Iliana's Tears

Lina’s whole demeanor had changed. Through her pouting was a hint of haughtiness that I’d never seen before. No, haughtiness was not the right word; there was an inherent dignity in haughtiness. I was haughty.

Lina stared at the siblings with petty satisfaction like a child finally getting her way.

“That’s better.” She smiled. There was no hint of sweetness. “You talk way too much, Alaya.”

She crossed her legs. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen: You’re going to let us go our way and tell no one that you saw us. Understand?”

Who was this that sat beside me? She bore little resemblance to the Lina we’d traveled with thus far. Except… There was the moment when the guards of Justice insulted her. Her reaction was much the same. Had that been the true Lina this whole time?

It was Moog who recovered first. “And if we don’t, you won’t tell us the non-canonized verses?” There was no confidence in his words. It was clear that he was about to cave in to her demands, but Nova had the sense to intervene. She put a hand on her brother’s arm to silence him.

“I don’t believe fer one speck that you know the original verses.”

“Oh, really?” Lina was practically licking her lips. “If I remember right, the canonized verses started something like:

Her flesh of gold beneath the ground

Flows into sacred waters.

Her tears run deep and bring forth a lake.

There, she awaits Her lost children.”

Nova’s smile was back, only defiant. “So you know the canon verse. Big deal. Everyone knows—”

“And then, the original goes,” She put on a thick mockery of the Altenian accent before saying:

“Her flesh of gold ‘neath the ground

Flows into sacred waters.

Her Tears flowed ferth, birthed a lake.

There ‘waits her sons and daughters.”

Judging by the expression on the siblings’ faces, Lina's recitation was dead on. I did not think that it was possible for her grin to become more petty, but Lina was relishing in their shock.

She giggled and made a show of shrugging with her hands. “An arbitrary change, in my opinion. But whoever rewrote the song must have hated rhyming.” She gave another mocking laugh.

Moog and Nova said nothing. Their eyes were alight with thought, especially Nova’s. I, too, was deep in thought.

Ulrich tossed his head. “Yer a few apples short of a bushel, aren’t ya, Missy?”

Nova giggled at Ulrich’s comment, which Lina chose to ignore, but I could see irritation pass over her expression.

I agreed with the sheriff. Despite Lina’s personality shift, it was clear that she was no secret genius.

Anyone with a modicum of sense would know that the changes made to the verse were not unimportant. Though the revision was miniscule, the removal of the word ‘she’ had major implications. The song seemed to suggest— and it was almost blasphemous to think about— that Iliana had children. And not just symbolically like the Daughters of Iliana in Ald Alira.

A shiver passed down my spine. I could see why the High King wanted to scrub this line from the hymn. It was nonsense; it had to be. Iliana created the world and ruled over it for a time before ascending to the heavens. There being children made her closer to human than god in my eyes.

Lina continued to gloat over the siblings. “And I know all five verses! I wonder how many you two know? I bet you’re eager to hear more. Well, if you let us go, I’ll—”

“Would you shut yer face fer just one second!” snapped Nova, “We’re thinking.”

Lina looked as if the girl had slapped her. Then came the anger as Lina puffed her cheeks. “How dare you tell me what to do! I have the exact information you want, so if you don’t listen to me, I’ll—” She was on the verge of tears. But Nova rolled her eyes.

“Save the waterworks, Red. It ain’t gonna work. You don’t have anythin’ that we can’t get ourselves. We’ve already learned four of the verses on our own, we’re not so desperate as to give in to a chit like you.”

Like watching a river start to flow in reverse, Lina’s tears were gone, only to be replaced by a sour expression.

The siblings appeared to be having a silent conversation with each other. Dietrich took advantage of the silence to ask Lina: “So, what are the other four verses?”

Lina raised an eyebrow at him, “I can’t just tell you! Don’t you know what an advantage is?”

“But didn’t they say they have most of the verses? How ‘bout you tell us three of the verses? The ones they already know.”

She gave him an exasperated look. “Think, Dietrich. They’re so bluffing. I bet that they don’t know anything but the first verse and they’re trying to trick us into telling them.”

