The Raging One

by Lexy Wolfe

  "Oh, please. You would find that interesting," Amelana sneered condescendingly, the young Forentan apprentice flinching at her mocking tones. "The Forentan here are mere lowborn laborers who clearly have forgotten their place." Her horse pranced back as a pair of children dashed in front of it, forcing her to focus her attention on keeping her seat. "Stupid animal! Just step on them next time!" Ash did not say anything, narrowing his eyes slightly. Terrence glanced up at his master's reassuring hand on his shoulder and sighed softly, squaring his shoulders.

  A loud, clear voice cut through the normal cacophony of the city as the group approached the huge establishment bearing the sign of a silver seabird. "Mureln!" A buxom Vodani woman emerged from the side entrance of The Silver Seagull Inn, holding her arms wide in welcome. "Are you a sight for sore eyes!" The woman barely gave the bard time to dismount before she threw her arms around him, kissing him soundly on the cheeks. She looked over Mureln's shoulder to scan the others with him. "Are those two land rats of yours still following you around?"

  "Aw, we be glad t' see ye, too, Mia," Emil drawled as he dismounted, holding his arms wide to the woman.

  Mia held her hands up in a warding gesture. "I only just earned back the coin you snitched the last time you visited, Emil. You just keep your hands to yourself."

  Emil affected mock innocence. "Mia, I'm hurt! How could you say such a thing about me? Ow!" Emil looked up at Emaris. "Will ye stop hittin' me, Emaris?!" Mia laughed merrily, giving the huge man a hug as well. Emaris easily lifted her from the ground, earning a cheery scolding from Mia for man-handling.

  Sparkling sea blue eyes examined the others as they dismounted. "I see you've found others to follow you around, you rogue," Mia said teasingly to Mureln, who merely shrugged helplessly, winking at her. "You always were one to travel with such motley groups." Mia gave each person an openly scrutinizing examination in turn until she got to Almek. Her eyes went wide in amazement. Dropping her gaze respectfully, she went to her knees. "By the spring tides! Forgive me, Dusvet Guardian! I meant no disrespect—!"

  The Guardian flicked a look as the attention of people in the street began to focus on them. Almek leaned down, gently pulling the woman back to her feet. "Please, do not kneel to me, Mia."

  Flustered, Mia babbled incoherently before she finally started barking orders to some of the boys peering from the adjoining stables. "Get out here and take our honored guests' mounts, you lazy boys! Come, come!" Turning to the group, she began to shoo them like a mother would small children. "You must be hungry! Do you Forentan never eat?! Look at this boy; he's nothing but skin and bones!" she said, pushing Terrence in ahead of her. "This will simply not do at all, it will not. Cara! Set the big table! These people are faint with hunger! Mikal, prepare the good rooms for the Dusvet Guardian and his companions!" Terrence looked behind at the others with a wide-eyed, helpless expression.

  "Ah, yes." Mureln coughed a bit, scratching behind his ear with chagrin. "That's my little sister Mia. You get used to her."

  Chapter 18

  THOUGH the awe of having both Dusvet Guardian and Illaini Magus had not eased completely, after a few days, life returned to some semblance of normalcy for The Silver Seagull. Wrought iron chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, brightening the dark wood interior. Cheerful serving girls dressed in bright colors moved among the crowded tables with trays laden with food and drink, laughing as they passed by the master bard as he circulated among the patrons.

  Taking it upon herself to attend to Almek and his companions, Mia chattered as she wiped down the table as they ate while Mureln sang for the supper crowd. "Oh, no, no. Mureln and I weren't born here. He was born and raised in Water's Resonance. I was born on our clan's maternasi." She chuckled in amusement. "Vodani usually aren't born on dry land. We're born wanderers, move where the tides take us." She picked up a wicker-wrapped bottle and topped off glasses. "We used to pearl dive at Water's Resonance when we where children, until he felt the a'alisna. The wanderlust."

  "I am glad to finally meet one of Mureln's siblings." Almek raised his glass to her respectfully. "He had always spoken fondly of you."

