But Pai sniffed and stifled a moan. But its my only chance to be a mage. What if I miss it, what if
Bah! Orion chuckled. Its just a shitty provincial college, Pai. With your talent, any University would kill to have you! So dont sell yourself short, kid.
There was a faint smile on Pais trembling lips now and hope in his puffy, teary eyes.
Your main goal is to convince Vesperi that a powerful mage will be more useful to the Order than another ambasiath. Most other Kangassks will support you too, Im sure. Theyre good people. And Sainar is their father, hell listen to them.
Pai was sobbing now, all his fears, his doubts, his anger pouring out of him in tears.
There, there, warrior Orion patted him on the back. Its okay. Im on your side too. Lets go get that obsidian. After that, youll be a full-fledged Orders member, not some child, and your own voice will have some weight as well.
Back in the common room, Orion, his face grim, his eyes full of smouldering anger, winked at Juel: it is done, were good to go.
The looks that the other teammates gave their leader, spoke it all: the peace and trust that they all had achieved during their stay in Firaska were broken again. Juel Hak had failed as a leader in the eyes of Irin, and as a friend and elder in the eyes of the rest of the boys. That would not be easy to rebuild, indeed!
Chapter 8. The border
Across the border, even the best maps
Have nothing left to say
A void where stars sleep, flickering,
The Moons haven by day.
Across the border, across the border
The end. Nothing moves on.
Water drains down into darkness,
Earth is sliced off and gone.
Far off, in darkness, shining myriads
of stars hang overhead.
I chose my path, and held to it, when
Across the border it led.
Crossing the border changed me, to them
I grew ugly, a repulsive goon
Not all at once in separate stages,
Measured, phased like the Moon.
The days once were when handsome I seemed!
My future filled with hope!
When at my zenith, with the strength Id dreamed,
I crossed the border
Adult Milian. A canto of Thorn poem
The team fell into Pais Transvolo like a handful of stones thrown into a cold abyss. Despite all the efforts of Einar Sharlou, his young apprentices spell still included passing too close to the alien star.
The Primal World! exclaimed Jarmin, pointing at the golden sun, that pulsing ball of light that seemed no bigger than a Liht sphere from here. Pai, please, lets get closer, lets take a look! the little boy begged.
Nobody doubted Jarmins words. Nobody. His discovery shook everyone in the team, even Irin. For the first time in their whole journey, Irins teammates saw his face lose its usual twisted, menacing expression; it was almost serene now; there was lively interest, a spark of curiosity, a tinge of daydreaming In the light of the Primal Worlds sun, the little fanatic seemed just a boy his age, someone you would want to be friends with.
The beauty of this star seemed healing. The last argument had left a wide crack in the teams mutual trust but now it felt like the crack was mended with invisible glue. In the face of the living legend, the young Lifekeepers felt united again.
I wish I could do what you ask, Jarmin, said Pai with a longing sadness. But Im afraid. Coming close to a star is extremely dangerous and Im just a newbie. I might kill us all if I try
Too bad sighed Jarmin.
I wonder, Milian squinted his eyes as an exciting idea came into his head, whether its possible to use Transvolo for interstellar travel. What do you think, Pai?
Ill find out one day, said Pai Prior with determination. But later, when Im a proper mage.
The stars faded into darkness before their eyes as the young Lifekeepers fell out of the Transvolo void into the real world.
The real world was pitch black, filled with Omnisian stars above and with cold sand below.
Where are we? asked Lainuver. He tried to sound confident but his voice betrayed him.
In Kuldagan, of course, answered Bala, a gentle smile lighting up his voice. Ive been there once with my master. This is what Kuldaganian night looks like beyond city walls. If there is no moon to light the way, its that dark. And its always cold at night in the desert.
Did something go wrong, Pai? asked Juel cautiously. We were supposed to land in the city.
I didnt dare risk it, confessed the young mage. There are too many objects there. I was afraid I wouldnt be able to calculate everything properly and would hurt someone. But were not far away, I swear!
Yeah, its just the dunes. They are quite lofty and obscure the view, explained Bala. I bet that wed see the city right away if we climbed one. Kuldaganian cities shine like stars on the earth by night.
