Underestimated Affinities

by Matthew Scarcella

  “I’m going to be alright,” I say aloud to myself.

  I think of my siblings and correct myself. “No. We’re going to be alright,” I tell myself before taking off into the sky.

  CHAPTER III

  BELARIN

  The familiar sight of my home city, Belarin, brings a warming sensation to my heart. Elevated on a gigantic mound of earth, approximately six hundred meters from the ground, it’s supported by a handful of sturdy pillars around the perimeter and two very large ones in the center.

  The earth wielders of previous generations steadily rose our city from the ground, in order to ward off attackers and pillagers, while metal wielders encased the bottom of each pillar in concentrated layers of steel and titanium. They also attached chains to the city’s walls, allowing future metal wielders to manipulate them at will. Wood wielders enhanced the durability by entwining vines around the pillars, adding to the structural integrity of the earth. This still doesn’t prevent other Zicarna from attacking us for sport or resources, but at least it stops most other species from invading our territory.

  Since the Forbidden Lake is located to the northwest of Belarin, I made the decision earlier to circle around and enter the city from the east. As I slow my approach toward Belarin, I realize I’ve never seen the city without guards on duty.

  I start to ascend near one of the perimeter’s pillars, but then I think better of it. If I fly in out of view of the guards, they may take it as a threat until they realize it’s me. Noting this, I fly back down and away from the city for a minute, then up to the city’s ground level and head back in.

  I’m greeted by two guards brandishing their weapons at me.

  According to instructions passed down orally, everyone should still be in the city limits at this time. They notice my wings and, as everyone else in Belarin would, immediately discern who I am, and they lower their weapons. However, they meet me in midair and I have to halt and hover here. I use the unwritten part of that law to my advantage as they question me.

  The female addresses me, “Good day, Selvyn. Why are you outside of Belarin at this hour?”

  Her long black hair is slicked back into one extremely taut braid, which hangs elegantly over her shoulder. I notice she has shiny objects embedded within it, which upon further inspection I recognize as slender needles. She dons the white guard attire well, the short sleeves showing her defined arm muscles, with the bodice hugging her chest. The pewter of her metal wings looks better now than it does in black clothing.

  I know her as Melandria Pendragøn, a dual metal wielder that is a few years my senior. She just so happens to be my sister Safeyya’s best friend.

  “Good day, Melandria,” I greet her. “I woke up very early and decided to go scouting to the southeast. I wanted to see if there were any enemies approaching.”

  She eyes me warily. “Please, Selvyn. I prefer if you call me ‘soldier’ when I am on duty. Additionally, just because you are Safeyya’s little brother does not give you the right to do as you wish. We have laws, regulations, and other guidelines to adhere to.” The male guard flies over to check one of the schedules written in the guard tower. “You are not to be given any special treatment that enables you to ignore restrictions on the general populace,” she continues.

  I ignore her comment and we stare awkwardly at each other for several tense minutes.

  The male flies back over. I recognize him as Klaryk Belgrave, a year older than Safeyya, and a dual metal wielder, like his companion. He has spikey blond hair and a muscular figure. For some reason, he always appears to be brooding. I don’t know if he’s constantly irritated by something, or if that’s just how he looks. He whispers something in her ear and she shakes her head in response.

  “Selvyn,” Melandria speaks up again. “I have just been informed that there are no scouting missions scheduled for today or tomorrow. That is most unfortunate, as I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do what comes next. If you refuse to cooperate, I will be forced to restrain you.” She angles her head to the right, squinting. As her wings shiver rapidly, one of the chains breaks free from the outer wall and hovers between us.

  “Melandria,” I say pathetically, “I mean, soldier. I implore you to listen to me; I know that there are no scouting missions scheduled for today.” She raises her left eyebrow as she listens to my ramblings. “Safeyya and I were discussing that just this morning... don’t you find it odd it’s been months since we were last attacked? There haven’t been signs of approach from any direction. And no rogues have been spotted in the vicinity; it’s been too quiet. Eerie, in fact. Safeyya believes that something in this awkward respite is amiss and that is why she suggested I go scouting today. She didn’t want to trouble anyone else or have them worry, so we figured it would be best if I went out alone. It didn’t make sense to send out entire scouting teams just because of some hunch.”

  “Well,” she responds, “If that is in fact true, then you won’t struggle as I detain you?” She twirls her hands and her wings sparkle a bit more than normal under the heat of the sun, her movements causing the chains between us to contort and expand. “Of course, we’ll only keep you here with us in the tower until Safeyya can come and verify that your story proves factual. You know, she should have left word with the night guards at this tower if you were to return here.”

  “Of course not, soldier. I will comply with your wishes.” I hold out my hands in front of her.

  She breaks off a small piece of the chain and wraps it tightly around my wrists. “This isn’t the only part of the protocol that I must adhere to,” she says, gesturing toward my wings. She means to constrict me entirely. I’ll just have to hope that Safy is in a good mood today and pretends to know what’s going on.

  “I understand.” I nod toward the edge of the city. “May we at least land first? It would be quite troublesome to be bound in midair, unable to fly and all… I didn’t plan to plummet to my death this morning.”

