7/4/3028

I woke up when my horse’s steady trot suddenly came to an abrupt halt. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and the drool stain I’d left on Elossai came into focus. The unfamiliar night sky stretched above us; foreign constellations clear where they poked through the trees that surrounded us. I had missed the sunset.

“Sorry, I drooled a little on your back,” I whispered.

“No worries,” Elossai said cheerily.

Martin stood next to his horse, trying to untie his saddlebags with Ilta’s help, while Keiran and Stanjah were having a discussion a good distance away from the rest of the group.

I squinted, trying to read their lips, but it was too dark to make out a single word.

“You need help getting down?” Jarek stood beside my horse with his arms extended toward me.

“Sure. Thanks.” I took Jarek’s hand.

“We had no chance for a proper introduction.” Jarek bowed when my feet met solid ground. “I am Lou-Jarek.”

“Oh. Should I call you Lou, or Jarek?”

“Jarek,” he said.

“What about Ilta? Is she just ‘Ilta’?”

“Rana-Ilta is her name.”

“Well, it’s nice to be properly introduced.”

He grinned wide, baring his slightly crowded lower teeth. “The great honor is mine.”

✽✽✽

Elossai started a fire while everyone else worked together to pitch the tents. When we were done, we congregated around the fire to share a meal. The dried meat we ate tasted pretty good, though I didn’t want to think about where the meat came from. I was just happy that we had something to eat.

We ate in silence, and not the kind where you are content and comfortable. It was the sort of silence where you were restless about what lay ahead and what’s left behind.

Martin and I occupied one side of the fire and the Ankins were on the other. The very apparent divide between us and them made for a rather awkward dinner. Were they planning things out, or were they just respecting our space?

Martin nudged me. “What do you think?”

“About what?” I whispered back.

“You notice how everyone is so quiet?”

I took a bite of meat and tugged off a chunk. I nodded.

Martin leaned closer to me. “You think these guys are gonna help us?”

I scanned around the fire to see if anyone heard. No one was even looking at us, except Keiran. He eyed me, just like he had done at the restaurant. He couldn’t have heard us though—he was sitting too far away. “They have to help us. How else will we find Katie?”

“Yeah, I guess…” He drifted off, gnawing at his piece of meat.

When Martin and I had finished eating, Elossai approached us with her head bowed. She held out some cloth neatly piled on top of the other. “I brought you and Martin cloaks. It may become quite cool tonight.”

“Thanks, I was starting to feel a bit of the draft.” Martin helped himself to one and handed me the other. He smiled at Elossai. “You’re the sweetest thing, right Ell?”

“Absolutely,” I agreed. Elossai blushed then turned to leave.

“Hey, Elossai,” Martin said.

“Yes?” Elossai’s eyes were clear and attentive.

“Come sit with us for a while, I wanna talk.” Martin scooted away from me, then motioned for Elossai to sit, patting the space between us. Elossai sat, grinning from ear to ear. “So why are the Ankins at war with this Hidelvus guy?”

“The story is a long one, but I will try my best to condense it,” she said. “Two hundred years ago, an alliance was formed between Ankinia and Syelos. Ankinia had vast natural resources, and Syelos was brimming with corin and wisdom—it was an alliance that brought prosperity and advancement to both.”

“Are Syes just another tribe of humans or do they have unique physical traits different to an Ankin?”

Elossai hesitated for a moment. “They are considered human—yes. Sorceress En-Stanjah is Sye. The only true distinguishing physical trait of a Sye is their eyes that turn a brighter sapphire shade under certain conditions. You would need to be paying close attention to notice.”

“You’re kind of implying that they’re not really human,” Martin said, raising a single eyebrow playfully.

“Aside from the Syes innate strength for analysis, their cultural upbringing gives them a higher capacity for logical reasoning than Ankin humans—this doesn’t mean to say that Ankins are illogical or struggle with reasoning, but a Sye may have the advantage due to being groomed for logic during childhood and adolescence. The main difference between Syes and Ankins though is that Syes have powers.”

