I stared back at her in silence.
I didn't know why we were being killed. I tried to think of every time I lost control in the past, because maybe I'd done something, hurt someone unintentionally. But there was nothing. Uncle was the only person who'd been injured by my power.
"I don't know."
"I think it's paramount you learn why."
"Do you know?"
"No." She said. "None of my kind have been blessed in the same way yours have. I suspect, if you want answers, that the only one's who could have them, are your people."
Uncle—
I looked up at the sky, following the curtain of colourful blue, red, yellow, green, and orange lights as they shifted gently, billowing to a breeze I could neither see or feel. I could feel a heavy frown growing on my face, and when Nala looked up, her expression became grim.
The Blue Glaze was upon us, much earlier than expected.
It happened occasionally that it started ahead of schedule, and no one could hardly complain. It was a force of nature after all.
"Once the blue sun rises, your life will be forfeit." Nala said, standing up. "If we cut through the forest, I can have you at an elf colony in two hours."
"I have to go."
"Godl—"
"My uncle's there, in Felvas." I said, standing. "If he comes back here and doesn't find me, he'll be besides himself with worry. I'm sure he's seen the signs too. I just need to make my way towards the City, I might meet him on his way back here."
Nala shared a look with one of her son's, Frey.
Frey looked at me, before saying solemnly. "Seldom does the Royal Guard travel to these parts, Felvas has its own garison and requires no assistance from the capital. We have observed this."
I frowned in confusion, turning to Nala for clarification.
"Our party saw a battalion headed to the City yesterday. I suspect to ambush you."
"That's impossible." I said. "No one knows we were headed there. Uncle told no one besides me, and we've been moving through these woods for a week now, at an irregular pace. There's no way they would've known to ambush us yesterday."
I grabbed my satchel.
"Let me accompany you either way." Nala said. "There are many dangers here."
"I'd really appreciate that."
"Momo." She called, snapping her fingers. The garmr raised it's head, awake from its nap. "We need you help."
The beast got onto its feet with a loud yawn. I had to look away, I was getting a little nervous about the thought of being anywhere near such a huge predator. "He was not trained for riding, but he will get us through the woods faster than we can manage on foot."
I blinked huge eyes at her, more than a little nervous now.
"Come," she said. "I will help you climb."
She tucked me under her pit, which was a bit mortifying as I felt like an unruly pup, before jumping onto the garmr's back. Then she put me in between her legs. "You must grab onto his fur tightly. Do not let go."
I nodded, grabbing a fist full of fur tightly.
"Gods be with you." Frey said.
"Thanks."
As soon as we settled, the garmr fell into a steady sprint. It was awkward and bumpy, and more than a few trees were toppled over, but Nala was right. We were covering more distance than I would have, especially if I'd walked.
It was still somewhat dark, but the lights above were making it very easy to see where we were going.
The woods started to thin, and I could see that we were almost upon the Nahasi border. Momo started slowing down as well, signalling the end of my ride. The dread that had been steadily growing in me set heavily on my chest, making my breathes a bit shallow. We hadn't seen uncle throughout the whole trip.
The ogress helped me get off the garmr.
"We cannot go any further. They will not react kindly to mine or Momo's presence. And they will be suspicious of you for being in our company."
"No, it's alright. Thank you for this," I said, bowing my head. "I'll never forget your kindness."
"It was nothing." She waved me off. "Be careful. And may the gods guide you to safety."
I nodded in thanks.
She made a sharp sound and Momo took off the way we'd come.
I watched them disappear behind the trees before turning back to the border. There were hundred maybe more, lined to enter, and hundreds more waiting to board the transport to Kelvas.
I dug into my satchel for a mirror. Border patrol was usually lax during times like these, but there was no reason to tempt fate. My hair would give me away if I didn't hide it. I dug into my satchel again, this time for—
Yes! I was so glad I hadn't lost it. Uncle had given me a small bag of crushed Galena to use in situations like these.
I poured a little of the crushed powder on the palm of my left hand. Then, as I spit very carefully onto the powder on my palm, my other hand was digging through my bag for a paint brush. I used the wooden end to mix as soon as I dug it out. Because I'd neglected to refill my waterskin, I had no choice but to use my spit. As soon as the two mixed, I placed the brush on the ground and leaned over to place the mirror next to me on the closest tree. I then angled it towards my face, and picked the brush back up. I focused on my eyebrows first, carefully painting them black. I couldn't do anything about my eyelashes, the brush was too big for a job like that. Next was my hair. I started at the roots above my forehead, mixed more Galena powder with my spit, and tried to get as much of my hair black without making it obvious the colour wasn't natural.
The end result wasn't as good as I'd been aiming for, but it would do. I decided to braid my hair so as to not call too much attention to it. The dye would only work well if it wasn't given more than a once over. Then, I slipped everything back into my bag and went down the hill Nala and Momo had left me on. From there it was easy to slip into the crowd going to Kelvas.
We were going to be using Pegasi to travel.