  Having gotten past the paralyzing awe she had for the man, Mia still blushed at the Guardian's words. "Mureln had mentioned meeting you years ago in his messages to me. I thought he was telling tales." Looking over towards the Vodani man as he chatted to a couple of sailors before singing a song that was both sad and sweet, bringing a hush over the room as all were drawn to listen to it. Her affectionate smile softened her brisk demeanor. "I am so very glad he was not."

  "If Vodani wander so much, how could you have kept in touch?" Terrence wondered with curiosity untainted by any prejudice, eyes wide. "It does not sound like you would know where you will be next, or if people would still be where you knew they were last." Emil looked at Terrence in confusion, opening his mouth to speak until Emaris elbowed him into silence again.

  Drawing out a necklace, Mia held up a blue-green mottled stone wrapped in green-tinted copper. "This is a trifold stone. They're found in some of the deepest diving waters around the many Vodani islands." She smiled in memory. "It was one of my tasks to find one for my adulthood trials. They are broken into a minimum of three pieces and one piece is put on an arrowhawk."

  "Arrowhawk?" the curious apprentice asked. Mia pointed to the corner where a sleek black bird of prey streaked with blue wing markings sat on a perch, preening between his toes and ignoring all around him. Affixed to its leg was a band of leather with a similar small stone wrapped in copper wire.

  "Vodani have been raising them for generations. They are ever faithful companions, like your landwalker dogs." Mia didn't seem to notice the expressions of the Forenten and Sevmanen at the nickname. "When you have a piece of trifold, you can find the other pieces if you focus. Once practiced at it, you can focus on a specific piece or many. Either you are drawn to it, or it is drawn to you."

  "That is interesting!" Terrence looked excitedly to Ash. "Master Ash, I never knew such magic existed outside of Forenta!" Turning to Mia, he asked eagerly, "Is it easy to get trifold stones or arrowhawks? How long does it take to train the birds?"

  Mia's smile vanished immediately, inexplicably cold all of a sudden, as she gave Ash a hostile look. "The trifold stones are not anything you Forentan will be stealing away from the Vodani, I can promise you that. And you can just forget the idea of owning an arrowhawk. You landwalkers do well enough with your own means of sending messages without stealing ours." Turning away in a huff, she disappeared back in the kitchen, leaving the party to look at each other in bewilderment.

  Blinking at the three Forenten, Taylin looked to Almek, confused. "What was that about? Did I miss something?"

  Amelana leaned closer to Ash, putting a comforting hand on the troubled mage's arm. "Don't let that obnoxious Vodani creature upset you, Master Ash. If it were real magic these peasants had, it would already belong to Forenta. She is merely being overdramatic because she is jealous of our power and their utter lack."

  Returning for a break from entertaining the other patrons, Mureln rejoined the group, reversing a chair and sitting. Resting one arm across the chair back, he reached for his waiting glass. The look he gave the Forentan woman was cool and impassive, though his voice was filled with naked criticism. "I suggest you stay very near your master, Journeyman Mage Amelana Avarian, if that is the attitude you will wear on your sleeve." Draining the glass, he reached for the bottle. "There are few of the other races that hold any love for any born of Forenta overall, much less Forentan mages. Many an arrogant visitor has been known to disappear near the waterways."

  "Are you threatening me, Vodani?" Amelana demanded, her air of superiority earning eye rolls from the Sevmanen around the table.

  Ash's frown focused on Amelana and her attitude. "Journeyman Amelana, I do not care what you want to believe of the other nations. But you will show respect for the masters of their crafts." Ash firmly picked her hand off his arm. "And specifically for Mas
ter Almek's students, else you can return to your family right now." The woman turned brilliant red, dropping her eyes and drawing back.

  Mureln met the mage's eyes and studied him for a moment before a small smile touched his lips and he respectfully nodded to the Forentan man. Ash's nod was almost imperceptible as he returned the gesture.

  The bard drained his glass, refilling it before speaking again. "Ah, I have missed trade port gossip." He sighed wistfully. "I could spend a phase of the greater moon just catching up with all of the new tales alone. But." Mureln became more serious as he looked to Almek. "Of all the tales that are floating around here, there was one story that disturbs me a great deal." Taking another long drink, he said, "There is news out of Desantiva."

