by Kyrja
She had come here to seek out these Mezhdu, as they called themselves, but had discovered they were already preparing to leave for Nohoyo. She would arrange to meet up with this Honsa in the desert then. He had been their leader when he’d first met them, and it appeared he still held that role here. There was no need for her to have to expose herself to all those people after all. Allowing her body to sink back into the loose soil, Shio felt relieved for the first time in months. Someone else, finally, understood the danger.
* * * * * * * *
“Don’t look back,” Ordan whispered to Honsa. “Please just keep looking forward.”
“Forward, all right,” Honsa agreed, wondering what was going on now.
“There was someone back there. I could feel them watching us. I could feel their emotions. It felt like a female, but not a human.”
“A goddess?” Honsa asked, finding himself holding his breath.
“No, but a magical creature of some sort,” he replied.
“Is she a friend?” Honsa wanted to know.
“I don’t know. Unless someone is delighted with their cruelty, I probably wouldn’t know.”
“And she wasn’t?” Honsa asked. “Delighted with her cruelty?”
“No. But she was anxious. Afraid of something. And also relieved.”
“Well, I don’t suppose there’s anything we can do about it right now, is there?” Honsa pointed out.
“Other than to be aware of a potential problem, no.” Ordan admitted.
At that, Honsa laughed out loud. And he felt very, very good for the first time all day. “Thank you, Ordan, I needed that! Come on, let’s go meet our new friends.”
Chapter Five – Sea God Returns
It was fascinating to watch as people moved out of the way, unaware they were even doing so. Exactly as Grandmother the Goddess had told her they would. She liked to think she would have noticed without having been told, but wasn’t certain, so she had, once again, gained knowledge and insight because she had done as she’d been told to do. The lesson wasn’t lost on Nieva. She knew she was being trained, or “groomed” as Grandmother the Goddess liked to call it, to help the Goddess of Air in whatever she had planned, but she also knew her grandmother was bossy enough to really enjoy it when others did as she told them to.
It really was fascinating though, just watching it happen. Especially from the roof of a temple, where she was sure to go unnoticed. Another lesson Grandmother the Goddess had taught her was that rarely did people look up. None of those people down below her, on the docks and the streets near the water even had any idea their Sea God was walking among them, let alone that the man with him was the god’s grandfather and a true son of Amphedia. And yet, each of them moved out of the way, allowing the two of them to pass without ever bumping into them, and without having ever looked at either man. It was like a dance that had long ago been laid out and practiced so that this one time when Jarles and Sabbah went strolling through the streets, everyone would move out of their way. Grandmother the Goddess said it had to do with vibrations and intuition, but that most people just called it magic because they couldn’t explain it.
When she had asked what would happen if some accident happened, like someone tripping while they were trying to get out of the way, and they did bump into Jarles or his grandfather, she had been assured that the person who had tripped would immediately be able to recognize the two men for who they really were. It hadn’t happened yet, but she knew she was hoping it would so she could see for herself what happened. Undoubtedly chaos and confusion would happen quickly enough, and the peaceful, if purposeful, scene below her would quickly turn into something either amazing, or really … unpleasant.
She was also told to watch the reaction of the children, because they weren’t so easily fooled. Especially a young child who had no idea what a god might be – they would either stare, mesmerized by something they didn’t understand, or they might scream out loud because gods really were different than their human counterparts, no matter what they looked like, and that could sometimes frighten them. Nieva had seen two small children stare and one who had started crying, burying his head in his father’s jacket, refusing to be consoled.
Her grandmother really was a wicked goddess, Nieva knew – always giving her bits and pieces of things to observe, but reserving most of the information she knew to herself. Like why Jarles and Sabbah were in the City by the Sea to begin with. Jarles had surprised everyone when he’d been able to walk away after Giya had bound him with magic to the spot where he’d stood. She had seen it with her own two eyes. Her own human eyes, in fact, as she had been trying to blend in by staying in her girl form instead of her owl form. She’d discovered that no matter which body she employed, though, adults seemed to ignore her, or forget she was there altogether; a fact she often took advantage of to learn more than what they would normally tell a child her age.
When the Earth Goddess had refused to give Jarles the seas of the world – the very reason he had been created in the first place – he had tried to leave. But Giya had used her magic to make him stay. He was unable to move his feet forward or backwards. He had been compelled to stand in one spot. Not for long though. He said she would regret what she’d done, and reminded her that she had once wondered if he was truly a god or not, and then he had severed the bonds as if they hadn’t existed and had walked calmly away. Nobody had any idea where he was going or if he would cause trouble for Giya. Most thought he’d gone fishing with his grandfather as he’d said he was going to do. And yet, here he was, in the City by the Sea, walking freely, and unrecognized, through a large crowd of people. What did Grandmother the Goddess want her to learn from this? Or was she just using her eyes to see things, so she didn’t have to go out among the people herself? Even though Siri Ventus was no longer blind, she still used others to see for her in places she didn’t want to go, or to do things she didn’t want to do. She never said why she didn’t want to go, but Nieva knew Grandmother the Goddess had reasons for everything she did.
