"Esa Motezi vietas*
A long time ago, during the Great Elemental War, when battles between tribes measuring their powers through territory broke out in several regions, annihilating innocents in the mountains, Zehan Grymwar, an earth practitioner, was hit in the head, but managed to escape alive. The injury, however, caused amnesia in the young warrior, who, lost, wandered for months in the lands we now know of Iliona (at the time, there was only one simple village nearby). Once, exploring the forests of the interior, Zehan reported hearing a calm and gentle voice, guiding him to a rosy-colored rock, shining like a fallen star on earth. Curiously, the young man built around the rock his shelter, where he carved it over the years, adding notches as his memory offered him lapses of a past life, already unknown. With the development of his elemental abilities, Zehan saw the possibility of altering the shape of the rock, turning it into a well, but this worked differently from that imagined by him, providing him with power and longevity, but degrading his brain. It was only later, after the foundation of Iliona, built on the sea of blood that Zehan had created, that his subjects noticed his insanity worsening. Despite the efforts of his Royal Council, bringing him wizards and healers of various religions in search of healing, the massacres caused by the disease could not be prevented. Several hunters and investigators searched the well, but when they returned, they all recorded different levels of insanity. The supreme mage, Gaia Hellgrove, after studying the bodies, reported that all the effects were caused by black magic, emanating from the rock, cursing them."
"Marrish, have you ever heard of Zehan? Zehan Grymwar?" Melissa asked to the young Captain.
"I heard that he was one of the founders of Iliona, the first King, no?" – retorted him, his head resting on his hand, his green eyes attentive. "What torments your blonde little head?"
"Only stories about wells and magic." – she said, closing the book and getting up to put it in place, an overwhelming weight on the chest, the head confused by the information she had just read.
Melissa remembered well the time she had spent near the well, the girl had slept by his side for more than a few hours, had touched him several times, would this be her end? Would she have contracted something so cursed without knowing it? The girl walked from one side of Marrish's room to the other, who watched her from afar with his eyebrows frowning.
"I'm going to rest for a while before we get there" – Melissa said, quickly coming out the door, a pang of fear hitting the girl, the air slowly disappearing from her lungs. She quickly crossed the path between her room and Marrish's, throwing herself into the bed as soon as she stepped in the door. Melissa felt like herself, but wondered every second how long that peace would last until the effects hit her harder.
She fell asleep among her own thoughts, awakened a few hours later by Marrish, who knocked on her door for a few moments, and finally decided to open it, waking the girl almost immediately.
"I just came to warn you that we're getting to Almajid, do you have any idea what you're going to do?" - Marrish asked the girl, who, blinking to ward off sleep and biting her lower lips, looked at him for a few seconds, while still lying down.
"Try to find a transport?" - she spoke to him, her left eyebrow raised, a yawn on the way.
The Captain swallowed dry and looked away from the dull girl, grabbing a small wooden chair placed in the corner of the room and sitting in front of the girl.
"It's obvious. I'm going to take you to a place where we can get one."
"We?" – Melissa said, stranger to the plural, sitting down to talk better.
"Yes, we." – He repeated, without understanding the first-rate girl, the confused and sweet look. "Oh, of course, you stupid, if I leave you alone and lost here, the Nesefir* will send me straight to hell."
Melissa smiled about Marrish's tattered apology when a few days ago he had told her that he did not believe in these divine things. However, she thanked him for not having to face that adventure alone, given the circumstances with the curse, which could begin at any moment.
"All right for me" – she answered, watching the Captain get up from the tiny but sturdy wooden chair and go towards the door.
"You should come, it's a beautiful sight, I can tell you some things from the city." – The captain offered her, opening the heavy door and giving the girl a corner smile.
"I'm going up soon." – She concluded, letting the young Captain take over his ship, so that she could digest the information thrown about her earlier.
When Melissa was 9 years old, she remembers that her father returned from one of his travels with a huge box, taken to his office at the same time, hastily. The girl had been curious, because her father had promised to tell her the stories of the other worlds he visited, and she could swear, that box should tell the most exciting story she would know, she had had a strange sensation at the foot of her belly when she saw the box, almost as if the fresh air blew her face and hair , allowing her to breathe again. The father had been locked in the office with the box for more than 2 days, receiving only small meals left by the door, caught after cold, when there was no one around. She had since wished to enter her father's office, but the three locks placed when they arrived had always prevented her, after all, she contained only one of the keys, left by her father in a will after his death, and had no idea where to start looking for the others.
Melissa left the room and came across Almajid directly, growing as they approached. The city caught fire in several tall stone buildings, but no one cared directly about it. Calm, Marrish stopped by the girl who watched the city' s basement.
"You know you need to blink at some point, right?" – he whispered at the foot of the girl's ear, which seemed to awaken from her trance.
"That's amazing." – she said, without taking her eyes off Almajid, feeling the breeze throw her hair back.
"Yeah, they like fire a little too much around here." - The captain spoke, watching the enchanted girl smile for nothing.
"How do they do it?" she asked, looking from Marrish at the city.
"Magic? I think. I never stopped to ask honestly, the people are a little ... too much sometimes." – he said, a dull smile on his lips and directing his gaze to the ship's freshly cleaned wood – "You'll understand when you meet them."
"All right" – she replied, a suspicious smile on her face looking at him, playing with his secrets.
The captain felt a slight twinge in his heart to think that at some point she would leave, but still could not name the feeling with certainty. He had gotten rid of this part of his life. His first love had been much more than just a connection of souls at first sight, they would be connected for life, and it is not as if Marrish had not appreciated any woman over these morbid years that he had passed between Iliona and Almajid, the point was that his mother had everything prepared for both him and her, and he intended to follow the woman to hell. Melissa had a kind heart, he could feel it in his innocent words and confusing actions, she wanted to live, but still did not know her own strength, he wanted to change that.
