Underestimated Affinities

by Matthew Scarcella

  “Hey, I’m just about going stir crazy in here. Grab your Sais and let’s go.” She turns around and starts flying toward my house. I have no intention of dealing with Felix, so I pick up the Sais of Zulena and walk past him as he stares at me, dumbfounded and mouth agape. I ignore him as I pass, and jump out the window, following Melandria.

  It only takes us a few minutes to fly over there, and we do it in silence — thankfully. I like having time to just think to myself, not having to deal with anyone else. It’s very peaceful.

  When we land at my door, Safeyya’s already there waiting. Sometimes I think she has a sixth sense that comes into play whenever she needs to respond to something that involves me. Frankly, it’s rather unnerving.

  She walks over to hug her best friend in greeting. “Hey, Mel. What did you need to talk to me about?”

  Oh, good. Seems my sister was waiting for her and knew what time she finished her shift. This time she was just waiting for her friend and not to deal with me. Not going to lie, that’s a little bit of a relief.

  “We’ll talk about that privately in a minute. First, why don’t you look at what your brother found in Makoro.” She gestures toward the weapons in my hands, hanging by my side. Safeyya looks at them in shock before realizing what they must be.

  “Nice, Selv!” She kneels on the ground before me to get a better look at them. “But how the hell are you, of all people, able to carry them?” she questions begrudgingly.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I snicker.

  “Er — well, you know what I mean! Those blades are legendary. Literally. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

  “No, it’s fine, I understand. I didn’t even know what they were until Melandria and Klaryk explained them to me.”

  “So, wait,” Melandria speaks up, “You already know what these are, Safeyya?”

  “Of course. Anyone of my prominence should know just by looking at them that these are the Sais of Zulena.” She grins sheepishly, not having meant to mention her status above us in the city. Melandria doesn’t seem offended; she knows what it’s like to have to work her way up to a higher rank in Belarin. It takes time. I, on the other hand, simply don’t care. I’m not interested in promoting our structure of leadership and dealing with the politics associated with being in command. I do not agree with the way the city is currently run, and it would take a lot more than me saying something to change that.

  “Hmm,” Melandria mumbles, gathering her thoughts. “So then, as the Commander of the army, you’re alright with him carrying them around and claiming them as his own?”

  “Of course! He won’t do anything stupid with them — will you?” she finishes her thought by pivoting to face me and raising her voice.

  “What do you think?” I say. “I’m an adult, I can carry these responsibly.”

  She smiles broadly at this. “Can you believe it? My own brother carrying the Sais of Zulena. It’s insane! I’d never have thought of it.”

  Again, I ignore the comment. “Oh, Melandria, Klaryk mentioned something about being able to mend my affinities with the Sais… how do I do that?”

  “Well, Selvyn,” she shrugs, “That’s for you to figure out, now isn’t it? I’ve never wielded them, and I’m only mildly familiar with the lore.”

  Safeyya interrupts her before she can continue. “It’s getting late. Why don’t you go head inside, Selv, while I talk to Mel.”

  “Alright. Are Aethyr and Aislynn home tonight?”

  She shakes her head. “No. They’ll both be gone for a few days. Aethyr asked Aislynn to go over to Petalsong Forest with him so they could see if she could repair all the damage that was done when that big section burned down.”

  “Ah, that was smart,” I reply. “I’m sure she’ll be able to take care of it with her affinities.”

  “Yes, I’m sure she can. Have a good night.” I turn to go inside, but she calls out once more. “Oh, sorry, but I almost forgot. Piero stopped by here earlier.” Her face lights up at the thought of giving me good news for once. “He was looking for you.”

  “Piero?” I ask. “Did he say what he wanted?”

  “Nope. I think he was just hoping to see you.” I look at her quizzically, taken aback. “He’s in a strange city, you’re basically the only person he knows, maybe he just wants you to show him around or something.”

  “Oh, alright.”

  “I think that it would be good for you too, you know...” she trails off, slowly.

