by R J Kaldanis
“How did you get the job, anyway? I don’t mean to be rude but almost all the unblessed in the Royal Household are criminals and usually don’t get as much freedom as you have.” For someone whose identity had to remain hidden, it seemed that those in charge of hiding her hadn’t really thought through the possibility of her having a nosy roommate. She hadn’t been told what to say in this situation and froze in silence, trying to think of something, anything to say. Before Aardriyah had a chance to respond, Rachida chimed in,
“Wait! It’s true isn’t it? Oh it all makes sense now!” Rachida squealed over some internal realisation, while Aardriyah raised an eyebrow, utterly confused.
“Chidi what are you talking about?” She asked.
“Well see everyone has been waiting for an announcement of the Royal Wedding, after all the Prince and Princess have been engaged for what, like thirteen years. But it all makes sense! I always thought he was the unfaithful one, but then a rumour started spreading a few weeks ago that Princess Kibo was the one who didn’t want to get married because she had fallen in love with someone else and -” Rachida squealed again at her apparent discovery of the scandal of the year.
“And you think I’m the… other woman? That Princess Kibo is in love with me?” Aardriyah felt her face, the look of dumb confusion spreading across it as she uttered the words. Rachida didn’t answer but nodded her head rapidly while bouncing in the spot on her bed.
“I hate to burst your bubble, but no I’m not the secret lover.” Aardriyah said. Rachida’s face fell, as if someone had told her the gods weren’t real, she looked absolutely devastated that her conspiracy was wrong.
“So I won’t get invited to the royal wedding as your guest?” Rachida tried to poke some light at the situation.
“Probably not, sorry.” The two of them smiled and laughed a little, their bitter words from earlier in the day now seeming forgotten. Of course, Aardriyah probably would be attending when Chastion and Kibo did finally get married, but for the time being, the thought of Aardriyah and Kibo being secret lovers kept her amused in a childish way.
“Well Sekher will probably be glad you’re not the secret lover. He’s been asking of you all morning, Riyah.” Rachida collapsed back onto her bed.
“Oh, he probably just wanted to make sure my fever had stayed away, that’s all.” Aardriyah wished it was otherwise, but she knew that most men in her life who had ever shown her affection only did so as a cruel prank or because they were related to her. Rachida bounced off the bed and said,
“Well I say we find him anyway before the race begins!”
“The race?” Confusion spread across Aardriyah’s face.
“Of course! It’s the first Lullday on board, and it’s a tradition for the four ships’ water and air blessed to race in the falling sun, until last light.”
Rachida didn’t wait a second more for Aardriyah to make her mind up. She grabbed her hand and pulled her through the bedroom door as if she herself was in a race to the top deck. Aardriyah willingly allowed herself to be dragged along by the enthusiastic fire blessed woman. She was glad, for the first time in her life, to be dragged and pulled along by a blessed, and was excited to see what more this fascinating world had to show her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
evil within
When Aardriyah and Rachida reached the top deck, they were welcomed by a rowdy crowd of blessed and unblessed, all seemingly letting their hair down in celebration of the end of the working week. Drinks of varying colours and smells were being poured out of large gold and silver coloured metal drinking vessels, while a spread of food was laid upon the tables of the deck. The four ships were lined beside each other with small bridges between them allowing passage. Musicians strumming stringed wooden instruments were accompanied by others blowing into large hollowed out pipes. Every now and then a servant would feel the need to bellow out a song of merriment while others would grab a partner and perform a dance of their homeland. It was a festivity of colour, sound and taste unlike anything Aardriyah had ever seen.
The air blessed were flying large kites in the sky, of varying colours and shapes. They soared above the ships, twinkling in the sunlight and casting magnificent blues, greens, yellows and reds onto the decks beneath. Some water blessed were shooting streams of water in front of and between the ships, making shapes of animals, great and menacing. Two water beasts were shaped into large felines who advanced towards each other before colliding, smashing into one giant water abomination which sprayed the decks of the middle two ships. Aardriyah marvelled at how talented and creative all the blessed were, she had never seen such use of the elements and struggled to know where to look, to take in all the glory of the festivities around her.