The Elves thought it was primitive travelling with winged horses. Uncle was very quick to point out their hypocrisy the last time we overheard elves grumbling about the treatment of the animals, some elves ate Pegasi after all. The only reason Pegasi were still in use amongst the Audhalen was only because of how wierd they we were about using runes. Regardless of what anyone preached, it was pretty obvious that the blood sacrifice unnerved them. There were those like uncle who didn't care about using the Dwarven craft, but the rest of the populace preferred not to use them. Despite occasionally not getting along, Elves and Dwarves had actually exchanged alot of their culture with each other, Rune Inscription being one of them. Runes were used for everything, including transportation over large distances. Uncle had tried teaching me, but it quickly became obvious that I couldn't do anything more than the bare minimum. The things that I could do hadn't even scratched the surface of what could be accomplished with runes. I just had no affinity for them.
"Halt."
I looked at the gaurd in question. Besides his height, which was a head or so taller than mine, there was nothing else I could make out beyond his silver armour.
"What were you doing in the woods?"
I blinked at him nervously. I hadn't realised anyone was watching or would be watching as I came down the hill. I should've doubled back a bit and come out somewhere no one would see me, maybe further up the road headed down to the border. As I bit my lip and averted my gaze, my eyes fell on my arm. I'd forgotten it was injured. And it looked like Nala had bandaged it for me.
I decided to improvise.
"I—I got injured on my way here, so I stepped into the forest to find some herbs for a poultice." I said, a slight tremble in my voice.
The guard hummed, looking at the shape of my ears, before nodding and letting me through. It wasn't exactly forbidden to go in the woods, it was just discouraged. If I'd been an elf, he would've asked a few more questions. Not that it was extremely odd to see a small group of Elves taking refuge with other races, it was just... peculiar enough to garner a bit of attention. There wasn't much known about Elves besides the general. Like how they were long lived, more so than any other creature in the world, and had the foulest mouths. They really said the most colourful things, I'd heard that with my own ears.
Uncle told me once that some of them were extremely tan because they smoked dried herbs and had silly dances in the sun.
"It'll be a few hours before it starts."
I looked to woman on my left and followed her gaze to the sky above. The colours were starting to fade, and it was getting hot. There was a slight blue tint to the horizon, but the sky was otherwise still black and eerly cloudless.
I finally got to the front of the line.
"Three gold-moons, please."
The price was a bit steep. Usually uncle and I paid a gold-moon and seven silver-sky coins each, about half of what the livery station manager was asking. But it made sense to take advantage of the times, no one would be willing to complain about the price with the Blue Glaze so close to beginning.
I gave him the coins with a sigh.
I hoped I found uncle quickly, otherwise my coin would run out. The only reason I had any was because he usually gave me an allowance, but I hardly spent it. It really wasn't much, so I was more than a little worried about how long I could live on it.
Pegasi weren't worth stealing. They were just too distinct and having one would bring attention to uncle and I. They were also trained to fly in certain directions, so using them to make a runaway was just asking to get caught.
I'd ridden Pegasi countless times, the trip usually wasn't worth noting.
It was completely different this time though. I'd never glimpsed at any of the Cities, uncle wouldn't allow it. I felt cheated.
Kelvas towered over the black sea that was the valley bellow. It quickly became obvious to me that the Iron trees growing all around the city were deliberately planted there to sort of build the aesthetic. And what a sight it was. Even at a distance it was gleaming with smooth and perfectly flat marble structures, with towers that rose higher than any I'd ever seen.
As soon as it landed, I got off the Pegasus when it's trot slowed to a standstill. I barely paid attention to the help when they took the harness from my hand. My eyes were on everything and everyone.
"Never been to a city before?"
I tore my eyes away from the black cobblestone to meet amused obsidian orbs. "No, it's my first time." I said, a little breathlessly.
"Well, you could've picked a better City to start." He said, taking a step closer into my personal space. "I'm Zhavier by the way."
"What do you mean I could've picked better?" I asked. "Ketil, nice to meet you."
My head was starting to get foggy and I felt sluggish.
"This place is otherwise known as Lærdebyen for a reason. So," he said. "what are you doing here, Ketil?"
"The City of Scholars? How... unoriginal." I said. "And I could ask you the same question."
Zhavier gave me a once over, before he snorted. "Nice boots." He drawled sarcastically. "And I'm here because the bloody Glaze decided to come early."
"My uncle made these for me." I hurrumped, crossing my arms. "And what I'm doing here is none of your business."
Zhavier smirked, bringing attention to his full lips. I grimaced, mostly because I'd looked. He was very pleasing to the eye, but whatever thrall he'd put me under had faded when he spoke ill of my boots. Uncle had worked really hard to make them for me.
His smirk slowly turned into an inquisitive smile. "What are you?"
"That's rude." I said, then I started to walk away.
"I've never seen anyone brush off a lure that easy. Are you an orc?"
I gasped in outrage. "Of course not!"
"Well you certainly have the disposition."
I stopped, then turned to face him. He almost bumped into me in his haste to keep up with my pace. "If you have nothing better to do than insult me, then I suggest you leave me alone."
"I was only joking."
"Joking at someone's expense is called bullying. I don't like bullies." I continued walking.
"Would you calm down." Zhavier said, grabbing my arm. "Forgive my behaviour."
I didn't have time to continue arguing with him, so I decided I'd let go of the animosity building between us, well more on my side that is. He was up to something though, so my guard was up. "How does one go about finding someone in this place?"
He smiled. "I can help with that."