by Katie Pottle
“Okay, got it,” Cadin said as he perched himself on the front of the airship much the same as Gur was now perched on his head. “Look, there’s one!”
“Still too small and the wrong type of cloud; look for a small cumulonimbus cloud-land.”
“Look, there—behind the big cloud,” Cadin called.
“Yes, that could be it!” Tal exclaimed.
They approached and circled, but the cloud was steeply built and had no good place to land the airship. Tal had spotted Mira’s little hut, and decided to park the airship on a small cloud-land not too far away and fly over from there. Tal took the harness used for adult angels to strap to kids that had not yet developed wings and strapped Cadin to his chest.
Cadin was facing out and was excited to fly with his dad. Cadin had also taken the precaution of strapping Gur on with the leash that Sun had made. He could feel his dad’s body tense as he crouched to take off. It was exhilarating to be free—flying with the crisp wind blowing through his hair.
Gur was enjoying himself more than Cadin thought he would as he stuck his nose out in the air and ruffled his wings in the wind.
Tal landed next to Sara and Marvin down the hill from Mira’s place. Cadin got unstrapped and unhooked Gur as well before they climbed the small cloud-mountain. Everyone stayed back to let Tal be the first to approach the entrance. Cadin had to hold himself back from marching up to the beautiful door to take in all the details up close. Tal raised his hand to knock, but the old door swung open just before he reached it.
“Some things never change,” Tal said with a smile.
“What? You expected once again to surprise this old woman, eh?” Mira said with a big smile that scrunched her face into a multitude of wrinkles. “It has been a while Talvarian, and I see you brought visitors.” Mira squinted her bright eyes as she approached them. “Ah, you brought a storm angel with you! Excellent.”
“Mira, this is our son, Cadin.”
“Your son you say? Oh, the gin boy,” she said with a chuckle. “You two must have your hands full.”
Cadin didn't quite know what to say. He didn't think he was what you'd call a problem child.
“He's a good kid, Mira,” Tal said as he set down his gear.
Mira eyed him with ancient wrinkles masking, sharp, blue eyes. “Good, Aura, gins, storm. Yes, yes. Well, don’t just stand there; come in, come in.”
The list seemed to be about Cadin, however, he had no idea what she meant by storm angel.
Part Two
CHAPTER EIGHT
Mira
“Have you had a good visit with Marvin so far, young Cadin?” Mira said.
“What? Oh yes, ma'am.” Cadin said after a moment. He was quite taken with the inside of her house. He walked around with his dad for several minutes examining all the different types of cloud-stones on the walls and inlayed into many common utensils while Sara and Marvin just sat down, looking around.
“Please don’t call me ma’am. I prefer Mira.”
“Okay, Mira. I love all your cloud-stones. Oh, and thank you for the gift of the raw gin-stones!”
“You are very welcome. I have looked forward to meeting you and your mother for quite a while,” Mira said with a nod to them both.
“Thank you for having us,” Sara said.
“Of course, of course. Now there are a couple queries I have before we proceed with our day.” Mira hefted herself up from her seat and approached Tal. “I assume you would like to mine some fresh cloud-stones while you are here.” Tal nodded. “Is there anything else?”
“Not for me,” Tal answered.
Cadin expected to be questioned next; but instead Mira hobbled over to Marvin and Sara.
“Marvin, the weapon smith. Talvarian has told me that you string cloud-stones to some of your finer pieces. Is this true?”
“Yes, Mira; and I would very much like to learn more about the cloud-stones after seeing what Talvarian has been producing.”
Mira nodded and turned to Sara. “What would you like to gain from this trip?”
“I am here to support my family; however, I am certainly open to learning new things.”
“What is your area of study?” Mira asked Sara.
“Cloud-nature mostly.”
“I see. And now we move on to Cadin.” It seemed to take forever for Mira to make her way back across the room to where Cadin stood.
“First of all, it is nice to finally meet you. I expected many things of you after all that I have heard over the years; but you seem to have a few surprises of your own, eh?”