  “What would?” I ask.

  “Well, I mean, just to go see him, talk to him, whatever you want.” She smiles awkwardly. “He seems like a nice man... and he’s very handsome, which is a plus — not that I’m interested in him myself,” she notes with a wave of her hand. “We spoke for a few minutes about what it means to be a Tune. Although it was admittedly an odd conversation — I’ve never had to talk about that with anyone before. Though I think it was good for me to explain, for his sake and mine.”

  “That’s good to hear, I will try to find him tomorrow. I was talking to Celestra and Alexyo earlier about maybe showing him around.”

  “Ah, I figured as much. I left his address by the Academia on your dresser.” She smiles before waving me off. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” I reply. “Goodnight, Melandria.”

  “Night,” she answers.

  I walk inside and close the door behind me. I only get a few meters before I hear Melandria speaking to Safeyya.

  “The Council opened the metal box after their meeting with Piero.”

  I stop dead in my tracks. The metal box! Is she referring to our Council’s version of the one I found in Kryolen? She must be. I know I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but I really need to hear this conversation.

  “Really?” Safeyya asks with doubt in her voice. “No offense, but why would I not be aware of this?”

  “No offense taken,” Melandria retorts. “Truthfully, I shouldn’t have been aware of it either. I was guarding the sanctum while you were all in the trial room discussing the Ice Tune’s appearance. When it was over, they passed by me going into the chambers and to be frank, I was curious why all five of them entered at once, and I sort of did my best to overhear their conversation.”

  “But wouldn’t Bayleigh have —” my sister began to interject.

  “No, for whatever reason, she must have had more pressing matters on her mind. She didn’t smother the wind inside the sanctum, and I was able to hear them talking amongst themselves for a few minutes.”

  “And what did you hear?”

  “Well,” Melandria continues, “They were a bit on edge after Piero’s appearance here, and they mostly discussed how his living here could affect Belarin. However, they stopped talking for a few seconds and I was able to sense the box being opened. I’m not exactly sure what is inside, but I heard Bayleigh instruct Lukasz to add Piero to some list.”

  A list, what use would that be? And what is so important about a list that it needs to be kept inside a locked box, accessible only to the most prominent members of the city? My sister appears to have the same qualms as I do about this list.

  “That’s absurd,” she states. “Why would they need to hide a piece of paper with a name on it inside of a locked box?”

  “They mentioned your name… as well as the twins’. I believe they are keeping track of who each Tune currently is and where they are located.”

  “I still don’t understand the significance of that,” my sister says. “What’s the point if they’re not going to let the rest of the city know? We are already aware of me, obviously, as well as the twins, and now Piero. So that’s four Tunes who are currently residents of Belarin, although admittedly, the twins take off so frequently, I’m not even sure if they consider this their primary residence.”

  “Right,” Melandria continues, “But what if they’re trying to find the remaining five for some sort of diabolical purpose? Well, I guess almost everyone knows of the Metal Tune as well.”
>
  “I don’t know, that’s preposterous. I mean, maybe it’s not, but I’d rather not think about it, considering I’m one of the Tunes. Anyway, I know who the current Water Tune is — I just haven’t mentioned it to the Council.”

  “Are you serious?” Melandria squeaks.

  “Yes,” Safeyya replies. “This is confidential, Melandria, and I’m telling you as my best friend. I do not want this to go anywhere else.”

  “Of course, Safeyya. I would rather die than betray your trust.”

  My sister pauses for a moment before continuing. “Her name is Lux. I ran into her one day when I was out with the twins. They are quite friendly with her and did not intend for me to meet her because of my status with the Council. I assured them that the Council would not find out about her, at least not from me. We spoke for an hour or so. She prefers not to associate herself with the major cities, and as a Tune, I can understand why.”

  “Me too, especially after all the commotion Piero’s appearance caused.”

  A ruckus sounds off in the distance and Safeyya shushes Melandria. The two of them go silent for several minutes. I sit behind the door in anticipation but nothing else seems to happen.