“Oh, we know them,” said Nova, folding her arm with a smirk, “Took us about a year of coaxing missioners, but we’ve learned jest fine.”

Lina tossed her hair, which almost managed to knock me off the driver’s seat with its sheer mass. “Well then, it sounds like we’re at an impasse.”

“No, it doesn’t,” said Nova, dismissively, “We’re taking you straight to Baldwin, and that’s that.”

Lina looked stricken, “B-but—”

“Maybe you can only think in advantages and disadvantages, Red, but here in Alten, we pride ourselves on integrity.”

At last, I saw an opportunity to speak. “You say you have integrity? Then you would not object to us joining you on your hunt for this Starcastle as you promised?”

Nova flashed me a ghost of a wink, which she changed into an inquisitive purse of her lips. “Right, I fergot about that.”

I refrained from gagging. Nova was one to talk about thinking in advantages. But such hypocrisy was common for a noble.

She looked to her brother, “So, Moog? You think we could spare a few days to take them to Red Lake?”

He nodded.

As opposed to looking relieved, Lina looked even angrier. “Wait? You already know where it is?!”

“Pretty much,” said Nova. “It’s obvious if you know the history of the area, but the second verse of the song also gives it away:

Within her lone Citadel

Sits Her Castle shaped by Stars.

Buried by her endless Tears,

Mother’s children cleaved deep scars.”

We waited for further explanation, which Nova was more than happy to give. “Before it was called Red Lake, it was called Citadel Lake, but that name’s almost been fergotten. And the ‘scars’ refer to the White Wing Canyon itself.”

“If you already know where it is, then what’s the point of taking me hostage?!” demanded Lina.

Hostage was a rather strong word. Then again, we could very well be, knowing how devious Nova was.

Case and point, Nova ignored Lina and looked around as if seeing our surroundings for the first time. The red horizon was marred with the sight of distant, red cliffs, which glowed in the morning light. “The outer walls of the canyon are natural–see how old the cliffs are there?”

“No,” I said. I found that I could not summon the ability to care about the different ages of rocks. A prince had actual issues to worry about.

Nova continued with the same amount of enthusiasm. “Well, the deeper you go, you’ll start noticing that the cliffs get younger, unnaturally younger. Almost like they were scraped away by something. They ain’t shaped right.”

“And how is a rock supposed to be shaped?” I bordered on sarcasm.

The girl gave me a disappointed shake of her head. “Y’all know why it’s called the White Wing, right?”

Nobody did, not even Ulrich.

Nova raised her hand, palm up. “Map.” To which Moog placed folded parchment in her hand. With dramatic flair, Nova unfurled the parchment and held it up for all to see. The map showed what looked to be the entirety of the Alten Kingdom.

I had never seen such a detailed map that was so easy to read. Nova pointed with her free hand. “This is where we are on the southeast part of Alten. See the border of the canyon?” She traced her finger back through our route where the canyon’s mouth narrowed into our entry into the kingdom.

We were nearly a fifth of the way through already. If we continued straight and true, it would have taken us two or so days to pass through to Blumentau.

“Now take a look at the whole canyon.” She removed her finger to give us as clear a view as possible. I marveled. The canyon was marked in redder ink than the rest of the landscape, except for one section in the northeast, inked in white. As if somebody had raked their fingers across the paper, the canyon was split into seven, nearly straight lines, all ending at different lengths, but starting at the same point.

With the way each line gradually shortened, with the northernmost being the longest, the gashes indeed resemble a giant white wing that marred the land. According to the map’s key, the shortest of the lines spanned at least three miles.

Nova took pleasure at our awed expressions and said in a dramatic whisper.“And you wanna take a guess as to where Red lake is?”

She did not wait for an answer and pointed at the spot where the gashes met. “To answer yer question, Red, we need that last verse because while we know where the Starcastle is, we have no idea how to get to it. It’s hidden somewhere in the Citadel. And that song is the only key.”