“Kind of like you?”

Elossai paused before answering. “In some ways.”

“By default, does that mean that they have a diminished capacity for empathy?” I interjected. My jab at Stanjah went unnoticed to Elossai, but at least I got a chuckle out of Martin.

Elossai tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t say that empathy was a universal trait of theirs.”

“So Syes have the same genetic makeup as Ankins but have powers, making them wiser up here,” Martin said, pointing to his head, “but less compassionate here.” He pointed to his chest.

“Interesting way of putting it. Yes, I suppose you could say that. But to answer your question, that does not mean they are only part-human—they are full, level three sentients.”

I didn’t want to derail the conversation by asking her what she meant by that.

“So, the Syes and the Ankins…” I prompted.

“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Roughly thirty years ago, in the infancy of Hidelvus’s tenure, a large corin mine was discovered in Ankinia. Prior to this discovery, all corin was imported from Syelos as there had never been a discovery of a mine anywhere else.

Hidelvus was elected Ankin Ambassador to Syelos several months before the discovery of the New Incus corin mine—the first outside of Syelos. He began to believe that the alliance was no longer beneficial to Ankins after the discovery. He grew disillusioned, seeing Syelos as parasitic and the sole beneficiary of the alliance.

He proposed to the Ankins that he could pave the way to an invasion of Syelos by lulling the Sye council into a sense of complacency. Although he had the backing of some influential Ankins, most favored the continuation of a lasting peace and condemned Hidelvus for suggesting such a treacherous plan. Hidelvus’s fall from grace resulted in his exile; and while he was joined by a few that sided with him, it was during this exile that he built up his army in secret. Those few that joined him were later christened his elders.”

There was an uncomfortable swelling in my chest when Elossai spoke of Hidelvus building up an army. Martin’s jaw had slackened—his mouth agape. I checked again to see if the others were listening, but they seemed to be busy in a discussion of their own.

Elossai’s eyebrows were raised, as if she were uncertain about continuing.

“Please continue,” I said.

She swallowed hard, then proceeded. “Roughly sixteen years later, as leaders of Eloria gathered in the city of Muirek to celebrate the Day of Peace, Hidelvus attacked. His Ras managed to annihilate the Sye council and anyone that dared to stand in his way. Many dignitaries from nations all over Eloria were slain that day.

Keiran’s father, Dunek Anmus, is one of the few governing survivors from that day. Hidelvus vowed that all who opposed him would meet their comeuppance.”

“But,” Martin said, scratching the back of his head, “how did he manage to gain an army?”

“Mostly the Ras. Hidelvus’s perverse creation.”

“Ras… Like the crow women who kidnapped Katie?”

“Yes. The Ras are born of the Elosra Tree in its bud stage. The prevailing theory is that during their early years, they were fed flesh and blood as opposed to fruit and water; this is where the similarities between Elos and Ras end. Ras go through a second growth period—the fledgling stage—from youth to adult form. By the time they grow into adults, they become a fearsome fighting force with vastly superior strength and intelligence, but most of all, they are bent by the singular will and undying devotion to Hidelvus. This is what gives him such a great advantage.”

Martin shook his head. “You guys need to stop him from harvesting anymore Elosra fruit.”

“That is no longer a concern. The Elosra Tree isn’t where it was.”

“Where’s it now?”

Elossai shook her head. “No one knows. After the Muirek massacre, the Elosra Tree vanished. It was around that time that vile creatures began to roam the land. Many of them joined the growing ranks around Hidelvus, so much so that he no longer needed to create Ras.”

“Keiran said that the Elosra Tree keeps Eloria in balance,” I said.

“Yes, which is precisely why Eloria is in chaos.” Her voice was rigid and her expression severe.

“Do you guys have a plan?” Martin asked.

“We do. It is actually why Dunek Anmus agreed for us to find Ellis Ann,” she replied.

“Which leads us to why I’m here,” I said.

We’ve come full circle.

“That’s right,” Stanjah said from behind us. I turned around. Her arms were folded in front of her chest.