by Ivan Kal
“Why haven’t you gone down to try and learn what that is?”
“I found the world only a few days ago, and they have been fighting the Arashan for years. There has been no time.”
“You could’ve interfered. You said yourself that the Arashan need to be stopped.”
“Yes, but if the one future in which we have the chance to stop what the seer saw is to occur, then that world must fall. I couldn’t risk it,” Sao Ban said sadly.
“A shame. It has been a long time since I’ve had the chance to learn something truly new,” Vanagandr said.
“Yes, truly a shame,” Sao Ban whispered, as the last warrior on the small world faltered. The Arashan overwhelmed his force by sheer numbers, and he was defeated–the golden light of his spear abating. Sao Ban and Vanagandr watched as the unconscious warrior was chained and dragged away.
“What now?” Vanagandr asked.
Sao Ban turned to look at the man who was one of his oldest friends. “Now, I start meddling,” Sao Ban said, looking at the table.
CHAPTER ONE
ASHARA
The sun slowly dipped down, approaching the horizon and bathed the roofs of the old wooden buildings in a pale golden light, as Ashara navigated through the narrow, twisting streets of Amberhorn’s lower district on her way to the harbor. She kept a fast pace, although she was probably already late. I took too much time at the house. I shouldn’t have stayed so long, she thought to herself. She knew that it had been a mistake, but she couldn’t help herself; after all, it had been her home for nineteen years. Not anymore… Now it belongs to the crown. Along with everything else.
She adjusted the small sack containing her few possessions on her back and tightened her cloak and hood around her, making sure that no one could see and recognize her, although she doubted that there was anyone in the lower district that would know her on sight. Most knew about her family, and many probably knew her father—Lord Sanos Ravena—enough to easily recognize him, but Ashara had never interacted with the people below her station much. Her former station, she reminded herself. Everything was gone now; she was no better than the people living in the slums around her. Just several months ago she had been attending a gathering in the crown prince’s name, dancing and talking gossip with other ladies of the nobility with no care in the world. Her family might have been lower nobility, but her father had been a keen merchant and had gained enough wealth that it hadn’t mattered. Her family had been treated with respect. Until it all came crashing down.
It was her fault, she thought bitterly. If only she had smiled politely, then none of this would’ve happened. Instead she had humiliated her suitor in the worst way possible. She was arrogant and selfish; she had struck out with viciousness and malice, vile words spilling from her mouth before she could think them through. She didn’t even remember most of what she said, only the looks on the faces of those around her. And the fear that had gripped her heart when she heard of Lord Jauvek’s intentions. The moment he told her that he planned on asking for her hand in marriage, she knew that he would have her. A High Lord, son of the King’s cousin and one of the most powerful and influential families in Amaranthine. There would be no talking her way out of it. Lord Jauvek was one of the most desirable bachelors in the kingdom—her father would have had no reason to refuse.
After all, Ashara had long since reached marriageable age, and was almost too old—a few years more and people would be wondering why she wasn’t married. And her father had tried before to have her marry, and always she found some reason to refuse. She knew that her excuses would not work forever, but telling the truth was unimaginable. She couldn’t have done that to her father. And then Lord Faros Jauvek told her what he intended, and she knew that her father would have no choice but to accept. Ashara would be forced into a marriage that she did not want.
She had brought her family to ruin, she had publicly shamed one of the most powerful families in the kingdom. And their revenge crashed down on the Ravena family with the weight of a mountain. Friends turned their back to them; deals her father had made disappeared like the spring wind; their coffers had depleted trying to save their failing company, until they were forced to sell their ships and shipbuilding yards until they had nothing left. Her father had been broken, and then finally found escape with the noose around his neck. Her family’s lands and wealth were gone, and her father was dead. She had nothing, and all of it was her fault. She had pushed her own father to his death.
She couldn’t stay in Amberhorn; there was nothing for her here but pain and memories. At most she might find employment at a tavern, but more likely than not she would end up in a brothel forced to whore her way in order to survive. Her former friends had ostracized her, had turned their backs when she needed them the most. None of them were willing to stand between her and the Jauvek family—not even the one person that Ashara thought would never betray her. Her only hope was to go somewhere else, to make a new life for herself someplace where no one knew her.
All of which had brought her to Amberhorn’s harbor.
Ships of all shapes and colors filled the harbor: massive galleons with the colors of Amaranthine navy loomed over the smaller merchant ships which had come from every corner of the world. Ashara made her way to one of the docks, and even before she reached it she could see that she was too late. The ship was no longer docked there, and as she drew closer she could see the Kahaldian passenger ship out in the sea moving away from the harbor. She tightened her hand around the two small pouches around her belt beneath her cloak, which contained the last coins she had. She had paid a part of the fee for a cabin on that ship, precious coins that were now wasted. She had so little to get by with until she found a place to settle that she couldn’t afford to lose a single coin more. She needed to find another ship—Lord Jauvek had made it clear to her that it would be wise of her to leave the city before dark.