Like stars on the earth Milian echoed his words. And whispered,
O lovely land,
Entrancing land,
Far from woe, far from sorrows within;
As if dreams hide
Where the night sky ends, the earth begins
It didnt seem that he intended someone to hear his newborn poem but in the night that quiet, even whisper can be too loud to hide anything The whole team heard the boy. Embarrassed, Milian fell silent.
So youre a poet, Mil said Orion, a strange thankfulness in his voice. Why havent you ever read us anything of yours?
I preferred to listen to your stories instead. Milian laughed the question away. Lets go. Its getting colder and colder by the minute.
Orion shrugged, unconvinced by his friends nervous laughter. What kind of storyteller was he if he couldnt even notice a poet beside him? Orion made a promise to himself to shut up the next time someone asks him for another story so Milian would have a chance to shine as well.
The dune they chose to climb was a mighty beast. It took the team a while to reach the top. Their feet sank in the sand with every step, the cold wind drained their warmth slowly but steadily, and their cloaks were no help. But all their efforts and suffering were rewarded in the end when they reached the top of the sandy monster and saw the shining lights of the city below.
Stars in the sky, stars on the earth; a place where dreams hide All that Milian had expressed in his snatch of a poem before anyone had seen that with their own eyes. Poetry is a sister to magic, yes, but it also has a lot in common with divination. Fortune-telling.
Seeing the lights of the city and hearing its distant murmur lifted the teams spirits again. The Lifekeepers ran down the dune with a burst of boyish laughter, eager to reach Torgor, that shining diadem crowning the dark sands.
Stars in the sky, stars on the earth; a place where dreams hide All that Milian had expressed in his snatch of a poem before anyone had seen that with their own eyes. Poetry is a sister to magic, yes, but it also has a lot in common with divination. Fortune-telling.
Seeing the lights of the city and hearing its distant murmur lifted the teams spirits again. The Lifekeepers ran down the dune with a burst of boyish laughter, eager to reach Torgor, that shining diadem crowning the dark sands.
In the cold air, their every breath was a puff of white vapour that the desert hungrily snatched away the moment it appeared; their every step was a fleeting impression in the sand, soon erased by everlasting winds; their voices were devoid of echoes, swallowed by the dunes. The desert holds few memories
I heard that Kuldaganian nightlife is truly something! said Lainuver. He was so cold that his teeth chattered, making speaking difficult, but he just couldnt wait to share his excitement.
Oh well have fun there all right! Oasiss happy voice joined him in the dark. Im so sick of Firaskian curfews!
Sorry to disappoint you, said Bala, but Kuldaganian nights are mostly work, not fun. Its just too hot there by day to do anything, so the locals mostly live by night.
Oh Oasiss enthusiasm died in an instant. And what about the city were going to from here? That Border? Is it just like Torgor?
No, said Bala remembering his visit to Border five years ago. His speech became slow and thoughtful. Borders people are diurnal. Its a bit like Firaska: a city with walls and a little army to defend them. They have desert raiders threatening them from one side and No-Mans-Land bandits from the other. But there are no curfews, so nightlife is a thing there, yes. I think youll like it! He tried to sound cheerful and supportive but with the cold that cruel, even Bala couldnt be his usual self.
Kuldagan is a land of mystery. Formally, its a part of the South but in terms of magic, its an anomaly. Torgor is the last city where magic is reliable; further north, casting spells is a gamble. The closer you are to Border, the city guarding the entrance to the No Mans Land, the higher the stakes in that gamble are. Thats why no mage ever takes their Transvolo further than Torgor.
Torgor is a big, busy city, similar to Mirumir in many ways, zigarella smoke excluded. There are little shops, cafés, and dlars (local inns) on every corner and a spectacular market in the central square where all kinds of curiosities from around the world are sold.
The cult of Ancestors purity is still a thing in Torgor but its slowly fading, losing its influence to the massive multicultural flow of merchants and tourists passing through the city every day. Most of the Torgor locals still look somewhat like the citys first people: Arnika who was a blue-eyed, brown-skinned redhead and Vadro, her husband, who had pale skin, grey eyes, and silver hair. But very few modern Torgorians are perfect copies of their Ancestors nowadays.