Cadin was nonplussed. “Eh, it’s nice to meet you too. But I’m not entirely sure what you mean by surprises.”
“All in good time, young man. First—you wield gins. It is amazing you were able to fuse them so young. How many did you fuse?”
“Seven. Would you like to see them?”
“Yes, but not in the house. They may not react kindly to the energy of my cloud-stones.”
They all walked outside—Talvarian and Marvin heading around back after Mira pointed out the location of her current mine, and Cadin, Mira and Sara started up the fluffy cumulonimbus cloud-mountain to examine Cadin’s gins.
“How have you been storing them?”
“I first carried them in this white dragon-skin bag,” Cadin said as he handed over the bag. Mira examined the sturdy, pearlescent bag closely, nodded and then handed it back. “When I got to Air, Grandpa Marvin surprised me with this gin-blade, and I have kept them in the handle ever since.”
“A true gin-blade?” Mira asked, her wrinkles smoothing slightly as Cadin pulled it out of its sheath. “This is an amazing gift.”
“Yes. I am just beginning to learn how the gins and the gin-blade interact. They seem somehow—more powerful and, well…different when they are together.”
“You just flip back the dragon head to open the gin chamber,” Cadin told Mira as she was still holding the gin-blade.
“No, dear,” Mira said as she handed the sword back to Cadin. “Once the gins have met the blade and have a clear link to their Master—only the Master of the gin-blade can open it.”
“What about the allegiance of this gin-blade to the Master who had it before me?”
“As I understand it, if a Gin Master dies, the gins will not change allegiance; however, gin-blades can and often do change hands from fathers to sons, masters to apprentices, and so on.”
Cadin reached for the latch under the dragon chin and opened the chamber. The seven gins rolled into his palm and he held them up for Mira to inspect. Walking around Cadin’s open hand, Mira looked closely at the gins but made no move to touch them.
“You have seven large and complete gins…and…something extra if I’m not mistaken. What are those?” Mira got so close to the gins that her nose nearly touched them.
“Oh, those are the raw gins that you sent me encompassed within my fused gins. When my Aura emerged, I had been working with both sets and they ended up fusing together.”
“Now that I have never heard of! Full of surprises!” Mira smiled and the wrinkles that lined her face multiplied.
The gins started to vibrate a bit in Cadin’s hand.
“I think we are too close to the mine,” Mira said as she watched Cadin close his hand around the jumping gins. “Why don’t you put them away for now and we will hike up a bit further.”
“Wow, this cloud is moving quickly,” Sara huffed as she followed Mira and Cadin. She wobbled a little bit, but before Cadin could reach out his hand to steady her, she flapped her wings hard once and lifted off the cloud and landed gracefully a few feet away. “You live on a temperamental cloud, Mira.”
Mira giggled and kept walking. “Yes I do. She loves to rain on the humans every chance she gets, too. She also has some mean lightning—which probably calls to you, Cadin, being a storm angel and all.”
“You keep saying that, but I honestly don’t know what a storm angel is,” Cadin said as he followed behind Mira’s
slow and precise steps.
“Storm is your elemental affinity—what you are most drawn to when cloud-shifting and what is attracted to you. For instance, I am an air angel.”
Mira reached for the cloud, and as she touched it, a blast of air shot out. She closed the cloud before moving on. “I can wield the other elements; however, I do my best and fastest cloud-shifting with air.”
“Oh, I had no idea. What’s your affinity, mom?”
“Water, and your father’s is lightning. I got zapped several times during our first kiss.”
“Ew! I did not need to know that.”
Sara laughed as she hopped back over to their cloud and they all took a seat.
“But what is a storm angel’s affinity?” Cadin asked.
“It is just a title for someone who has multiple affinities.”
Cadin reached down and connected with the cloud. Lighting rolled under them, and Cadin knew they would get shocked if he opened the cloud. He also felt strong currents of air swirling and slashing through the water.