Angry at herself for missing the ship, Ashara turned around and walked over to the dock-master’s table, which was in front of the dock’s warehouse under a large wooden covering. She noticed the small line of people standing in front of the table, and she found a place at the back of the line. Now she was close enough to see the dock-master, and she noticed that it wasn’t the same man she had talked to days prior. The previous dock-master had been an old man with gray hair and a grim expression. This one seemed cheerful, with an easy smile that revealed his almost too perfect teeth. It was difficult for her to tell the man’s age; his hair was black, yet as he moved, it seemed to take on an almost bluish hue, and his eyes were a strange golden color. Quickly and efficiently, the man worked his way through the line, until it was finally her turn.
The dock-master greeted her with a wide smile. “Good day to you, young lady. How may I help?”
Ashara paused for a moment, taken aback by his friendliness. The last dock-master had seemed somehow offended that she had dared to take away his time. “Good day, sir. I need to know which ship is bound for Kahaldia soonest.”
The dock-master’s smile turned sad. “Unfortunately, there are no ships headed for Kahaldia which are scheduled to depart anytime soon. The next is set to leave in a little over fifteen days.”
Ashara turned around and looked at the merchant ships bearing Kahaldian flags, and then turned back to the dock-master with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, there are many Kahaldian ships in the harbor. But, as you certainly know, the harvest festival has just concluded, and Kahaldia has purchased great stores of grain. Those ships will stay until all the grain from the surrounding farms makes its way here.”
Ashara winced. With everything that had been happening, she had forgotten. For some reason, Kahaldia had decided to buy a lot more grain this time than they usually did. Her forgetfulness was a poor trait for someone that planned on making a living by trade.
Seeing her expression, the dock-master gave her an apologetic smile. “The last ship headed to Kahaldia had been the passenger ship that was schedul
ed to leave around this time. I assume that you missed it?”
Ashara had no strength to speak, so she just nodded.
“There are two ships headed to the Free Cities departing tomorrow. You could take one of those and try to find travel to Kahaldia from there.”
Ashara thought about it for a moment, but she knew that she did not have enough coin to stay in any of the Free Cities and pay two different ship captains for passage, nor was she willing to risk being taken by the slave-masters that operated freely in the so-called Free Cities. “No—I need to leave Amberhorn today. I don’t have enough coin to pay for protection, and I would really rather not be captured and sent to any of the slaver cities. Isn’t there any other ship leaving the port today?”
“Understandable,” the dock-master said, and then a large red-and-white-feathered bird landed on the table, sending many of the papers flying away. “Bashora, you pirate! That was not nice!” the dock master said to the bird, which responded with a chirp and then flew to settle on one of the covering’s beams, looking directly at Ashara.
“I apologize for her,” the dock-master said, clearly embarrassed. “She has a strange sense of humor. Sadly, there are no more ships leaving the port today. Although,” the dock-master said slowly, “there is a ship scheduled to leave tomorrow…but I know the captain, his affairs are done, and I know that he could be persuaded to leave today.”
“Where is the ship headed?” Ashara asked.
“It is headed to Tourran,” the dock-master said.
Ashara hesitated. Her plan was to get as far away from Amaranthine as possible, someplace where no one knew her, somewhere where she could start over. The best option was of course the kingdom of Kahaldia, as it was on another continent and provided ample opportunities for someone knowledgeable in trade to achieve something within their merchant guilds. Tourran, on the other hand, was a small and wealthy kingdom on the northern border of Amaranthine. It was a very large trading hub, mostly because of its silver mines and its position, which put it perfectly between the Shattered Kingdom, Amaranthine, and the Lashian Empire. It also had a very strained relationship with its neighbors, as it was known that both the king of Amaranthine and the Lashian Emperor wanted to conquer Tourran. She had not considered Tourran initially, she had focused on kingdoms far away from Amaranthine, but Tourran could be a good place to start again…and if she did well there, she could always move somewhere else later. But if she went to Tourran, she knew she would be forced to stay there for a while at least. She doubted that she had enough coin to buy herself a trip to Tourran and then from there to Kahaldia, not once the cost of living was taken into account.
“What is the name of the ship?” Ashara asked.
“The ship’s name is the Norvus, and it is docked at the last northern dock. It is a small…ah, merchant vessel,” the dock-master said delicately. “When you get there you should ask to speak with Captain Corvo.”
“Thank you, sir,” Ashara said, and turned to leave.
“Oh!” the dock-master said quickly, before she had even taken a step. “Here, take this.” He extended his arm. Ashara looked down and saw in his palm a small silver coin marked with a symbol that was unfamiliar to her. “Give this to the captain, and he will know that I sent you.”
Ashara reached over and accepted the coin. “I will. Thank you.”
Ashara smiled at the kind dock-master, then turned and left.
* * *
Ashara found the ship exactly where the dock-master said it would be. The Norvus was a medium-sized merchant ship, light and fast. Carefully, she walked across the board connecting the ship and the dock. She had barely taken a single step on the ship before a man appeared in front of her, startling her.