The girl watched everything around her with charm, longing to touch every object she saw in front of her when she arrived at the port. There, the gradient in shades of red was a frequent painting adorning the small clay canisters sold in stalls, as well as the strong shade like blood on the sails of the ships. The heat came not only from the sun, but emanated from the bodies of the inhabitants who had elemental magic in their blood, Melissa could feel tickled accompanied by the warmth of the bodies, identifying them.
"Can you feel it?" - She spoke, a silly smile on her lips with the new sensation.
"Feel what?" - He answered low, walking with her through the harbor crowd.
The girl watched him, his forehead frowned and his look confused.
"This heat." - She spoke, stroking her own arm to signal the place.
"It's always very hot here, it's normal, and it never winds up much." – He explained without looking her in the eye. "The people from Eagle's Tempest don't help much either, you know?"
Accepting his answer, even though they did not speak of the same feeling, Melissa only followed the path indicated by him until they left the port, where they would find their transport. Marrish took his hand and they both followed him to a nearby bar. The captain went into the simple wooden door and some looks watched him carefully. Behind him, Melissa seemed invisible, until they saw her and the laughter began.
"What's wrong with them?" - The girl whispered to Marrish as they sat on the old wooden counter.
"You're too small. Almajid women are known for their average height, curves and tanned skin."
"That's ridiculous" - she said, her eyebrows raised in Marrish's direction.
"Honey, I'm not from around here, don't look at me like that." - he said, calling a waiter and asking for beer for both of them. "Things here are very different from Iliona, much less pompous, in my humble opinion. At night, when the full moon is at its peak, they perform a love ritual for the island, using their magic to create amazing images from the outside. I hope there's time we could see." – he concluded, making Melissa's cheeks warm. Marrish called the waiter again, whispering a few words that Melissa could not understand well, but knew they had been in the old language.
"Where are we going to get our horse?" - The girl questioned him, siluting from the cold glass.
"Here, I'm going to talk to a friend,"- he replied, standing up with his glass in his hand and disappearing among people.
"You must be Melissa, right?" asked the young waiter. Uncomfortable, the girl waved positively at him. "It's all right, the captain asked me to keep you company while he and the Miss talk."
"Who is the Miss?" - Melissa asked, making a smile sprout on the young man's lips.
"She's the owner of part of town, I've been working here since she built this bar, and Captain Yariss has always made these occasional visits."
Melissa could not help feeling bothered, Marrish had just used her to visit his mistress, a wealthy woman and who seemed to possess his thoughts constantly, as he kept coming back to her.
Marrish returned quickly, a heavy black cloth over his arm, sitting next to the girl as if he had never left her.
"So, did your Miss got us a transport?" she said, the tone dry, regretting opening her mouth the next second.
Smiling, the captain answered her, again holding the straight hair that was already loose from the loose coe.
"She did, she always does."
"Great" – the girl finished by placing her elbows on the counter and holding the glass with both hands, watching the bottles on the shelf, so she doesn't look at Marrish, who smiled from the corner, remembering an old love.
Both quickly finished their drinks, avoiding the palpable tension in the air. Marrish led the girl down an alley to the back of the bar, where a horse was waiting for them, already sealed and with food stocked in the leather bag.
"Let me see the address of your mysterious object" – said the captain, joking with the girl, who handed him the piece of paper, now crumpled. "It's not far, it's a few blocks from here, come on."
Marrish expertly climbed onto the horse, assisting Melissa afterwards. The way to the address was quiet and fast, Melissa could appreciate the architecture of the city, quite different from the minimalism of Iliona, the rustic tone of Almajid matched with its strong people. The details and drawings on the walls of temples, carvings and precious stones to thank the Goddess, the prayers at the foot of the stairs that led them to absolve them of their sins.
The address, at the end of Farooq Mahinadi Street, pointed to a simple and well-hidden house, without a flashy painting like the rest of the houses. Melissa knocked on the worn wooden gate and waited patiently until a lady opened it quietly and guided them to the back of the residence, which the girl had noticed to be in pieces, the moldy walls outside, the grass of the yard that hit the knees, the smell of garbage and rotten flesh penetrating the sensitive norins. Marrish reached the girl's arm and squeezed him in an attempt to keep her on her alert, as the territory did not seem reliable.
When they hit a small hut at the back of the grounds, the old woman threw the long braid that she hung over her shoulder and held out her hand, freeing the way for the two to enter in front of her. Suspicious, Marrish entered first, holding Melissa by the hand, attentive to her. The low red light of the room, the dark furniture was few and were well scattered throughout the room, arranged on a large, round carpet, which covered much of the stuffy ambithesis.
At a table arranged in the middle of the room, a man remained seated, his hair short and dark, his skin tanned and his eyebrows thick, turning beautiful eyes, also dark, that watched the two visitors attentively.
"Who are you?" - the man spoke, his voice hoarse, rolling up the sleeves of the long, wide white linen shirt.
"My name is Melissa Tressan, I came to get an object for Mrs. Samantha Lauriet." – Mel spoke, offering him the small paper where his stepmother had annotated his address.
As he stretches his arm in search of the paper, Melissa could observe him forearms marked with abstract shapes that seemed to move against the light, mesmerizing. The drawings were unclear, except for a small red fox on the wrist. He turned the paper between his fingers and stretched out his hand to Melissa, who quickly grabbed a crammed with Izos* in her purse and put it in the man's hand. He quickly held the girl's wrist along with the coins, causing some to fall to the ground.
"You don't belong here" - he said, continuing after looking at Melissa from top to bottom - "You're not you."