Mira smiled. “Oh, yes—you certainly stirred her up!”
“Her?” Sara asked.
“Yes, this cloud is female in nature. I call her Gloria.”
Cadin giggled. “You name your clouds?”
“Why, of course. Many things have names and personalities associated with them; and knowing and understanding the identity of such things can be very powerful and beneficial,” Mira said as she summoned a large clump of cloud to sit on. “For instance—your gin-blade.”
Cadin struggled to pull himself up to the top and take a seat next to Mira. Sara chose to fly over and sit on the next ridge of cloud.
“What about my sword?” Cadin asked, a little out of breath.
“She too has a name.”
“But how could I possibly find the name of this sword? Surely the name was lost long ago.”
“Names have a way of sticking with strong objects; and it just so happens that I am familiar with this gin-blade of yours.”
“You know the name of my sword?”
“Yes and no,” Mira said without a hint of sarcasm.
Cadin was getting frustrated. Usually he was quite good at understanding people—well normal people. But Mira tended to talk in puzzles very similar to the way Master Emilio spoke of things.
Do all old people talk in such riddles? Cadin wondered. He figured that the best thing to do was to keep asking questions until he either got the answers he was looking for or was too confused to care. Then he saw Mira staring at him and figured that this was a bit of a test. He had to ask the right questions to earn the answer.
“Hmm. First, how do you know of this sword?”
Mira smiled before answering. “I knew the man who forged the gin-blade you now hold.”
Cadin thought back and remembered the man who gave it to Marvin received it from his grandfather who was its maker.
“Did you also know that the man who the gin-blade was left to?”
“Yes. A young man who unfortunately possesses neither his grandfather’s talent nor charm. I am not surprised he traded this precious heirloom. At least the weapon is now in the hands of someone who can appreciate it and put it to good use. The maker would be pleased.”
“Can you not tell me the maker’s name?”
“Names hold power, and it is not necessary for you to know the name of the maker. The gin-blade is another matter.”
Cadin perked up.
“This blade has a name only when in its true form.”
“You mean the katana?” Cadin said excitedly.
“So, Marvin does know a bit about this blade. Yes, the true form of this gin-blade is a katana; and when it is in this form its name is ‘Tsuyo’ for plum rain or summer rain.”
“Tsuyo.” Cadin tested the sound of it and as he did the blade changed form to the katana.
“I suggest you now guard this weapon as if it were a part of you.” Mira’s tone was serious. “It is true this blade was meant as a nice gift for you; however, you must understand Tsuyo is so much more than a mere trifle.” Mira glanced at Sara to make sure that she was listening as well. Sara was sitting on a comfortable cloud-seat, though her posture was rigid and her face was pursed in concentration. Mira nodded to herself and continued.
“Cadin, cloud-stones are not well understood in these days and now you are strongly connected to two of the least understood cloud-stone elements. Your blade is named and is connected to you. It will lend you its power as you lend it yours.”
“I guess I will do my best to learn more about gins and gin-blades.”
Mira nodded. “You would do well to do so.” She squinted at Cadin. “Can I ask you something?” Her eyes looked slightly glazed over as she peered at Cadin.
“Um, sure.”
“Why is your Aura flickering?”
“Oh, I must have forgot…no…it is still blue, isn’t it?” At first, he thought he wasn’t expressing the correct traits to reflect blue, or he had slid back into his old habit of showing green—but upon consciously checking, he could find nothing wrong.”
“Yes, it is blue,” Sara answered. Mira just shook her head.
“Does it not look blue to you?” Cadin asked, worried.
“What a strange question. An Aura is what it is; however, yours appears to be struggling.”
“Go ahead, Cadin,” Sara said. She was giving him permission to reveal his true Aura to Mira.
Cadin closed his eyes and felt a slight tingling sensation across is body as he relaxed his control and embraced his mixed Aura.
“Now that is much better,” Mira said, nodding.
“You don’t seem very surprised.”