To everyone but Bala who had already been to Torgor, seeing so many similar faces seemed creepy. The boys couldnt help commenting on that, though in very hushed voices not to be overheard by the locals.
Juel, trying to mend the team's morale, made an unusual decision upon their arrival at the city: he allowed his teammates to spend their money freely. They had saved a lot by having their own mage learn Transvolo instead of hiring a specialist and even earned some with Lainuvers and Oasiss shadow business, so he could allow such a gesture.
The trick worked like magic! Soon, Juels warriors were laughing again, happy with all the souvenirs, treats, and books they got from the market. But Juel himself couldnt even crack a smile; in the gloomy light of his true mission, the whole world seemed dreary to the young Faizul. He left the others to their fun and went away to look for a caravan that would agree to take them along. Beyond Torgor, joining a caravan is the only sure way to reach another city alive; you dont walk the dune sea alone unless you are a Wanderer.
To Juels teammates' credit, they didnt forget about their duty amidst the fun and bought a set of proper desert clothes for every team member thick, layered, woollen cloak, jacket, and trousers to keep both daily heat and nightly cold at bay. Bala went through several dlars asking people everything about the desert and its aren, which meant much more than just sand in the local tongue. Aren is sand, glass, and monolith, Kuldaganians said, but only Wanderers still remember how to tame the third monolith aspect. That was an interesting but not very useful piece of information. The useful one was about maskaks. Bala told Irin everything about those creatures and stressed the importance of spotting and killing them in time so they wouldnt tell their bandit masters about the approaching caravan. Irin took Balas warning very seriously and promised to be on alert. He even visited a local smithy and bought himself an extra hundred of arrows for the journey. Jet-black, with striped feathers and barbed arrowheads, they looked deadly.
That night, filled with shopping, asking around, looking around, and enjoying the exotic city, turned out to be so exhausting that the boys fell asleep in their rented room just where their exhaustion had caught up with each of them: at the table, on the floor, among the backpacks Orion was snoring by the door where he had collapsed after stumbling over the doorstep. He had overestimated his stamina a bit while tasting local alcohol.
That was how Juel found his team after a rowdy night. For a while, the mighty Faizul just stood there, at a loss what to do, then looked at the lukewarm sky, sighed, and curled up in the nearest bed like a big, heavy cat. He knew he could trust his inner clock to wake him up in time. And he needed a nap after a sleepless night too.
Bala, the most responsible one of the lot, woke up even earlier than Juel and made a hurry-up breakfast for the team and a simple sobering potion for Orion.
Refreshed but still sleepy, the Lifekeepers paid for the room and headed to the gates to catch up with their caravan.
The merchant the caravan belonged to, an elderly woman, frowned as she saw the young warriors. That they were young, she knew (Juel had told her that), what she didnt expect, though, was a gaggle of kids. She gave Juel a grim, reproachful look. He replied with ardent praise and swore that each of his teammates would be worth at least three bandits in a battle and that having a master archer in the caravan might even save them a battle altogether. That was the longest speech Juels teammates had ever heard from him. Their leader could be eloquent when he wanted! Finally, the old merchant nodded in approval. Lifekeepers did have a good reputation, even young ones, after all.
My name is Ramayana Arnika-Vadro, she introduced herself to the younger boys. You are welcome to join my caravan. May our journey be an easy one.
Patience. Patience. Patience. This is the very first lesson a Lifekeeper must learn and they all do. Even Jarmin, a six-year-old, had learned his lesson of patience years ago, so he endured the hardships of the desert journey stoically, without even a pip, even though they were nearly killing him. His teammates and the merchants did everything they could to ease the little boys suffering. Ramayana allowed Jarmin to sit on one of her dunewalkers instead of walking the sands himself. Juel, Orion, Bala, and Lainuver shared their water with him. The younger Lifekeepers Kosta, Pai, Milian, and Oasis (Irin just didnt care) wanted to share theirs as well but Juel forbade that. Those four were still too young, so depriving them of water would be a sure way to turn four capable warriors into helpless children. Jarmins troubles aside, the journey was going well, probably thanks to Irin who kept watching for maskak scouts as he had promised and shot them all at sight.