The Northern Steppes

Many weeks had passed since they left the cave with the Sword of Ages. Thallios never mentioned it again, but Leiyu surmised that it was probably on his mind often, especially during the long quiet nights after conversation stopped and sleep was yet to come. Sometimes Leiyu would awaken briefly in the night and hear Thallios tossing and turning in the throes of nightmares.

I wish I could do more to help him, Leiyu thought.

Since they were already in the northeastern mountainous part of the Western Region, they only needed to go a little further to make it to the border of the Northern Region. Once the craggy peaks softened and sloped down into grassy steppes, Leiyu knew that they had made it.

It was no surprise that the people of the Northern Region worshipped the Goddess of Wind. The ever-present gusts made Leiyu and Thallios’ cloaks flutter endlessly. Leiyu shielded his face with the veil of his weimao while Thallios had to make do with the hood of his cloak. They trudged along on horseback across the vast fields.

In the evening, they settled in a dirt clearing next to a rock mound. Leiyu started a fire and roasted some small animals that he had caught earlier.

“Leiyu?”

“Hm?”

“You said that your friend is a nomad. How are we going to find her?”

Leiyu smiled. “We’ll know when we’re getting close.”

Thallios gave him a look but said nothing.

***

The night sky was clear and dotted with a myriad of stars. Another gust of wind blew. Thallios wrapped himself with his cloak and shivered as he leaned his back against the mound.

Leiyu sat down next to him. Thallios glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

Leiyu wrapped his cloak around both of them. Thallios leaned against Leiyu’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

***

In his dreams, Leiyu recalled a conversation from three years before with his friend that they were currently seeking. He saw himself standing in a vast grassy field. A shadowy silhouette stood a short distance away from him.

“What is your name, wanderer?”

“I am Leiyu from the Eastern Region.”

“What brings you to the Northern steppes?”

“My Shifu passed away and I am embarking on a soul journey.”

“Soul journey?”

“A trek around the outer world, to discover more about the inner one.”

***

They traveled for a few more days until they saw a cluster of yurts in the distance. As they approached, they saw animals grazing and children playing. Some of the adults turned towards them. Leiyu took off his weimao.

“Greetings, my friend,” he said.

The nomads seemed to recognize him.

“Is that Leiyu? Have not seen you in a long time. Greetings!”

“I am looking for Lady Sarangerel.”

“Ah! She lives further that way.” The nomad pointed towards the horizon.

“Thank you!”

Leiyu and Thallios continued riding past the yurts. Thallios noticed the nomads looking at him with curiosity.

“Do they all know you?” he asked Leiyu when the yurts were far behind them.

“I lived in the Northern Region for about a year, so they’re familiar with me.”

A lone yurt came into view in the distance. They rode up to it and dismounted from their horses.

The yurt door opened and a woman stepped out. She wore a pointed felt hat with strands of beads going down the sides.

Leiyu bowed. “My lady…”

“Leiyu?”

“This humble one is.”

Sarangerel smiled. “It has been quite a while.” Noticing Thallios, she continued. “Ah, you brought a friend. You must be weary from your travels. Come in.”

The yurt was spacious inside. Sarangerel led them to a mat at the center. She took out two bowls and poured suutei tsai, a salted milk tea, into them from a kettle. She handed the first bowl to Leiyu, who received it with his right hand. He drank all of it before laying it down on the mat. She then offered the other bowl to Thallios. He inferred that the tea drinking was part of a ritual, so he copied everything Leiyu did.

Once the two were done with their suutei tsai, Sarangerel turned her gaze towards Thallios and smiled. Thallios looked back briefly, somewhat confused.

“So, Goddess of Fire,” she began. “What brings you here?”

Thallios was shocked. He then remembered the voice from the cave with the Sword of Ages had addressed him the same way.

“Are you not the Fire Priestess from the Western Region?”

“Me? No…my mother was…I’m…” He turned to Leiyu.

“It’s all right, we can trust her,” said Leiyu. “She is the Wind Priestess of the Northern Region.”

“Oh!” Thallios bowed to her. “I am Thallios…former prince of Ishkhandar.”

“Former?”

“My kingdom was destroyed…”

“Oh…I’m sorry…”

“He is the last surviving member of the royal family,” Leiyu explained. “The invaders from the Southern Region who destroyed his kingdom are looking for him.”

“Leiyu, how did you happen to meet a prince?”