If she was honest, Nieva knew she would have to admit to herself that she was surprised her grandmother was still here. In the City by the Sea. With so many people surrounding her. Not that many came seeking her favors or blessings, of course. People had served the Sea Goddess Amphedia for so many years that they really didn’t know what else to do now that she was gone. And more people had feared her than had loved her, so they weren’t likely to go looking for a new goddess to serve. At least that’s what Grandmother the Goddess had told her. Nieva thought it was more likely that people were just as afraid of the Goddess of Air as they had been of the Storm Goddess. Still, that didn’t explain why they were still here, instead of having gone back to … wherever it was that her grandmother had lived before coming here. She ruffled her neck feathers in what would have been a shrug if she’d been in her human body, knowing it was useless to try to guess what her grandmother was going to do or why. And only once in a while was she ever able to trick the information out of her.
Suddenly, Nieva could feel her attention diverted without having made the decision to look to her left on her own. There! It was Chared, and he was coming along the beach towards the docks. If Jarles and his grandfather continued towards the sea, they would surely see Chared. She waited, wondering if Grandmother the Goddess cared whether they met or not. Nieva knew there was a lot about this man that she didn’t know, so of course that made her want to know more about him. What she did know was that he used a different kind of magic than most people did. And that he had been chained up and crazy for a long time. But when she had met him, he had seemed pretty normal to her. It was obvious a lot of people were afraid of him, or what he might do, but Grandmother the Goddess didn’t consider him an enemy. So what would she do?
It didn’t take long for her to find out. She was to distract him by inviting him to meet the Goddess of Air! Nieva was shocked, but knew what she had to do. Launching herself from the roof of the temple, she aimed he
rself to a place where she would be able to transform without anyone seeing her.
* * * * * * * *
Jarles usually enjoyed his grandfather’s company, so he was doing his best to ignore all the complaining he was doing today. He was just nervous being around so many people again, so he was keeping up a litany of all the things wrong with the city and the people in general. Of course, the last time he’d been here, he had come perilously close to death. And while Sabbah had died many times before, he was afraid that if he died again, it would truly be his last time, now that Amphedia wasn’t here to revive him at some future date.
He often marveled at the difference that knowing he was a true son of Amphedia made for his grandfather. Before he had learned of his true parentage, he’d been a crass, greedy man, always seeking attention and glory for himself. The one thing he remembered more than any other while growing up with his grandfather as his only living family member, was that “Grandpa Kerr” always made sure to let everyone know just how important he was. How invaluable and smart. Jarles smiled to himself, grateful for the man Grandpa Kerr had become since becoming aware of the fact that he was really Sabbah, a true son of Amphedia the Storm Goddess.
They had shared every day and night together for the past several months and he’d learned a great deal from the man. No longer boastful of things that no longer mattered, he was eager to share stories of his younger days as well as the stories he’d never told of Jarles’ father, Jonath. He had confessed he hadn’t liked Drena very much when she and Jonath were growing up together, because she was a bit too wild, a bit too much like his own wife. Or the woman he liked to think was his wife, Jarles knew. They may never have married, but Kerr had desperately wanted to. He was glad his grandfather had shared a few stories of the time he’d spent with his grandmother, Denit. Jarles smiled to himself. When he thought of his grandmother as she had been when he’d been a child, he still thought of her as Maw’ki. He had loved her for being her unconventional, crazy self. And now … now she was the Sun Goddess. Some of it was still hard to believe, but he was slowly adjusting. Spending time with his grandfather and learning things about his family that he’d never known was helping more than he would have thought possible.
He wished he could just ignore the pull of the city and stay far away, spending at least another year doing nothing more than fishing and sharing stories with his grandfather. And, of course, exploring the seas together. That was the very best thing of all. The only other time he’d been alone, he’d spent much of that time under water. Oh, Savaar had come to visit him, tucked away in his little cove, but he’d been alone more often than not. Now, he and his grandfather were spending days at a time beneath the sea, exploring everything that took their fancy. He truly wanted it to never end. He had even thought about ignoring whatever it was that was pulling him back to the City; he had plenty of reasons and excuses to do exactly that. But there was something calling him here. He only wished he had some idea what he was looking for.
* * * * * * * *
Guessing that a young girl approaching two grown men would look out of place and would be likely to draw unwanted attention, Nieva drew some coins out of her pocket to pay the nearest vendor for a small bucket of what looked to her like slugs. She wasn’t all that fond of seafood, so didn’t know for sure what they were; she only knew she had to look like she belonged and that what she was doing was a natural thing to do. Drawing attention to herself would only end up bringing very unwanted attention to Jarles and Sabbah. Looking at the bucket she held to make sure the creatures in it wouldn’t slop over the sides, she thought her owl self might consider that the squirming slugs might be worth tasting, but her human senses disagreed violently. The coins had been in her pocket, untouched, for at least two months, she was sure. Grandmother the Goddess had instructed her in how they worked and what they worth, telling her that it was important she never – not ever – steal anything. This was the first time she had ever thought to use the coins. She knew she would have to thank her grandmother for having the foresight to give them to her, of course. And that she would undoubtedly gloat, but that was a small price to pay for being able to use them now.
