Chapter 7

Aase had already got up by the time I woke up the next morning. I stared up at the ceiling in the cramped cabin. Aase and Kine had survived but… I sniffled. I had already suspected that our families hadn’t made it when they never came to visit… What had happened to this world?

Aase had said the Council had taken two of the Crystals to Akkadia and… I laid a hand on my chest. Auntie had fused the other one with me, and the last one…? How many villages had been taken over by the Spectres and Monsters? How many people had died?

I sniffled and pulled the blanket to the side and got up, suddenly missing Aase.

The deck was already busy when I climbed up, and the sun was already high in the sky. We had landed on the river once more, and all around, the jungle spread out.

“Oh, you’re awake."

Kine walked over to me.

“How are you feeling?”

I nodded. I didn’t know what I should say, but I think he understood because he put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

“It will be okay. You’re safe now, and we’re together."

“You’re awake!”

Aase ran over to me and threw her arms around me. It felt good to have her close, and I leaned into her.

“Here.”

Kine handed me one of those strange weapons I had seen Aase carry in the jungle. I looked at him curiously.

“It’s a wind rifle," he explained.

“It doesn’t work on magic. So it’s safe to use," Aase added, letting go of me.

“I’ll show you how to shoot it."

Kine took it and rested the end against his cheek, holding it straight at eye level.

“Then you just push here."

He pointed to his finger resting on a hook. He aimed and shot over the railing and into the forest.

“Here, now you try.”

I spent the rest of the morning practising with it, shooting at the distant trees. A weapon that didn’t rely on magic… Aase had told me that the technology had been invented long ago in Akkadia, but I had never heard about such weapons before.

Later that morning, Mitrandes walked over to me, leaning against the railing.

“That’s another invention of my people," he said.

I paused and turned to him.

“I’ve never heard about it before."

"Because no one needed it as long as we could use the Flow. We simply kept inventing things, hoping that they would come to some use, just like the lamps and glow crystals. At least… That’s what I would have said if you asked me before Naria fell.”

He paused before he continued,

“But now, I wonder if the Council wasn’t preparing for something."

I frowned.

“I was a scholar in Akkadia, Silje. I worked for them longer than my heart told me to..."

“You worked for the Council?”

He nodded.

“Before Naria, I trusted them like everyone else. I believed that some of my inventions would help people…”

He sighed and turned to watch the river.

“When the Spectres came, the Council protected Akkadia, just as they’d promised. And so we kept believing in them even if we knew that some things that they were doing were wrong…”

“What happened then?”

“I saw too many people driven away, considered unworthy of the Council’s protection. Then more news about their doings reached the city, even if I’m sure they tried to stop it as much as they could. Once I’d built Aegon, my friends and I plundered the great library and set fire to everything we couldn’t take and escaped.”

“And in that process you managed to convince an Ice Dragon to wait for a better chance”, Ifrim added as he joined us at the railing.

He turned to me and bowed.

“Ifrim, she's not used to the ways of your people”, Mitrandes sighed.

“But the Guardian deserves the highest respect I can offer”, Ifrim said with a smile, and I couldn’t tell if he really meant it or if he was joking.

Suddenly, a reflection from the river shone in my eyes.

“Vessa is back!” Mitrandes announced.

He turned to the river, and I followed his gaze. A fae with beautiful wings was flying towards us with a heavy-looking sack in her hands. Where had she come from? She was about my height, but I couldn’t tell if she was a teen or an adult. I had never seen any of her kin before, as they lived far away among other Earth tribes.

She landed next to us and dropped her bag into Ifrim’s hands and then turned to me.

“So you are the Guardian?” she asked and took my hands in hers. “I'm Vessa from Andrel."

She smiled and briefly touched her forehead against mine before letting go and turning to Mitrandes.

“I’ve checked the village. It seems to have been abandoned a long time ago."

I looked at her, confused, but before I had time to ask, Ifrim sat down, spreading the contents of her bag around him.

“At least you found something useful this time.”

“Anything interesting?” Aase called as she joined our group.

I looked at the items. A copper kettle, bronze axehead, two crystal lamps, a stone dagger and silver pin in the shape of a flower… Everyday items that suddenly reminded me of home.

“Worth going back for?” Mitrandes asked.

“Difficult to say, but it seemed like they’ve left in a hurry, so there might be more there…”

Aase nodded, but Ifrim shook his head, seeing her.

“Rest, Aase. I will go with the others."

He turned to me and bowed his head before disappearing under the deck, and Vessa followed him. I turned to Aase.

“Who…is she?”

She chuckled.

“There wasn’t time to tell you yesterday. Vessa and the others were asleep when we arrived last night. She went to scavenge an abandoned village this morning. You never know what useful things you can find."

“There are more people living on this ship?”

She didn’t have time to answer because Ifrim came back up with a young Okuren and a Neko girl.

“We’ll be back soon."

They lowered the rowing boat and stepped inside, and I watched them as they made their way to the shore.

“Yorun and Stella,” Aase said, gesturing at the disappearing boat. “They’ve been with us for a while.”

“Will they be okay?” I asked, seeing them go.

“They know what they're doing, and the place looked empty when I checked”, Vessa said as she came back from below deck.

She picked the dagger from the floor and offered it to me with a smile.

“Here, take it. You never know when you may need it."

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking at the blade.

“She's right."

Aase crouched down next to me.

“The world has changed, Silje, and very few places are fully safe. Keep it."

I nodded and put it into my belt. It was true that everyone here seemed to be carrying some sort of weapon, a thing unheard of in our peaceful village or even back in Naria.