The main festivities celebrated in Veros were during The Arche - a five-day period each year designated as a public time of rest and celebration for all in the realm. It was celebrated at the end of the cold period of Moons Exhalation and before the season of The Sowing began. However, regardless of how grand the celebration might be on Veros, it still seemed to pale in comparison to the festivities occurring on a normal Lullday aboard the Royal Fleet. Perhaps it was because Aardriyah had never seen such a combination of cultures in one place, or perhaps it was because everywhere she looked people were smiling, unblessed and blessed talking as if no boundaries or discrimination ever existed.
“Riyah, Riyah, my beautiful fire haired Riyah.” A sweet songlike voice filled Aardriyah’s head, she twirled to find the source of it and was greeted by two deep green eyes and a widening smile of brilliant teeth.
“Sekher, you seem to be -” not sure of how to finish her sentence, she blushed and looked towards her feet.
“Happy? In love?”
“Drunk” Rachida chimed in. Sekher smiled and continued,
“Well, of course my love. It is a beautiful end of light, the sun shines upon us and the water is calm and pure. I am in love with this beautiful world and this beautiful moment. I am drunk on the music of life and happy because before me stands a mysterious Verosian woman with hair as fierce as her heart.” His words poured out in a song like rhythm, while sipping from his iron tankard and moving his hips in motion to a beat from the music echoing across the water. Aardriyah couldn’t help but smile, the tormented words and moments of the morning now seemed far away.
“I’m just not used to this. It’s so colourful and -”
“Magical.” He finished for her. She smiled and grabbed his tankard, taking a sip of the strong-tasting liquid inside that burned the entire way down her throat. She coughed and rubbed away the drops falling off her lips while trying to rid her face of the utter disgust now spread across it. Sekher laughed and shook his head just as Rachida shoved another tankard into Aardriyah’s right hand.
“Try this instead, it’s much sweeter and tastes less like dog piss.” Aardriyah took a swig of the concoction in the tankard she had just been handed. It still tasted awful, but it did have a sweeter aftertaste of berry so she felt less inclined to grimace after swallowing. As Aardriyah peered around the ship, she felt a slight sadness growing in her. She could just imagine Sonas dancing in front of the musicians, making her own words to songs she didn’t know. She’d definitely stick her finger in, and taste test every piece of food she could find and of course would put the other water blessed to shame with her own water creations. Aardriyah decided to take it all in and promised that she would write down every last detail. Vowing to remember it all for Sonas and fill her in once they were reunited; if they were reunited.
Several large conical shells were blown to silence the crowds as Queen Iber stood atop the crow’s nest of one of the middle ships. Her booming voice rang out across the water for all to hear.
“Blessed day to all!” To which the crowd responded in kind.
“As first Lullday tradition, we must race to show who is most superior. My love, Elin, you won last time, but now I have fiercer, hungrier, more ready to win air
blessed. We will win and you will cry.” The crew aboard the few ships all laughed at her uncanny ability to tell it how she saw it. Her thick accent, somehow sounding both menacing and comical at the same time.
“Fire blessed, you ready?” She looked towards the bow of each ship where a solitary fire blessed servant stood. They all nodded towards the queen.
“You know rules, from fire to last light.” Queen Iber then descended from the crows nest to the deck. Several staff removed the bridges between the boats, ready for the race to begin. Water blessed and air blessed on each ship took station and after a moment, complete silence fell on board again.