“I was accompanying a trade caravan westward as a bodyguard and we delivered silk and porcelain to the royal palace of Ishkhandar. I was still there when the invaders came. The king told Thallios to escape and made me swear to protect him.”

“Hmm…” Sarangerel turned to Thallios. “You said your mother was the Fire Priestess?”

“Yes, but I don’t really know anything about that. She died when I was young and I was never told about her past.”

“Hmm, this is very unusual. Your mother, the Fire Priestess, was married to a king, and had you, a prince.”

“Why would that be unusual?”

They were interrupted by a sudden cry from the other side of the yurt.

“Oh! Excuse me for a moment…she’s awake,” Sarangerel walked away for a moment and returned with a toddler in her arms. “Forgive me for not introducing you earlier, this is my daughter Narantuya.”

The sleepy-eyed girl had chubby cheeks. She yawned and leaned against her mother. Thallios smiled while Leiyu looked at Sarangerel.

“I didn’t know you had a child,” said Leiyu.

“I had her after you departed for the west.”

“I guess I have been gone for a long time…”

Thallios stared at Leiyu, eyes widening and mind speculating. Is Leiyu the-

“Did you marry?” Leiyu asked Sarangerel, interrupting Thallios’ thoughts.

“Hahaha, no,” Sarangerel replied.

“Oh,” said Leiyu. “Then…”

“The priestesses of the four elements are not supposed to marry. They remain celibate for life.” Then turning to Thallios, she continued. “For the Fire Priestess to marry a king and have a child with him, that would be taboo.”

“Oh…” said Thallios.

“And it is rather unusual that you are a prince.”

“Why?”

“The priestesses of the four elements only have daughters.”

Thallios’ eyes went wide again. “But…didn’t you just say that the priestesses are supposed to remain celibate for life? How can they have daughters? Or any children at all?”

“Hahaha, that is the biggest mystery. The priestesses of the four elements are able to have children without the help of a man.”

Leiyu and Thallios looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.

“And,” she continued, “they have daughters who are exact replicas of themselves.”

Leiyu and Thallios took a closer look at Narantuya. She did look like a miniature version of her mother.

Thallios then remembered his mother’s appearance and froze. A shiver ran down his spine. Was I supposed to be a-?

“Thallios? Are you all right?” Leiyu asked, interrupting Thallios’ train of thought.

“Yes…I was just…thinking about something…”

Narantuya had fallen back asleep and rested on her mother’s lap. Sarangerel held her closely and turned to Leiyu.

“You know what else is unusual, Leiyu? I taught you wind magic, but very few people can learn elemental magic, especially as quickly as you did.” She then turned to Thallios. “Do you know any fire magic?”

“No, my mother never taught me. I didn’t even know she was the Fire Priestess until recently.”

“Oh, how did you find out?”

Thallios looked down and hesitated. “Well…there was this cave…”

***

After Thallios told Sarangerel the story of the cave with the Sword of Ages, she sat wide-eyed.

“Wow…that must have been very distressing. I’m sorry you had to experience that.”

“Mm…”

“There are many mysteries in the world, but that’s the first I’ve heard of a sword having consciousness and trying to speak to someone, let alone create all those illusions.”

“It must have been the sword’s memories. I saw my parents in those visions. But…that’s not how I remembered them. My mother was always so kind and gentle, and she had been ill since I was young so she didn’t have much strength and was always resting. And my father…well, he became more distant after my mother passed away, but he was never unkind to me. I…don’t know what to think. Maybe the sword was just trying to trick me again…I wish I could have asked my father for more details before…” His voice began to trail off and Leiyu looked at him solemnly.

“Hmm,” Sarangerel said. “Well, it is unfortunate that you were not aware of your true heritage…and also somewhat dangerous…”

“What do you mean?”

“As the avatar of the Goddess of Fire, you should have the potential for powerful fire magic. Yet, if you have not learned to harness and cultivate it starting from a young age, it may manifest itself in unpredictable ways.”

Leiyu and Thallios looked at each other.

The glowing eyes, Leiyu thought.

“Perhaps I could help you. I do not know fire magic but the technique for unleashing your powers is probably similar to that for wind magic.” She glanced at Leiyu as she finished her sentence.

***

Leiyu recalled the days when he first learned wind magic from Sarangerel. He recalled sitting cross-legged across from her on a grassy field.

“Let the energies of the wind flow through you,” she said.

Leiyu closed his eyes. His hair flowed with the wind.

“Concentrate the wind in the palm of your hand.”

He held out his hand. Pale wisps materialized and formed into a ball above his palm.