  “So, about this list,” Safeyya continues. “Did you hear anything else? What about the other Tunes?”

  “They didn’t say anything else, at least not loud enough for me to hear, and unfortunately they did not talk about anything else inside the metal box, if anything else even is inside of it.”

  “Hmph,” Safeyya sighs reluctantly. “Speaking of the metal box, Selvyn found another one in Kryolen about three months ago.”

  “He did?” Melandria sounds shocked. “How did he get into the Forbidden Lake?”

  “I’m not going to get into that right now, it’s a long story. But — I think I want to figure out a way to retrieve that box.”

  “Well if you do need any help from me, please let me know.”

  “Okay, I will, and thank you for being so candid with me. I appreciate it. You really are a true friend, you know, Mel. I’m glad we grew up together.”

  “Me too, Safy,” Melandria agrees.

  I don’t see the remainder of their conversation having any more importance to me, so I tiptoe toward my room and get ready for sleep.

  I toss and turn for an hour, wondering about all of my unanswered questions. Why did those Zicarna attack us at Makoro? Were they rogues, or were they from another city? Both of our groups could have just peacefully walked away from the situation. But that’s the least of my worries at this point.

  Why did the Sais of Zulena beckon me, and why am I able to carry them, when even dual metal wielders cannot? How do I even mend my affinities to them? I’m sure that can give me a greater edge in battle.

  And what does Piero want? Why did he come to my house looking for me? And when he didn’t find me, why did he have a conversation with my sister? I guess that part makes more sense. If he just became a Tune, he must have a lot of questions about the lifestyle.

  Furthermore, what is going on with this list the Council is writing? And who is this Water Tune? What was her name… Lux. It’s all a lot to process, but for now, I store the questions away; I’ll deal with them another day, starting tomorrow with Piero.

  CHAPTER XII

  A BRIEF RESPITE

  It was a rough night. The anxiety of all my unanswered questions really got to me, and influenced my dreamscape, resulting in nightmares. One in particular stuck out to me, the image of which was left intact even after waking.

  I laid flat on the ground in one of our guard towers, unable to move, my body motionless on the floor. My wings were stationary, as if they were painted on. My entire body was heavy. It was as if the effect of gravity was multiplied and my body was unable to acclimate; an unseen force pushing me into the ground. Breathing was the only thing I was capable of.

  The severe darkness of the space was intensified by one sliver of moonlight streaming in through a crack in the wall. The room was desolate, devoid of furniture and objects. All I could see were bleak walls, no outlines of anything else.

  Yet, there was an indiscernible presence hovering in the vicinity. Was someone there? I could hear someone else breathing, I was certain of it. Time ticked by and nothing happened. Still, the breathing remained. The moonlight trickling in shifted as the hours went by, and eventually, a shadow was illuminated on the wall before me. Someone else was definitely in the room with me. Sitting there, watching me.

  Fear coursed through my body like poison. I tried to move, but the struggling only made the effect worse. I tried to

  tap into my affinities and bring in a gust of wind through the crack in the wall, but to no avail. I called for help, but no sound emanated from my mouth.

  I was quite literally hopeless.

  I moved my mouth to form the words ‘what do you want from me,’ hoping that maybe the shadow would show some form of interaction. This quiet façade was more than I could bear. If it had any nefarious plans, why wouldn’t it just carry them out already?

  ‘Hello?’ I mouthed, trying again. I heard the rustling of feathers against brick, and the shadow stood tall, its back firmly against the wall. The moonlight faded into nothingness, and footsteps crept toward me. I closed my eyes and receded into blackness.

  When I awoke, I was dripping in perspiration. I scanned my bedroom for the shadow in my dream, but of course, no one was there.

  This isn’t the first case of sleep paralysis that I’ve had. In fact, I have a history of being subjected to the torturous limbo that resides in between states of consciousness. If you have never experienced this phenomenon, it is not something that can be explained lightly.

