Far in the distance, something white glowed in the night. As I sailed closer, a hazy cloud moved and breathed along an invisible wind. It billowed upon the gentle water’s surface and rose above my head like a heavenly wall. The still movement of its face filled me with warmth despite the autumn cold and bitter wind. Searching its depths felt like a voice was calling me towards it. It beckoned me to enter its gates and explore. It beckoned me to adventure. The tantalizing thought consumed me until I could barely hear myself think.
But the feeling left me. As soon as I passed by a certain point, the voice faded away until I no longer heard its special whisper.
The crescent gulls warbled cheerily above me and snapped me out of my daze. There it was—Alizha Island. Rising in the distance, a depressed mountain peak rose mightily from the depths of the ocean where jagged teeth-like rocks curled towards the island shore. The other side of the mountain sloped and stretched into an inviting-looking plain. A white sand bay in the centre curled its arms toward me in greeting.
Coming to rest my speeder upon the shore, the migrating aves flew past me and spread upon the new island like children in a theme park. Movement caught my eye and I saw two Bay Keepers emerge from a hut a few feet away.
Before I could exit my vessel, a dark-skinned man with thinning grey-black hair stamped his foot upon the gunwale of my speeder and jerked my boat to the side. Nonplussed by his provocation, I shifted my weight accordingly and maintained my poise. I couldn’t help but give him a level stare from the corner of my eye.
Child, I thought.
One of his eyes twitched and then the two pits of amber became consumed in calculation. Unfortunately for my oppressive new acquaintance, I couldn’t suppress the yawn I had been struggling to hold back and my thoughts were quickly crowded with my longing for water and a good meal. I was hungry. I was tired. I was thirsty, and my “give two flicks” about this child’s actions was somewhere lost in the ocean.
Oh, wait. I looked tiredly at the man. He’s probably older than me, given how he looks . . .
The longer I studied him, something about him made my skin crawl. The way this man looked at me, the way this man looked down at me, and the way the light seemed to have an unnatural glow within his eyes . . . He kind of reminded me of—
“Yo, Reios! You forgot the paperwork again, dude.”
I snapped a look behind him. A short, pale-looking man traipsed behind the dark-skinned man. He held a clipboard with a shrivelled scroll attached, waiving it above his head. The dark-skinned man gave an unpleased huff and pushed off my speeder. Despite his gesture, I maintained my posture again just to further irk the man. He turned to receive the item his partner held, but I could have sworn that I saw his eye twitch again.
Another yawn plagued me, but this time I couldn’t tell you if it was out of disinterest or exhaustion. Somewhere in the foggy cloud of my mind I knew I should be more alert than I was, but I couldn’t seem to muster the caution. A sword was present on each of the men’s waists, and a coloured sash marked them as practitioners of the Universal Arts. The purple and green sashes were wrapped and tied neatly as a proud statement of the level of their abilities.
The act of always wearing one’s sash was common practice in the Territory of Alaire, according to Grandfather. Unlike Alaire, we in Rendische didn’t relish in openly announcing our skill level, so it was a strange custom to me. Then a dreadful thought hit me, I’m not going to be forced to wear a sash all the time after I enrol in university, am I?
Shaking the thought, I waited silently as the two exchanged a few hushed words, then the dark-skinned man turned to face me. The unsettling feeling that I got from him earlier was gone. He just looked . . . tired—a lot like Grandfather on most days.
The man’s voice came out in a drone. “Welcome to Alizha, state your name and business.”
Oh, my groggy mind thought. That's not . . . that's not Rendischean. What is that, again?
My exhaustion-fogged brain crossed hairs before it loosely remembered where I was. Alizha was within the Territory of Alaire, which spoke Alairan.
I was confident in my Rendischean and Norf, but my Alairan was a little . . . Well, let’s just say it was sour, to say the least, so I carefully selected my words and said, “Farran Sylver, University enrolment.”
“Ooh, a hopeful,” the short man piped up. His statement intrigued me, but I kept careful watch of the other Bay Keeper. The dark-skinned man seemed off-put by my name, which struck me as odd. I had never met this man. He shouldn't know me. After a few seconds of writing, he handed the clipboard and scroll to his pale companion.
Before allowing me entry, the man pointed at the swords buckled to my sides. “Weapons are disallowed by those without licensure. Until you receive such permission from the University, I recommend those swords stay by your side. You won’t want to find out what happens to those who break the rules.”
I nodded seriously and the man seemed satisfied. Without further interrogation, the two men retreated to their station, leaving deep holes in the sand as they walked.
A freezing autumn wind blasted in my face and cut through my clothes. I tucked my head and tightened my arms around me in a hug, hoping it would pass quickly. Fatigue and hunger settled further into my bones, and a biting wind in addition was the cream on the cake of misery. I heaved a sigh, I hope the University isn’t too far from town. I want food . . . and a nap.
I stood with my arms raised to the sky, stretching my stiff limbs as best I could. Then I lugged my satchel over my shoulder, stepped out of my speeder, and sank knee deep into the white sand shore.
Wait. I . . . sank? I looked down at the consuming grains of sand, trying to figure out what had just happened. It wasn’t quicksand, I wasn’t sinking further. I just . . . sank. It was like stepping out into a bank of snow. I pushed my hands into the surface in attempt to lift myself up but—much like snow—the surface broke after I put too much pressure onto it.
What the heck??
I tried stepping forward instead. It felt like I was forcing myself through waves of granulated sugar. The sand shifted and moved to be ever-encompassing and ever-embracing. The little crystals twinkling under the twilight was both mesmerizing and concerning at the same time.
How did those two manage to only sink up to their ankles? No way am I heavier than them. Did they have special footwear or something?
This sucked. I was already tired from my all-nighter; but now, not only did I have the weak glow of twilight morning mocking me from where the suns peeked over the far edge of the Veil, I also had a snowfield of sand to plough through before I could reach the sturdy surface of solid ground—which seemed much further now that I had inserted myself inside the shore.
Inching closer to the grass edge felt like crawling out of the shallow end of a pool after swimming a marathon. I tossed my hands over the edge of the sandbank and dragged my drooping body out of its grasp. When I had pulled myself completely out of the shore, I flopped onto my side amongst the wet, frosty grass. Surely, I could take just a few second rest?
“What a distasteful sight,” Grandfather’s punishing voice rang in my head, “you dare call yourself an enforcer acting like that? Get up!”
I cracked open my eyes and took a deep breath. Yes, Grandfather, I thought miserably. I grit my teeth, reluctantly stood up, and trudged up the tiny incline ahead of me. If Grandfather had ever thought of sending a servant with me during my mission travels, I could have been well-rested and well-fed right now—but nooo-ooo, he had to keep all of them holed up in the mansion because they were “his.”
Not that they actually are, Grandfather. I know their loyalty lies with the Nightshades, not you, I thought bitterly.
Fighting off another yawn, I set upon a worn trail that weathered the grass and stretched toward a settlement in the distance. Although another trail branched off toward the mountain, I focused on the settlement. I wanted food. Specifically, I wanted food immediately and society was the quickest way to accomplish that, so towards the settlement I walked.
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