***

Sarangerel placed her sleeping daughter on the far side of the yurt while Leiyu and Thallios went outside. Thallios stared at the horizon in silence.

“Thallios?”

“Hm?” He turned around to face Leiyu.

“You haven’t spoken about the cave since we left it behind and I haven’t asked. But…if the thoughts are troubling you, you can always talk to me.”

“I…don’t want to burden you…”

“It wouldn’t be a burden.”

“You already do so much for me. I feel like…I can’t do anything…”

“Ah, don’t say that…”

“It’s true though. I’m completely dependent on you for everything - food, shelter, guiding us everywhere…

“Oh! I didn’t know that made you feel bad. I could teach you some skills if you want.”

Thallios smiled. “Sure, I would like that…”

“And don’t worry about not knowing how to do things. It’s your first time out in the world.”

Thallios sighed and returned his gaze to the horizon. “I always did want to see the world, but I never imagined it would be under these circumstances.” He turned back to Leiyu. “Do you think the soldiers are going to find us out here?”

“I don’t know. We’ve traveled quite far already.”

“What is our plan then? Are we going to stay here with the Wind Priestess?”

“For now. I haven’t really thought that far ahead, to be honest.”

“Hmm…I hope they don’t find us then. I’m not planning to retake the throne at this point, so I’m no threat to them. I’ll just…live in exile.”

***

Later that day, Sarangerel began Thallios’ fire magic training. He sat cross-legged before a bundle of sticks that held a small flame.

“Focus on the flame,” she said. “Embrace its warmth. See if you can get the flame to dance above your palms.”

He cupped his hands and closed his eyes. Minutes passed. Nothing happened. He sighed.

Narantuya was crouched near her mother. She plucked some wildflowers from the ground and turned to Thallios, offering them to him. Thallios smiled and accepted the small gift.

Narantuya then tugged on her mother’s dress and pulled her in the direction of the yurt.

“I will return in a bit,” she said to Thallios. “Just continue focusing.”

Sarangerel followed her daughter into the yurt. Thallios sat and stared at the flame. It danced hypnotically over the sticks. He held his palms upwards and moved them closer. A small ribbon-like portion of the flame jumped toward his hands and floated above his palms.

Leiyu approached him and saw the flame levitating above his hands.

“Thallios?”

Thallios turned towards him and looked at him with golden yellow eyes and a cold expression. Leiyu stepped back and felt his throat tighten.

The flame suddenly burst. Thallios yelped in surprise as he was thrown backward into the grass.

“Thallios!”

Sarangerel emerged from the yurt carrying Narantuya. “What happened?”

Leiyu ran over to Thallios and helped him sit up. Thallios’ hair was disheveled and his face was sooty. His eyes had returned to their usual amber color.

“Are you all right?” asked Leiyu.

“What happened?” Thallios asked.

“You were able to harness the flame for a moment, but then lost control…you don’t remember?”

“Vaguely…I remember looking at the flame…and then the next moment I was falling backward…”

“Your eyes were glowing again…”

Thallios gasped and looked at Leiyu fearfully.

“Is everything all right?” asked Leiyu.

“I…I don’t know if I want these powers. What if something terrible happens?” Memories of the cave flooded back into Thallios’ mind.

“It’s all right, you can learn to control it.”

Sarangerel walked up to them.

“Do not worry,” she said to Thallios. “This will take time.”

***

Night fell. Sarangerel hung a blanket from a clothesline in the middle of the yurt to act as a partition. She stayed on one side with Narantuya while Leiyu and Thallios were on the other side.

After sleeping out in the wilderness for weeks, it was nice to be indoors. Leiyu lay down on the floor and glanced at Thallios, who was curled up a few feet away.

I hope he doesn’t have those nightmares again, he thought. Thallios was breathing softly. Leiyu closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***

Inside Thallios’ dreamscape, he stood in a dark abstract plane. In the distance, he could hear the faint jingling of bells and the soft laughter of a woman.

“Who’s there?” he asked.

As the jingling bells became louder, he could make out the silhouette of a young woman. She wore her hair in a half bun with long loose strands flowing around her, obscuring her downcast face. Her long dress and silk sashes swayed as she twirled towards him. She reached for his hands and rested her petite delicate fingers over his.

“Who are you?” he asked gently, still unable to see her face.

“I am Amara.”

He froze.

She looked up at him. Her face was identical to his.

“I am you!” she declared with a smile.

He awoke with a gasp, completely covered in cold sweat.