Then, without any warning, the fire blessed shot a stream of red fire skyward from the bow of each boat signalling the beginning of the race. The air blessed pulled wind from behind the ships and pushed it into the sails, forcing them forward at a great pace. On both sides of the vessels stood the water blessed, who worked together to part the water surrounding them, willing the ships at an increasing forward momentum. The other blessed and unblessed aboard each ship chanted words of encouragement to the water and air blessed, cheering them on to win. Aardriyah couldn’t help but join in, Sekher and Rachida encouraging her to do so. Their ship was coming third, just behind Queen Iber’s, while Chastion’s ship was winning and Queen Elin’s was performing at a less than impressive pace at the back. The sun began to dip on the horizon, sending hues of amber and gold across the ocean; time was quickly running out as each ship roared forward. Aardriyah couldn’t understand why the water blessed and air blessed aboard their ship seemed to be working at a much slower pace than that of Chastion’s or Iber’s.
“COME ON! FASTER!” She roared at the water blessed on the starboard. Just as the words finished coming from her mouth, Princess Kibo rose on the deck and bowed to her staff. She then turned to the ocean in front of the ship and raised her two arms above her head. She held them for a moment in place, before sharply cutting them down through the air. The galleon jerked forward with a great motion and as if by order, the water and air blessed used all their might and strength they had been saving. Aardriyah couldn’t believe her eyes, they worked in perfect synchronicity and harmony, led by Princess Kibo herself. They swiftly overtook Queen Iber’s ship, who now yelled angrily at all her staff in hoarse tones. The staff looked far too exhausted to give much more than they already had.
As the sun was almost swallowed entirely by the horizon, Chastion’s ship began to slow also. Princess Kibo’s continued to power forward at a constantly fastening pace, finally taking the lead just as the sun dipped completely into the ocean. The roar of applause and amazement rung so loud across the deck, Aardriyah was sure the entire ocean floor could hear. She grabbed Sekher and Rachida and all three jumped on the spot with enthusiasm and pride. Several fire blessed shot bursts of fire into the sky, forming beasts of their own, a great winged fire bird now took flight and soared above the heads of the celebrating crowd. Several balls of colourful powder were thrown high into the air, as fire blessed hit them with a bolt of fire causing them to explode on contact, lighting up the deep velvet blue of the night sky. Everyone aboard was lost in the moment of complete joy and pride. While the water blessed had left their posts and joined the revelry, the air blessed at the sails had continued to push the ship forward, away from the other ships and towards a growing dark mass underneath the water.
When finally, those on board ship number four had stopped for a moment to take in their surroundings and gloat to their neighbouring ships, they realised they no longer had any neighbouring ships.
“What’s going on?” Aardriyah asked Sekher and Rachida but neither of them had any idea either. They shook their heads and looked around for an answer or indication as to why the ship was still moving and where it was headed. Aardriyah stared up at the air blessed now and noticed they were ignoring all pleas and questions being thrown at them; they were entranced. She cursed under her breath and searched the ship for Old Man Teme, he of all people might have a clue on how to break this. It dawned on her then, she hadn’t seen him all day and a sudden pit of dark worry opened deep inside her chest.
“Have you -”
A high pitched roar drowned out her question as it echoed across the water, followed by a chorus of screams from the deck. Aardriyah turned to look at the sight that had emerged from the darkness in the water; it was worse than anything she had seen in her nightmares of late. Five enormous serpentine heads rose from the water, hissing and screeching towards the ship which was still looming closer. Aardriyah shook, silent and unmoving as she took in the scale of the beast; the necks alone spanned the entire length of the ship, the teeth had to be the same size as the mast, but most frightful of all was the realisation that they had yet to see the body all of this was attached to. Sekher grabbed her, alarm crossing his face as he spoke in a commanding deep tone.
“You need to go down below my love. It is not safe for you here!” Her shook her, but she remained unmoving, unable to break free of the trance she was in. Suddenly, a warm spark hit the back of her neck, jolting her into action. Aardriyah turned to snap at whoever had just hit her, to find Rachida now yelling at her,
“Riyah you need to get downstairs and stay with Kit! You are in mortal danger here and are only going to get in our way!”