  She smirks and chuckles haughtily. “I suppose I can allow you to land first. Sure, but move slowly.” She continues talking as we make our way to the tower, and I am the first to land beneath it. “Klaryk is not as kind as I am, and I’m quite sure he will be on the offensive immediately should you attempt an escape.”

  “Well then, sir,” I retort. “I wouldn’t want to submit myself to that sort of hostility.” I laugh at my clever wit. Something firm hits the back of my head, and I can tell that Melandria has hit me with one of her wings as she descended, probably on purpose. “Ouch,” I exclaim.

  She walks in front of me, the chain out of sight. “This is no time to be laughing, Selvyn.” Her eyes sparkle as she instructs me to contract my wings. She twirls her hands again and the chains bind around my wings, constricting me from any sort of movement besides walking. “And I am no sir,” she muses. “But I sure as hell fight like one.” The chains binding my wings tighten further and become rather painful. “So don’t test me.”

  I whimper quietly and do what she wishes. “I won’t,” I say. Submitting to her authority does the trick and she loosens the chains enough for me to stretch a bit. She guides me up the steps to the top of the tower, and it is a long climb, especially with Klaryk silent but menacing behind me.

  When we finally reach the top, Melandria and Klaryk instruct me into a makeshift cell that has no windows. “Is this really necessary?” I ask.

  Klaryk shrugs and merely says, “Yes.” He walks over to one of the electronic devices and calls on Safeyya.

  I look over toward Melandria, pleading with my eyes. “You know that I’m not going anywhere as I am. May I at least look out over the city? It must look beautiful at this time.”

  I can see that her defenses are weakening. “Well, Klaryk,” she says. “I can wait with him until Safeyya arrives. There’s really no reason to be too cruel.”

  “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to appeal to her good graces,” Klaryk retorts. “You go sit with him and I’ll keep watch on the outskirts. Though we
will switch in an hour if she doesn’t bestow us with her presence by then. It’s boring to keep watch alone.” He wanders off into an adjacent room, leaving Melandria to escort me to a large opening in another room, acting as an overlook of the city.

  She walks over to the window and sits upon its ledge, which is quite wide. Tucking her wings in and resting her back up against the wall, she reclines her legs along the length of the sill. I follow her actions and climb onto the ledge, but when I sit, I allow my legs to rest over the wall, dangling in the air.

  She watches me and simply says, “Don’t do anything stupid.” I smile at her in lieu of a response.

  My left wing, though bound, still tingles merrily. There’s a wonderful breeze out, and it feels incredible to be sitting here right now. Even under these circumstances, I am content. I shut my eyes and close myself off from the world for a moment, losing myself in the wind.

  There’s just something so refreshing about having an affinity for wind: in being able to smell scents from far away distances, to hear sounds of different species muted to a near whisper, drifting around your ears. It’s freeing, just being able to feel the wind wrap around your body, to feel it blow through your hair. Honestly, even if I lose everything else, as long as I have this feeling, I know I can be happy.

  I open my eyes and catch her staring at me suspiciously. I smile at her. “The wind.”

  “Ah, yes.” She closes her eyes for a second, allowing the breeze to wash over her. “I’m not in tune with it as you are, but it does feel marvelous.” Her eyes open and she smiles back at me. “This feeling… I’m sure it washes away all of your troubles.”

  “Yes. Most of them, anyway… it doesn’t make me forget, for instance, that I still miss my parents. But it definitely helped ease the pain back then. Now there’s no more pain, just longing.” She doesn’t respond, but I didn’t expect her to.

  We both sit in silence, as I wonder in awe at the magnificence that is Belarin.

  Our city is laid out like a large circle, and right now we’re in the easternmost guard tower. Right below us are the outskirts of the intelligence brigade’s territory. There are small ground level buildings spaced out every fifty meters or so. The buildings here are all grey, nothing fancy or decorative. Just like the Militia, the Intelligencia is all about diligence and efficiency. The dull coloring is supposed to lead to a more productive environment. At least, that’s what they argue.

  As I look farther west toward the city center, the buildings get more colorful. Most are decorated in a variety of pastel colors.

  The trees around the center of the city are also more colorful. The trees in the inner ring tend to be ones that blossom and sprout higher into the sky than the standard green leaf trees. Their branches interconnect and allow light and air to filter through while providing a breadth of color and assortment walking underneath them.

  I’ll always remember that, walking underneath those trees. A few years ago, on the eve of our parents’ death anniversary, Safeyya gained her third set of wings. She suggested we celebrate with dinner in the inner city. I can’t even remember what we ate, but I’ll never forget the walk I took with my siblings that night.

  As we passed under those trees, heading toward one of our lakes, Safeyya grabbed my hand, so I took Aislynn’s, as she took Aethyr’s. We walked like that for the next ten minutes, wings contracted until we came to sit upon the grass next to the lake. I summoned a small portion of water and repeated the action my grandmother crafted all those years ago when she told us that our parents died.

  In that instant, I knew the four of us were more connected than we had ever been, and we felt boundless. The only thing limiting us from achieving what we wanted was our own fear.