  Almek blinked several times. "That is quite unusual. It would be too much to hope it was merely an anomaly."

  "Forgive me, Dusvet Almek," Terrence interrupted. "I do not understand why news from Desantiva would be that important. It is a barren land with nothing left there."

  Mureln explained to Ash's puzzled apprentice. "It is unusual if, for no other reason, hearing anything out of Desantiva this far from their lands is virtually unheard of." He said more to himself, "Hearing any news of the tribes beyond Home Port's territory is nearly unheard of unless you're in port there."

  "Tribes?" Taylin echoed in surprise. "I did not know anyone still lived there. I thought Desantiva was left empty. Lifeless wastelands nothing could survive in since the Great War."

  Mureln shook his head, bitterness in his words. "Oh, no. Believe me, my lovely healer. The Desanti people are still there. But they are extremely mistrusting of the other races. Barely trust the Vodani, and we are cousins to them. They barely permit my people to know much about them."

  "No doubt they are bestial savages." Amelana sniffed critically. "I can't see how anything from those worthless lands would possibly be of any consequence." Mureln's normally easy going expression hardened, but he held his tongue. The journeyman mage silenced herself when Ash leveled a warning look on her.

  "Go on, Mureln," Almek encouraged, a faint frown creasing his brow. "Unusual or not, if the story caught your attention, there is a reason."

  Mureln nodded. "Something has the Desanti riled up, but the details are unclear. They're such a mystery to my people, they are not even sure what the Desanti are saying when they talk. What I could determine is that one of their tribes was completely wiped out, and whatever did it also took out a near dozen of their Swordanzen."

  "Swor-what?" Emil asked.

  "Swordanzen. Elite warriors." Mureln took a long sip of his wine. He rubbed his cheek tiredly after setting the glass down. "There is not much that Swordanzen cannot take on, especially if they do so in any sort of numbers. Their skills are considered nearly supernatural."

  "I always heard that th' warrior people were mercilessly bloodthirsty an' ruthless. Maybe it was jus' some war 'mongst themselves, nothin' more'n that," Emil hypothesized. Mureln simply shook his head. "Why not?"

  "There is not much I know of Desanti Swordanzen. As secretive as the Desanti are, the Swordanzen are an enigma even among their own. What I learned of them when I was there myself is they are considered Desantiva's protectors and they are accorded a respect that is similar to that of a master and priest combined." He waited until he had at least Almek and Ash's full attentions again. "They are solitary by nature and only work together when the situation is dire enough to necessitate it." He sighed softly. "The story going around says none of the tribe survived and only one Swordanzen. It's got them rather shaken up."

  "We must travel to Desantiva and find this Swordanzen," Almek decided after a long silence. "And get more details than gossip tales will yield us."

  Ash spoke up with great reluctance. "Master Almek, Desantiva and Forenta have been mortal enemies since before the Great War. Forenten presence on Desantiva's soil might put you and the others in grave danger."

  "Do not worry," Almek assured. "It has been perhaps fifty years since I was last in Desantiva, but the Desanti are, if nothing else, sticklers about their honor and traditions. The Desanti hold deep reverence for the Guardians and you are my student." He smiled crookedly at Ash. "They will not welcome you with open arms, but they will not bring harm."

  Mureln looked towards the ceiling, murmuring to himself as he counted, his thumb moving along the fingertips of one hand. "If we leave within the next few days, we can arrive in Desantiva at the start of the Time of Gathering."

  "Time of Gathering?" Ash echoed, the question in his voice plain.

  Explaining as much to Ash as to the rest of the group, Mureln stated, "It is a traditional time of peace when all the tribes gather in their only city of First Home."

  With as much reassurance as he could muster, Mureln continued explaining the soundness of his reasoning. "It will be the best chance of locating this lone Swordanzen while all the tribes are gathered. Desanti do not allow those not of the tribes beyond the borders of First Home. Almek can find out what he needs to know and we'll be gone before you know it. It will be fine!" The others looked skeptical, but did not argue.