Looking around and through the people who were walking past her, she spotted Jarles coming her way, but Sabbah didn’t seem to be with him. Now what should she do? That’s when she felt the hand descend on her shoulder. It was warm and firm, and wasn’t grabbing at her, it was just there, on her right shoulder, firmly holding her in place. Startled, she almost dropped the bucket.
“I know you,” a voice said above her head. “You’re the girl who turns into an owl.”
“Yes,” she said quietly, understanding it was Sabbah who was holding her, and wanting to kick the idiot for drawing attention to himself by doing something so stupid as reaching for a young child in front of so many people. Quickly then. “Siri Ventus, the Goddess of …”
“I know who she is girl,” Sabbah growled, shaking her a little. “You’re going to take us …”
“You let go of her!” a woman’s voice suddenly rang out, challenging Sabbah. And Nieva could actually feel the quality of the air changing around her. Where a moment before loud voices of vendors were calling out up and down the street, and people were laughing as they passed quickly by, now everything had slowed to a pinpoint in time. She saw the woman’s face change as Jarles pushed past her, his body casually connecting with hers. She was shocked, then terrified, then, in the blink of an eye, her expression turned to one of awe and she was reaching out with one hand to touch that part of her that Jarles had brushed in his passing as if it was some kind of sacred object.
“No Sab…” Jarles was saying, then corrected himself to “Grandpa Kerr,” but it was too late. Shouts were rising up all around them. Some in anger because those people hadn’t yet recognized what was going on, only that a little girl was involved. Some in confusion. And some were raised in shocked surprise. They were surrounded. And Nieva felt herself changing before she could do anything about it. In the next moment, Sabbah’s hand was gone from her shoulder and she was flapping her wings, trying to get away from the reaching hands all around her.
That’s when she felt it – something new. Something was happening inside of her that she didn’t understand. It felt like she was coming apart, but at the same time, she was becoming bigger. She was flapping and flapping, trying to rise high enough to fly away, no matter what happened to Jarles, Sabbah, and all the other people, but she couldn’t get her wings spread far enough apart. She was scared. And angry too.
She remembered the time that Savaar had turned her into liquid so that she could travel with him underground. This was different than that, but it had the same feel of coming apart. Oh no! What if she had the same powers as her mother and she was turning into a storm? No! Everyone would hate her! They would all be afraid of her! No!
And then she felt a power surrounding her. She knew the feel of magic on her skin, no matter which form she was in, and this was magic. Grandmother the Goddess had come to save her!
* * * * * * * *
“You are not what I expected to find when I came here,” Chared nodded at Jarles and Sabbah, while he manipulated the air around the little owl he knew was Nieva. Drawing symbols in the air and making an intricate humming sound, he parted the crowd surrounding the three of them, causing many to gasp out loud as they moved, unwillingly, away.
“Nor I, you,” Jarles responded, giving his grandfather a pointed look for having caused the unexpected commotion.
“Sea God!” a man shouted, a question in his voice. Chared watched as Jarles shook his head, a look of helplessness in his eyes. Ah, so he hadn’t started this riot. Probably the old man had then. Sabbah, a true son of Amphedia and one of the brothers he had once tried to kill.
In the next moment, the crowd had taken up the jubilant chant and they were surrounded by cries of “Sea God!”
“Do you want to stay, or shall we get out of here?” Chared asked, looking at Jarl
es.
“Just give me a minute, will ya?” Jarles exhaled, obviously unhappy to have to face the crowd.
“Good people!” Jarles shouted, raising his hands to acknowledge their excitement. He waited a moment for the crowd to quiet; he’d always hated crowds. Even when he was young; people had always wanted to meet Amphedia’s Heir, and he’d never wanted anything to do with it. And now here he was, surrounded by the very people he was born to lead, or serve, or protect … whatever it was he was supposed to do … and he could do nothing of the sort. He wasn’t, after all, the Sea God, as Giya had taken that particular duty from him.
“I am here seeking answers to a riddle I don’t yet understand, nothing more. When that mystery is solved … “ he didn’t know what else to say. What could he tell them? The seas were not his to rule.
“Tell us how to serve you!” one woman cried out.
“Stay with us!” a man yelled.
“I will be back!” he shouted in return. “For now, I have a …” the inspiration struck him. “I have a treasure to uncover! Then I will return!” he assured them, waving as he followed Chared away from the throng of people.
“A treasure?” Chared asked, not sure if he was intrigued or merely making fun of the other man.