  I looked up, and in that exact spot above us were four different species of trees converging, all blossoming a different color. One was blue, for me; one was purple, for Safeyya; one was beige, for Aislynn; and the fourth was pink, for Aethyr. I told my brother and sisters, and we all looked up at that spot before falling asleep on the bank of the lake.

  I feel the chains around my wings slacken further, and figure that Melandria is either falling asleep or realizing I don’t intend to go anywhere before my sister arrives. I appreciate the sentiment, but I choose to ignore her and continue to gaze upon our vast city.

  I focus my attention on the southern portion of Belarin, where our training grounds reside. Even from here, several kilometers away, I can see multiple sets of wings take to the sky. From this distance, I can’t make out too many details, but every few seconds I can see a tiny ball of fire soaring through the air, or a spark of lightning descend from above.

  Many of the trees there are uprooted, as the wood wielders in my age range tend to use them as weapons, hurling them back and forth at other trainees. Most of our affinities can be found easily in nature, but some Zicarna need to work harder than others during training in order to master control over their elements.

  Basically, wind, water, wood, earth, and even lightning, are found in abundance and can be tapped into at a moments’ notice. We all have weapons, so metal wielders can make use of those, or they can siphon out some metals from inside the earth and utilize that if they have enough time. Ice wielders have it a bit more troublesome, as they need to freeze the water molecules around them first before they can do anything else. However, fire and lava wielders spend the most time honing their abilities, as these elements are not normally found in the midst of battle, or really anywhere at all without being created from energy found in their wings. As soon as they reach training age, they are taught how to tap into their spirit and their own power source using the nature of their wings to bring their element to life.

  A noise from behind us startles me, and I turn my head to see Klaryk walking in. He nods to Melandria. “Prepare yourself,” he says. “I received word that she just left the Militia quadrant. She should be arriving within five minutes. I am going to keep watch; one of us is always supposed to be on the lookout. Call me if there are any issues.”

  “Okay,” Melandria replies as Klaryk walks back over to his lookout spot. She allows me to remain seated, but she removes herself from the ledge and chooses to stand behind me, tightening my bindings a bit as she does so.

  I try to break the silence that’s accrued by lightening the mood. “Doesn’t he ever smile?”

  She looks me up and down before I turn my head around. “Generally, no,” she retorts. “Look, in the distance, at ten o’clock, a bit southwest. That must be Safeyya.”

  I turn my attention to ten o’clock as Melandria instructed. Sure enough, flying toward us at an incredible speed is a young woman with dark brown hair cascading over her radiant toffee-colored skin. Not much else can be discerned from this far away, but the three sets of lavender wings beating furiously behind her makes all else unmistakable: it’s my sister, the Lightning Tune.

  As we age, we may or may not grow a second set of wings, and some of us are even blessed with a third set. Our additional sets of wings may grow in as the same color we already have, thereby enhancing our affinity for said element, or a different color, allowing us to wield more elements. At twenty-seven, Safeyya has all three sets the same color, which is extremely rare. A Zicarnum with three sets of the same colored wings is known as a Tune, and there is seemingly only one Tune per element at a time. With regard to my sister, this signifies her prowess and efficiency with lightning.

  I hope she’s not mad at me, but she never flies that fast unless she has good reason to. As she draws closer, we can make out more features. First, her long legs, then her broad shoulders and her high cheekbones come into view. Lastly, we can make out each individual portion of her beautiful lavender wings flapping behind her, and then I can see the whites of her eyes, brown in the center, as she hovers before us.

  She doesn’t look too mad, but I’m not sure who should speak first; I decide to chance it. “Took you long enough,” I joke.

  She notes Melandria, then looks
me over, eyeing the chains binding my wrists and my wings. She shakes her head at me and her eyes flick to Melandria. “Is this your work?”

  “Yes, Safeyya,” she responds proudly. “I apologize for the harshness, but there was no word left here that he was to be sent out for scouting today, and I decided I should follow protocol.”

  My sister looks approvingly at Melandria. Then she faces me, smirking to herself, no doubt wondering what trouble I’ve just gotten myself into.

  CHAPTER IV

  SAFEYYA’S TRUST

  "No,” Safeyya addresses Melandria. “You made the right call. In fact, you probably could have done with binding his legs as well.” Safy smirks as she looks me over once more. “Selvyn, you never make life easy for me, do you?”

  I stare at her, dumbfounded. “Err... well, I went scouting like you suggested I did, didn’t I?”

  She flies into the tower, landing elegantly, and instructs Melandria to release my bindings. “Yes, you did.” She walks over to me and helps me to stretch my wings. As she does so, she whispers in my ear so that Melandria can’t hear. “You better have a very good explanation for this.” She continues speaking loudly enough for the guards to hear her. “But did you leave word with the night guard as I instructed you to? I even gave you a letter of permission stating that you were allowed to leave Belarin before the designated time, as long as you were to return before noon.”

  I lower my head into my chest, feigning embarrassment. “No, I’m sorry. I must have dropped the letter on the way over here. When I arrived and discovered that it wasn’t in my possession, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to bother you, so I just waited for the guards to exchange tower shifts and then I flew underneath the city so as to not draw attention to myself.”