, but at the final second, she sensed Boa’s arrival, turned around and slashed her blade up, blocking the strike. She didn’t stay and wonder his presence, but let her companions take care of the old woman and focused on Boa.
She stabbed with her sword, but Boa warded it easily. Then she twirled around, holding her sword high, and was ready to cut Boa in half. Boa dodged. Barely. She was super-fast, dodging, slamming, slicing, but Boa was equally fast. No, he was more talented.
He dodged her next strike and was now familiar with her fighting style. She liked it rough, and fast and furious, so Boa should only save his own strength until she would get tired. With that speed, it would be soon. She may be fast, but Boa had the advantage of strength and length of his arms. Fair enough, her movements started to slow down. It was time for Boa to boost his attack. He stabbed the bandit woman and scratched her on her stomach. She cried out but didn’t give up.
“Why would you harass an old woman? Leave now and stay alive,” Boa growled, the bandit taking a hesitating step back.
“She’s not just an old woman… She has fine clothes, she has, and surely something in that pouch of hers!”
“Leave!” Boa yelled, and she let out a laugh. “No! There’s only two of you and—“
A horrible cry froze her in place. One of the men fell dead on the ground, being stabbed by the old woman, and the second one gave a glance towards the bandit woman and ran away to the woods. The bandit woman glanced nervously around, realizing that she was outnumbered and couldn’t possibly take down two skilled fighters.
/> “You coward! Come back!” She turned around and ran into the woods after her companion.
Boa steadied his breathing and studied the old woman. She had gray, short hair, one ball-shaped earring on her right ear and a red scar ran across her cheek. Her clothes were clean and clearly made with a skill that could only be bought with silver. And her weapons were magnificent. She leaned with her hands on her knees and hung her head.
“Lady, are you alright?” Boa asked.
She lifted her head, straightened her back, grimacing. “Lady, eh? Barely! This burning age is going to be the death of me one day.”
The old woman grunted and sat down. She had a cut on her side, and Boa nodded towards it. “You know, if you won’t tie that up it will bleed all over the place. Come to my bonfire and I’ll tie it up for you.”
She studied Boa for a while, and the sadness crept into her eyes. She shook her head. “Don’t think that I mind bleeding at this point. When you lose someone you love, boy, you’ll know…”
Boa studied her. Dark circles under her eyes and the emptiness in them were familiar to Boa. He had had the same look on his face when he had been only fifteen years old. When he had lost his parents and his home.
“Hey,” Boa said. “I know it’s hard to lose someone to the streams of Underworld, but it doesn’t mean that you should take the last boat trip as well. I’m sure there’s someone—”
“Well listen to the boy,” she said, smirking. “Lecturing about the joys of life to an ancient drokashai who has just lost her senatai. Her lifelong companion.”
Boa stiffened and stared at the old woman. His eyes widened and his heart started beating faster.
A drokashai. Of course.
The skills, the twirling movements, the spirit. Boa should've guessed.
She studied Boa for a while, with narrowed eyes, shook her head quietly, and then stumbled up. “Oh no, boy. Don’t tell me you’re one of those magic-haters.”
“Nothing good has ever come of magic,” Boa said quietly, clearing his tightening throat and gazing at the rising sun over the treetops. The mist had scattered away, and it looked like a beautiful late winter day was ahead.
The drokashai snorted. “Well, that’s a bold statement coming from a boy who can barely shave yet. Or doesn’t know how,” she said, and gave a glance at Boa’s scruffy beard.
“I know enough,” Boa said, stroking his black beard and watching the woman grab her sack from the grass and tossing it to her back. She was clearly in pain with the cut on her side. She limped a few steps towards the tree line, then stopped and glared at Boa under her dark brows.
“Well? The bonfire? The bandage?”
Boa frowned but nudged his head. “That way.”
“Thanks. Hope you have something to eat. Old women need food to stay on their feet. And I become very cranky if I don’t get food.”
When they arrived at the campsite, Boa lit the bonfire again and tossed a pot on top to make some hot water.
The woman sat on top of a rock and observed Boa.
“Thank you for your help. My name is Karla Toinder.”
Boa glanced at her but didn’t reply. She didn’t seem to mind, and continued, “I have been a drokashai for over forty years, and all the time I had traveled with the same companion. Senatai Anra Jobeno. An amazing senatai, she was.”
Boa frowned and opened his backpack, searching for something he could use as a bandage. He had some clean cloth, he was sure of it. He really didn’t want to hear her stories and tales about a wonderful senatai. This woman, Karla, didn’t use magic, so Boa wasn’t in hatred for her, but her connections to magic bothered him.
“Anra was a kind and generous woman, you know.”
Boa found the cloth and kneeled next to Karla. “You should lift your jacket… I need to…”
She laid her hand on Boa’s cheek and winked. “I don’t mind. You’re a handsome lad.”
Boa’s eyes narrowed, making Karla sigh.