“Like I said, your Aura is what it is—even when you try to hide it. I suggest you seek out a Cavern of Aristue…” Mira faltered, focusing on his Aura. “But, now I see that you have already found one. No wonder your Aura was trying so desperately to escape—you have already activated it.”
“What?” Cadin said, feeling a sliver of understanding.
“What in the cloud-lands could you be talking about, Mira?” Sara said.
“Am I right?” Mira directed her question at Cadin, ignoring Sara’s comment.
Cadin thought for a moment about the cave he found on the Night of Fire. He considered her faded eyes that saw so much. “Yes.”
“You have tried—but you should never ignore the calling of Aristue or the gifts that are offered.”
Cadin could feel his mom looking back and forth between them, but she said nothing more.
“Your mixed Aura also explains how you are a storm angel.”
“I thought you said that just means I have multiple affinities or whatever.” That didn’t seem like much of an insight—everyone worked with all the elements.
“Yes, however, possessing multiple strong affinities is not common. Affinity is essentially a passive skill that is fed by your Aura. I imagine a mixed Aura affords you plenty of excess passive and active energy and therefore allows for you to attract storm elements easier than most.”
Cadin’s mind was swimming and he almost didn’t notice his dad and grandpa walking out of a small hole in the side of the cloud-mountain as they descended. Tal coughed and shook off a large amount of cloud and dust which finally got Cadin’s attention. Cadin rushed to relieve Marvin of his armload of raw cloud-stones which were still mostly attached to large chunks of rocks.
“This is a nice mine,” Tal said to Mira.
“Yes, it is one of the most abundant ones I have ever found. That is why I chose to drift with this mine to the fringe when it started to break away from the main cloud-land. I could not bear this lot getting recycled back into a natural cloud without being mined and used for something.”
“It is fantastic. Marvin and I have pulled out enough to take back with us, plus some extras for you.”
Marvin looked up and saw Cadin and smiled. “Oh, this is the first time I have seen your mixed Aura in all its glory! It’s
a shame to hide it if you ask me.”
“We have already talked about that,” Mira commented as she surveyed their spoils.
“It’s for his protection,” Tal said, his brows furrowed.
“Hmm, Aristue disagrees.”
“The Caverns of Legend?” Tal asked.
“Only to the very young. The caverns are very real—as your son can attest to.”
Tal whipped his head around to gaze at Cadin. “What is she talking about?”
“Well, I found this cave the night we were catching fireflies.” He couldn’t look either of his parents in the eyes, so he stared at his feet. “It was amazing and lit by pulsing blue and green lights.” He didn’t really know what else to say so he just stopped.
“Did anything happen while you were in there?” His dad sounded more curious than mad.
“Well, when I touched the rock, the pulsing started to speed up until I couldn’t tell the difference between the two colors in the walls. I think my Aura reacted to it, because it felt like my Aura was mirroring the lights or something.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sara finally asked.
“Because I knew you’d be worried, and I figured you already knew about the cave with it being so close to Grandpa Marvin’s place. I didn’t want to get in trouble for going into it.”
“I know of no such cave. Mira, you called it a Cavern of Air?”
“A Cavern of Aristue. And you do not know about it because it is not there. The Caverns only present themselves to angels in need who are worthy of their gifts. It appears the gift in this case was to activate young Cadin’s energy. The true color of his Aura needed release. If the Cavern felt it was time—then it is now safer for him to wear his true Aura proudly, rather than to spend energy hiding it.”
“What is it you do with all of these cloud-stones, Mira?” Sara asked as she looked at the huge pile of stones they added to with their last load. They had talked a bit more about Cadin’s Aura and decided that the choice to hide or show his Aura was ultimately his own. He was grateful for a change in subject.
“Oh, I chip them away from the core and either sell them raw, shape them and sell them to jewelers or I inlay them in different tools myself and fly to Air to sell the goods in the open market on the weekends. I have quite a few loyal customers who prefer my tools to others because of the edge the proper cloud-stones give them.”