I was far more interested in the nature of the canyon. “You said the White Wing was unnatural, yes? Do you know the cause?” What kind of creature could cut through the land so easily?

“Sure do,” said Nova, “It’s a royal secret, but I’ll tell you since I promised you a treasure hunt. And maybe once I do, you’ll finally get it.” She paused and looked around her, leaned forward and whispered. “It was the Sainted Seven.”

A collective shiver passed through each of us, starting from Dietrich and ending with Ulrich.

“For real?” asked Dietrich.

Nova grinned, “Fer real.”

Goosebumps rose on my arm as I thought about their sheer might. “For what purpose?” I asked.

She shrugged, “My Pa told me they were jest testing themselves.”

Just testing themselves?! I could scarcely believe it.

“It happened about thirty years ago,” said Nova, “Pa said that they’d just gotten their hands on their Sacred Tools fer the first time and wanted to see how strong they were. It was so awe inspiring that bards were singing about it for three months straight. Some even added it to the verse you jest heard.”

Lina looked as if she wanted to say something. Whether it was condescending or insightful, I would never know, because Ulrich chose that moment to interrupt her. “So, whose line was the longest?”

This was the most excited I’d ever seen the horse. It was as if he’d grown ten years younger. His tail whipped behind him impatiently. I did not blame him for his excitement, I was just as eager to hear.

Mine, of course! said a triumphant Rudi. I wasn’t about to hold back! No way!

“They say it was the Exalted Axe, Sigmund Thumel,” answered Nova.

What?! Thumel?! Rudi’s voice was so loud in my head that I heard ringing in my inner ear. Arier’s a chump! That try hard could only dream of reaching my level!

“I don’t think that’s true.” I said on Rudi’s behalf. Ulrich gave a fierce nod.

“Neither do I,” said Nova, “You ask me, it was actually Holy Sword Shultz. Nobody’s tougher than an Altenian.” There was pride in her voice, and on Moog’s face.

I like this girl! She’s pretty smart.

An idea struck me. “You still haven’t told us what exactly you’re after. Or what the treasure inside this Starcastle is.”

“Didn’t you hear the song?” said Dietrich, “The ground is filled with gold! That’s gotta be it!”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not. Mere gold is not so enticing as to become an obsession for minds like yours.”

Lina clicked her tongue at the siblings, “They probably like sticking their noses where they don’t belong.” She stuck hers in the air with a huff.

Again, I doubted. These two were a special breed. They were above gold-hunting and beneath discovery for discovery’s sake. No, they were after something even rarer, something only a royal would covent.

Nova’s smile faded. “So, yer startin’ to figure it out, are you Headband? Go on, ye’r almost there.”

“There’s something special in that castle, isn’t there?” I was so close to the answer, but I could not see it. It was like an itch that I could not quite reach.

Oh, for the love of— They’re after me, you idiot! Just like everyone else!

And it finally clicked. “Iliana’s children…. The ones from the hymn. It’s referring to the Seven Sacred Tools, isn’t it? That’s what you’re after!”

Nova’s smile returned, “Yer half right! The song is referring to the Tools, but that’s not what we’re after. We don’t give one speck about stealing someone else’s power. We want what the weapons are made of; we want Iliana’s Tears.”

Both Lina and Rudi gasped, which was an odd sensation. The sounds were so similar that it felt as if it penetrated my soul.

“That’s only a fancy nickname, though,” added Nova, “In most circles, it’s called Elaris, the rarest ore in existence. It’s the only physical proof that Iliana walked this world. Her footsteps were said to change even dirt into the stuff, so you can imagine what the Starcastle’s like if she lived there. It’s probably made of Elaris.”

Nova paused to catch her breath, she was so excited. “And it’s where the Sacred Tools were forged, blessed by Iliana’s kiss.”

Home… I heard the sword’s voice whisper, Mother, why did you leave me? Rudi misses you so, so much… Mother…

I felt my heart go out to the voice in my head.

Oh, why did you leave me with this idiot?!

I could hear the swords sobs in the deepest corner of my mind. Though, I was not so sympathetic this time.