She lifted her jacket. “You really need to lighten up, boy. It’s not that serious. At least for you. You’re young, strong, and…oh...” She twitched when Boa wrapped the cloth around the wound. “And you could tell me your name so I don’t need to call you a boy.”
Boa tied the knot and Karla pulled the jacket down.
He looked into her eyes. “My name is Boa Riverson.”
She nodded. “Nice to meet you, Boa Riverson. And thank you for your help. If it suits you, I’ll rest here for a while, and then I’ll be my way.”
“Sure. And I’ll try to catch a rabbit or something. I set up some traps yesterday, and I want to see if there’s anything in them. Would you keep an eye on my stuff? I’ll be back soon, and then you can have some meat before we go our separate ways.”
Karla shifted to the ground and tucked her arm under her head. She closed her eyes. “Sure, Boa Riverson. You’re a nice lad.”
CHAPTER 2
They had been lucky, in one of Boa’s snares he had had a pisum, a water rat the size of a small dog. They had eaten and were quietly staring at the fire. Boa was going through his stuff, making sure he had all he needed.
Karla stared at Boa for a while, and Boa acted like he didn’t notice.
“My senatai, Anra, was a marvelous woman,” Karla said after a while, and wiggled her finger to Boa’s frown. “Don’t you frown at me until I’m finished with my story.”
Boa grunted. “If it’s about a senatai, I don’t need to hear it.”
“Oh, yeah you do. One day you’ll learn that silver is nothing compared to the knowledge when you must make bargains worth of your life. Now, listen, lad.”
Boa sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He would listen, and then he would leave.
“She was an amazing senatai, the earth was her talent. I don’t know how much you know about senatai and such, but every senatai has one nature talent, one element they master better than anything. Anra’s was earth. She could command the soil, rocks, sand, and the mud. She had been hired once or twice to fight in a battle because she could blow up the ground easily underneath an army’s feet. Oh, but she hated it and quickly refused to take jobs like that. She was a builder, Boa. She helped to build the Big Dam at Pine Lake, and she was one of the senatai to create the Grand River that now serves as the main transportation way from Glasswater to Sungarden.”
“I’m sorry, what does this have to do with me?”
“So, you think that magic can only destroy. It can also build.”
Boa grunted. “Does one good deed make up for a thousand bad ones?”
Karla observed him with narrow eyes. “How much do you know about magic, the senatai, and the Order of Senatai?”
Boa shook his head. “Rumors. Nothing. Yet.”
“Well then, lad, I can teach you something. The Order of Senatai is an old institution. Its job is to control the senatai and their use of magic in this land and all the… What’s wrong?”
The color had vanished from Boa’s face, his hand rubbing his chest. The summoning. Again! It had never happened twice in a day! He couldn’t deal with it now, not when this woman was there. She studied Boa.
“You are in pain. I can see it! What’s happening?”
Boa wiped the air with his hand to keep Karla’s stretched hands away. “Nothing. You must leave. And I...uh...”
He wasn’t able to finish the sentence when the pain hit him harder than ever. It washed over him like a fire, exploding. Boa collapsed on the ground, whining. Somewhere deep in his mind he realized that Karla had kneeled beside him and had torn his shirt open, seeing the fiery marks on his chest, but he couldn’t focus on it. All that mattered was the agony.
When the pain was finally gone, he felt a cooling, wet cloth on his forehead, and flashed his eyes open. Karla was leaned over him, studying him. After a while, she nodded toward his chest. “What’s that?”
Boa pushed her hand away from his forehead. “Nothing.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Karla snorted. “Of course it does!”
Boa pushed himself up on his elbows and studied her.
“You say senatai are great and builders, well, my experience is not quite like that.”
She bit her lower lip and rubbed her chin. Boa stumbled up, buttoned his shirt and pulled his coat back on. Karla gave him a cup of water and Boa drank it all.
She rolled her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe that someone has used a curse. This is huge, Boa,” she said. “The curses have been banned for hundreds of years, and I haven’t heard that anyone would have ever used them. If someone knows how to do a curse, then… Oh, this changes everything.” Her voice was now quiet and soft. Boa rubbed his head. A headache had stayed after the heavy set he had just been through.
Then Karla shook her hands like she had just washed them and wanted to get rid of the water, pulled them through her short hair twice, and straightened her shoulders. “So, my job isn’t yet finished.” She gave a cunning look to Boa. “Listen, lad, I might know someone who could help you with that.”
“The curse? How?”
“I’m on my way to meet with a certain senatai. No, don’t you look at me like that. You wanna get that mark off your chest?”
Boa closed his eyes. He might have to meet a senatai. Let one touch him. Do magic on him. “I do.”
Karla smiled and her eyes twinkled. “Well, looks like you should join my quest, then.”
Boa shivered. The sweat dried out, leaving him feeling cold and clammy. Karla knelt by the fire and fed it with wood.
“I do see that you have some hate against magic.”
Boa sighed and rubbed his face. He was tired of running. “That’s an understatement.”
Karla’s voice was soft. “What happened?”