After that, we began setting up the ship for the day. We would stay here until the evening, Aase had told me. Too many Griffis and birds of prey had turned into Monsters, and flying during the day was no longer safe. I shivered at the thought. Apparently, water animals hadn’t been spared either, but those who had grown to become Monsters lived deep down and rarely surfaced, making the river safer. Even so, one of us always kept watch, ready to take the ship into the air if needed.

I watched the river. An Okuren, Neko and Fae… There were so many different tribes here that normally never came together apart from in larger cities. How much had really fallen if they had all escaped their lands?

I wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to bombard my friends with questions when they were busy, so I helped Tore and Kine hang a net above the deck, giving us some shelter from the sun. Once we were done, Vessa and Tore sat in the shade while Kine kept watch and Mitrandes began repairing a wind rifle that had been broken during the last raid.

I turned back to the river. I couldn’t shake the fact that the jungle looked exactly as I remembered it, yet it was no longer the safe place I had always known. Everything had changed in these ten years and… I guess I didn’t know what to do about it. Ifrim looked up to me as a Guardian, but I had no training, and anyway, what could I do against everything that had fallen? It wasn’t as simple as waving a wand and restoring it to what I remembered it to be.

A sharp whistle suddenly pierced the air. Tore bolted from her place in the shade, and the deck erupted in chaos. I saw Aase grabbing a wind rifle, and Kine jumped from the platform.

“What’s happening…?” I sputtered.

Vessa leapt into the air.

“They’re coming back!”

I ran to the other side of the ship and leaned over the railing, resisting the urge to cast a spell that would let me see clearly. The small rowing boat was moving quickly towards us. I sighed in relief.

“Where is Yorun? He isn’t with them!” Tore cried.

I watched the boat. She was right, there were only two people in it. The Okuren was missing. Moments later, they touched the ship, and Mitrandes ran over to pull them up. It didn’t take long before Ifrim clambered over the railing, and as Mitrandes leaned over, chaos erupted.

“Take off!” Ifrim yelled.

“Help her up! She’s wounded!”

“Stella!”

“She will be fine."

“Pull the boat."

“Where’s Yorun!?”

“What happened?”

"Yorun! We need to go back!”

“Pull! Pull!”

“Take her downstairs!”

“Steady… Steady!”

“We need to go back!”

“What happened?!”

“Silje!”

“Silje”

“Silje…”

Aase ran to me and wrapped her arms around me.

“Are you okay?”

I didn’t have time to answer because the ship rumbled and jolted into the air. She pulled me closer.

“It’s okay, we're safe…” she whispered.

“What happened?”

“Come, Ifrim will tell us."

I shivered in the chilly wind as we rose higher and higher. Aase took my hand, and I followed her to the steering platform where the others had already gathered. Ifrim turned to me as we joined them and bowed his head before turning to the others.

“What happened?” Mitrandes asked.

“We were loading the boat and went to bring the last of our loot when an old elf emerged from the trees."

Vessa frowned.

“But the village was abandoned a long time ago…”

“Yes, he told us they had built another village in the trees."

He shook his head.

“He was unarmed and seemed friendly, and we regretted looting his village seeing him… He invited us to stay with them, saying they had found a way to stay safe. Yorun asked him what he meant. The elf said that their god protected them..."

“Their god?” Mitrandes frowned.

Ifrim nodded and turned to me, holding my gaze as he continued.

“He said it kept them safe, and we were welcome to stay under its protection if we would sacrifice one of us to him.”

Tore gasped.

“I felt others were hiding in the forest, so I tried to play for time, but Yorun panicked, and suddenly, the Flow filled the air, and the other elves rushed out of the forest. I blew my whistle, and they scattered. We ran, and we had almost reached the boat when vines burst from the trees and pulled Yorun back... Stella was wounded, I couldn’t go back.”

He shook his head and finally turned his gaze away.

“Flow? But the Spectres…” Aase murmured.

“And so the rumours are true…” Mitrandes said.

“What do you mean?” I asked, still shivering from Ifrim’s gaze.

“There are rumours that some tribes have chosen to serve the Spectres in exchange for protection."

The other fell silent until Kine said,

“We need to find a place to land. We’ve gone too high."

Mitrandes nodded and stepped into the enclosed platform, pulling some levers. Ifrim turned to me.

“He is still alive."

“How do you know?” Aase frowned.

“They didn’t want to kill us on the spot. They will sacrifice him, but they will do it in the right way.”

I shivered under his gaze.

“Let’s land first, and then we can decide what to do,” Mitrandes said.

He guided the ship down to the river, and Tore went to check on Stella’s wound before we gathered again on the deck.

“What shall we do?” she asked as she sat down.

“The elf spoke about their tree village. We don’t know how many of them there are…” Ifrim said.

“We should go at night. It’s our best chance."

Ifrim nodded.

“They ran to the forest at the sound of my whistle. They still fear the Monsters…”

“You’ll take the boat back to their village, and I will take the ship out of sight. Once you signal me with a lamp, I’ll descend into the jungle," Mitrandes said.

“I’ll scout ahead."

Vessa leapt into the air and disappeared along the river.

“You should take some firepots with you tonight. Fire may distract them," Mitrandes said.

I reached out and took Aase’s hand in mine.

"I will go with you…” I whispered.

She frowned.

“No…”

"But… I can help, I can…"

“Someone needs to stay on the ship with Mitrandes," Kine cut me off.

“You will help with the ropes when we land," Mitrandes said, trying to smile.

But what if the Spectres came? I could fight them... I could use the Flow. I looked at them, wanting to argue, but Tore shook her head.

“He is right, someone needs to stay."

Ifrim had stayed silent the whole time, but he turned to me, and his blue eyes met mine. Even though he didn’t say anything, I knew what he meant. I was the Guardian.