Aardriyah nodded silently and ran for the stairs to take her below. As she looked behind the vessel, she noticed the other three ships were barrelling towards them. The air blessed at the sails of Princess Kibo’s ship were being grabbed and accosted by other servants, trying to get them away from forcing the ship forward. Aardriyah rounded the top of the stair case and just as she was set to descend, the beast screamed in pain as a large spear of ice managed to cut through one of its necks. The head crashed into the dark ocean below, sending a large spray of water across the ship, creating large waves that caused her to lose her balance and fall back. Just as a sense of relief passed over the ship, believing they had found a way to down the beast and only had four heads to go, another screech and cry came from the beast. Staring in absolute disbelief and horror, the entire ship collectively gasped as two large tendrils of skin began to flow out of the severed limb and on the end of them, two new heads. As she looked into the deep purple eyes of the beast, Aardriyah sensed an overwhelming feeling of fear and panic, but not her own. It seemed as if the beast itself was entranced, acting against its nature.
Aardriyah wanted to stay and help fight the beast but knew she would just get in the way if she remained on the top deck. She was unblessed and absolutely useless in the current predicament, and as much as she wanted to stay and help in whatever she could, she knew it was pointless. So she made her way to her room and heard Kit scratching at the door. Although she tried to open the door slowly, to avoid him getting out, he pushed straight past her and ran down the corridor. Aardriyah raced after him, calling out as she struggled to stay upright - the waves were becoming almost unbearable and her sense of balance was completely lost. She finally caught up to Kit who was angrily barking and scratching at the door of the healer’s bay, a faint purple glow was coming from underneath.
Above deck, the water blessed tried to conjure ice magic to stab the beast with spikes, but so few had any magic strength left it was proving futile. The earth blessed tried to secure the beast in the sand beneath, locking it in place as their magic tried to wrap up around the legs of the beast. However, the ocean was still considerably deep and they couldn’t properly navigate through the depths or even see the body beneath the surface. The air blessed had all been wrangled and subdued below deck, still entirely entranced making them useless in assisting the attack on the beast.
Princess Kibo thankfully had some strength left in her and tried again to sever one of the heads of the serpentine beasts. Rachida raced to the Princess and spoke quickly,
“Don’t! Don’t do it! It will just grow more!”
The Princess looked over Rachida and said,
“What do y
ou suggest?”
The other ships had finally reached theirs and were throwing whatever they could at the beast - fire balls, ice spikes and the remaining air blessed were throwing swords, maces and anything sharp they could find, into the beast. None of it seemed to have much impact. The beast managed to break free of the earth blessed shackles trying to secure the body in place with sand. With one simple movement, the beast suddenly took its entire body under water. The silence that filled the air was worse than any screech or roar that had preceded it. Everyone aboard the four ships tried to search the water, to see where it had gone but with no sunlight left, and the fire blessed trying to preserve their energy for the attack, they had little hope of spotting the creature or protecting themselves against its next move.
Aardriyah forced the healer’s bay door open just as the purple glow subsided. The room was eerily quiet and dark. Kit pushed past Aardriyah, sniffing along the ground - he stopped at the end of the room near a wardrobe and began growling once again. Aardriyah never considered herself brave, but she was also sick of feeling helpless and useless - so she ventured towards the wardrobe, trying to prepare herself for whatever was inside. Aardriyah decided that if Sekher and Rachida could find the strength to stare death in the face and fight the beast above, then she could find the strength to push openly a measly wooden door. At that exact moment and in perfect unison the door of the wardrobe slammed open as the beast in the water soared upwards, rising in the middle of the ships.
Queen Elin’s ship fell into Princess Kibo’s, smashing both, sending many of the staff and servants onboard to their deaths. While Queen Iber’s ship had been forced onto Prince Chastion’s with similar impact. The sounds of screaming staff and servants falling to their death rang out across the endless horizon as the bodies plunged into the depthless water below.