  Chapter 19

  THE inhospitable nature of Desantiva became more apparent as the ship sailed closer to the jagged coastline. As if the rest of the mainland had ostracized Desantiva from the rest of the continent, a wide, turbulent sea separated Desantiva from the mainland pushed against the swift ship's approach.

  "There is no place more hospitable to make port at?" Ash asked as he stood with Mureln along the bow of the ship, watching the anemic city of Home Port come into view.

  The bard shook his head, expression grim. "The Desanti barely allow Home Port to exist. Only ignorant Sevmanen pirates or raiders dare attempt to hide themselves along the Desanti coastline." In answer to the silent, raised eyebrow of the mage, the bard explained, "The Desanti are rabidly hostile towards all outsiders, even Vodani, if they step outside the permitted areas." He traced his finger along the grain of wood by his arm. "They will ruthlessly tear apart trespassing ships to salvage."

  "What happens to those aboard the ships?"

  "Nothing is left to waste, Master Ash. Prisoners are fed to the beasts that serve them."

  The coast of Desantiva was a jagged line of tan and brown rock. The navigator proved his worth, avoiding the underground fingers of rock that lay just beneath the waves, threatening to gut the ship before they finally pulled into the tiny port. Unlike the bustling bordertown port of Corast, Home Port had only a single dock made of rough hewn stone, and a handful of buildings scattered around it.

  Taylin looked around as sailors led their horses down the walkway from their ship, squinting in the harsh noon sunlight. "I only see... Vodani here. Aren't there any Desanti who live here? Or others who come to trade?"

  Mureln shook his head, lips pressed together and eyes narrowed slightly as if he were fighting a growing headache. "Home Port is the ancient home of the Vodani people. It is our only remaining tie to our Desanti ancestors. The Desanti only allow foreigners and Guardians within First Home's borders." The bard and the dock master exchanged grim, silent nods of greeting as they passed. "Outlanders are unwelcome, but Home Port is Vodani territory."

  Ash frowned at Mureln. "Master Almek wishes to go to First Home and take us with him."

  The bard shrugged. "They should make an exception for the Dusvet Guardian."

  Terrence blinked at Mureln. "They way you speak, it is as if there is a difference between foreigners and outlanders. It is the same thing, isn't it?" The bard merely shook his head, teeth clenched tightly.

  Emil tugged his mount along, looking at the locals they passed going towards the visitor's inn. "Fer all th' years I been travelin' wi' ye around Sevmanan and Vodani territories, I ain't never seen such serious Vodani. Haven't seen a single smile among 'em yet." Squinting at Mureln, he added, "And not any from you, neither. Not since we got here. Cheer up, lad," the mercenary scolded, receiving an irritable wave to silence from the bard.

&n
bsp; Offering no apologies for his uncharacteristically hostile behavior, Mureln led the group to a small building on the outskirts of the settlement. "All Vodani come here at least once in their lives." He offered a few coins to a boy who opened the gate of a shaded corral where the horses were led. "So we can share in the pain of our ancestors' and remind our Desanti cousins they will not be forgotten." He touched a worn sun symbol carved into the wall by the inn entrance. "No matter how much they try to be forgotten." He stepped inside to speak with the innkeeper about arrangements.

  "Such bitterness and pain," Taylin said softly. "It is as if it comes from the rocks themselves. I have never felt anything like it. It is so old. Like... an echo. Oh, Dusvet!" The Guardian put a comforting arm around her, holding her for a time. Even he looked pained. "I do not know if I can bear to stay in this joyless land."

  "Shhh. Be strong, Taylin. Be strong," Almek murmured reassuringly like a father to a child.

  Amelana pushed past a Vodani girl coming out of the inn impatiently. "Out of my way! The heat out here is miserable."

  "Ain't th' only thing miserable here," Emil said sourly. He looked at Ash. "I hope th' bitch be good fer somethin', Mage, 'cause she sure ain't good company." Muttering, he and Emaris filed in after Amelana. "If'n it weren't fer Mureln, I'd as soon chew m' own leg off t' get away from 'er." Ash scowled, remaining silent.

  "We will not linger here any longer than necessary," Almek assured. "Once we have provisions, we will set out for First Home."