“What business?”
Ashara looked at the man—he had gray hair and strange markings across his face.
Steeling herself, she said, “This is the Norvus, yes? I would like to speak with Captain Corvo. Is he on the ship?”
“What about?” the man asked in a quiet voice, barely louder than a whisper.
“That is between me and the captain, I believe. Would you be kind enough to call on him?” she said sweetly, giving him one of her best smiles and a flutter of her eyelashes as she took her hood off, allowing him to see her more clearly. Her father had always told her that she looked exactly like her mother, and had the same ability to get anything she wanted with just a look. Her good looks had served her well when she helped her father make his deals, and had served her equally as well in her life among the nobility.
The man looked at her for a moment with no change in his expression. “I shall see if the captain is available.”
Ashara nodded and waited as the man disappeared beneath the deck. She took a look around the ship, seeing that it was well cared for. The sails were not the most expensive, but they were serviceable, and the deck was clean. It wasn’t anything like the ships her family had owned, but it didn’t seem like it would sink the moment it set out on the open sea. She turned her attention to the sounds of footsteps and waited as the sailor and his captain walked out onto the deck and over to her. The captain was a middle-aged man with some gray in his hair. He was a bit younger than the first man that spoke with Ashara, but he had an equally stern look on his face and carried himself like a soldier.
“Lady,” the captain greeted her, “my first mate tells me that you wish to speak with me?”
“Yes, Captain. I was told that you are headed to Tourran. I wish to buy passage on your ship.”
“The Norvus is not a passenger ship, my lady,” the captain said.
“I need to leave the city before nightfall, I was told by the dock-master that I could buy passage on this ship and that you would be willing to set off earlier than scheduled.”
“The old dock-master?” the captain asked guardedly.
“No, it was a younger man,” Ashara said. The first mate tensed, and she saw the captain’s eyes narrow.
“There is only one dock-master, lady,” the captain said slowly.
“What? No,” Ashara said, confused. “I spoke with the dock-master, a younger man with dark hair, and he—”
“I am sorry, lady, but as I said, the Norvus is not a passenger ship,” the captain told her. He gestured to his first mate, and the older man grabbed her firmly by the arm and started dragging her back.
“Wait!” she yelled at the captain’s back. “I’m telling the truth! Here, he gave me this coin for you!” She tried to reach into her pocket and pull out the coin—
The captain stopped and turned. “Solun, wait!” he said, and walked over to stand in front of her, while the first mate glared down at her.
“What coin?”
Ashara gulped as she saw the captain’s eyes. She was unsure whether she should say anything or if she should just leave; she didn’t know if someone had played a cruel jest on her. But finally, the intensity of the captain’s stare and the desperation of her situation made her open her mouth and speak quickly.
“The dock-master asked me to give this to you,” she said quietly, producing the silver coin.
The captain’s eyes widened for a moment and he took the coin from her hand, bringing it closer to his eyes to study it. Then he looked back at her and leaned forward. “This man—what did you say he looked like?”
“He had long black hair, and golden eyes. And he had a bird with red-and-white feathers,” Ashara said in a single breath.
“And he told you that you could buy passage on this ship to Tourran?”
“Yes.”
The captain seemed to have calmed down, and his expression had turned more thoughtful. “Very well. Five silver pieces will buy you a bed with the crew, and an additional golden dragon will buy you a cabin.”
Ashara gaped at the captain for a moment, before snapping out of it. “I’ll take the cabin, please.”
The captain extended his hand. “The payment is to be made upfront.”
Ashara reached down to her pouch a
nd fished out five silver pieces and a single gold coin, a significant part of her remaining budget—but she had no desire to sleep with the crew, it would not be proper. She needed to get away from Amberhorn. The captain accepted the coins and put them inside his shirt, then turned to look at his first mate.
“Go get the mage before she drinks herself under the table. I’ll let the crew know that we will be setting off soon.”
The first mate nodded and turned, walking quickly down the walkway and off the ship. The captain turned back to look at her in askance. “Do we need to hurry? Is someone going to be coming looking for you?”
“No, I just need to be out of the city before nightfall.”
“We shouldn’t dally then, we have only little daylight left,” the captain said. “Come, I’ll show you to your cabin.”
He turned before Ashara could say anything else, and she had no choice but to follow him below deck. As they walked, she sighed in relief; finally she would be away from this cursed city, and would start a new life somewhere else. Somewhere far away from here.
CHAPTER TWO
VIN
Kai Zhao Vin woke in darkness on cold stone with shackles on his wrists and ankles. Thick chains kept him tied to a wall, allowing him only a few steps in any direction. He did not know for how long he’d slept, nor did he even know for how long he had been imprisoned. He had lost count of the days, with no sunlight to tell him the passage of time. Once again he cursed his captors for making his soul suffer through this abomination, for trying to break him and refusing to let his soul pass to the realm of the gods.