  In its simplest form, you fall into limbo just before your brain can process your body falling asleep or waking. In this state, you are completely aware of your surroundings but unable to move. There is generally an eerie sense of unease and terror, as you feel as if someone is watching you. Since you are unable to do anything, you just stay still, trying to coerce your body into moving, struggling even though you know it is futile. This usually only goes on for a few minutes, but in limbo, it feels as if hours pass by. Hours and hours of being subjected to immobilization, it truly is terrifying.

  I meander into the lavatory, absentmindedly banging into the walls of my house as I relive the experience. I clean my mouth to rid it of my morning breath, and I relieve myself before I begin my daily ablutions. Having an affinity for water allows me to be a bit lazier in this regard, as I can wield my affinity to simply siphon water out from the intricate piping system underneath the house, without having to resort to using manual labor to draw it out from the well pump.

  I disrobe and once again marvel at the luxurious bathtub Aislynn created for us a few years ago. It’s made of a mix of chromium, cobalt, and molybdenum, giving it a spectacularly brilliant luster, and is suspended off the ground by four identical clawed-feet composed of the rarer silver and platinum.

  I allow myself to relax in the room temperature water, soaking away the stress of last night. I can almost feel the tension being relieved from my neck and shoulders, where I usually store it all. After steeping for about thirty minutes, I finish cleaning myself off, then step out of the basin and dry off.

  I pull on a pair of standard black pants before securing my accessories. I leave the Sais of Zulena on the top of my dresser, as I don’t believe I’ll be needing them in Belarin.

  I fly in the direction of the Academia, north of the main city, which only takes a few minutes. Piero’s current residence is easily distinguishable, as it’s set apart from our citizens’ homes, the school, and our food sources. His home is set close to the northwestern guard tower, and it’s more of a shack than a house just judging by the size.

  I can sense his presence even before I land, but I think I’m just apprehensive. Actually, I think I was able to sense him as soon as I woke up. Anxiety can make you feel strange things.

  Well, is it anxiety? I feel
this odd sensation whenever I’m near him now. It’s similar to how I feel around Safeyya, but I thought that was just because she’s my sister. Is it possible I can sense them because they’re Tunes? It’s strange, because theoretically, I’m only supposed to be able to sense the Wind and Water Tunes, but here we are.

  I land quietly in the vicinity and bask in the serenity before moving further. The house is painted a bright blue color and there are several trenga feeding off scraps in the front yard. There is one window to the left of the door, and from what I can see, it is not a lavatory. So, there’s not a severe lack of privacy — at least there’s that.

  Patches of ivy growing all along the roof and down the corners of the front of the house create an alluring façade. Upon approach, a guard stops me.

  “May I help you, Selvyn?” she asks. She tosses her long black braid behind her and stands tall. Her piercing blue eyes are illuminated against the contrast of her hair and rosy cheeks. Her legs are extremely long, making her taller than me. She has developed a rather off-putting personality as a result of growing up the center of attention. Her name is Willow, and like most people, she does not seem thrilled to see me. We’ve had some quarrels growing up, and she’s been a bit more abrasive than necessary whenever we’ve sparred together.

  “Hey there, Willow. I’m here to see Piero. He came to see me yesterday, and I wasn’t home, so I thought that I’d just drop by.” She rolls her eyes at my statement. “Safeyya was the one that spoke to him, she told me it’d be fine for me to come by.”

  “Well, of course she did. Why not let the little brother do whatever he wants?” she starts to rant, her voice dripping with disdain. She cocks her hip and head to opposite sides and her facial expression deepens; her body language displays full on confrontation. “You know, most of us have to follow the rules. Why do you think that you are capable of doing whatever your heart desires without any repercussions? It’s complete and utter bullshit. Nepotism, one hundred percent. If I had my way, you’d be drowning in consequences by now. In fact, you probably wouldn’t even be a citizen of Belarin anymore.”