If Szcheguay was a country, then Orinm would be its capital. But Szcheguay was a continent, and Orinm was a great country of success and skyscrapers. Socialites and scholars.
I made it there, to its capital city, Fengour, before dawn two days later. Standing on the edge of the desert on a windblown dune before the sand gradually faded away back into grass and gravel, then eventually into concrete and cars, I looked out at the lines of extraordinary towers stretching one after the other into the distance. It was hard to imagine, that after I crossed these awe-inspiring buildings that nearly touched the sky, there was a mountain range, a series of natural wonders that had their summits high in the clouds.
This—this glorious metropolis was to be my only neighbour for who knows how many years. I supposed I should better get used to it.
Walking in wonder towards the imposing concrete jungle, I spied a megalith not a hundred metres away. I hurried towards it, by far the only thing apart from Fengour's skyscrapers that had caught my attention.
There were a few words carved roughly into it. They were exotically shaped, a bit wonky, but while the rest of the boulder was covered in moss and lichen, the letters were outlined in a bright gold paint that sparkled brilliantly in the morning light, so different to the blazing desert sun.
Welcome to Orinm.
Perhaps this megalith was the first marker, the borderline that showed once you stepped beyond it, you were on Orinmian land. That you were a part of Orinm.
Laverrene hadn't felt special like this. It was an outlying seaside town, a part of no country, only recognised for the good international trade it brought in, its important geographical location; directly across the Iliesao Channel from Cape Daikorn, and the fields of agriculture tended outside it.
I brushed a hand over it, feeling a tiny whisper of warmth, perhaps just the sun, or maybe a remnant of memory from all the other fingers that had touched it. And how many had? How many had come from distant lands to seek shelter and asylum, the same awe flooding through my bloodstream at that moment coursing through them? Once I stepped beyond this rock, I was recognised as one of them, even as an immigrant. One who had rights according to Orinm's system of entitlement, and one who served the country in law and labour. Kaleveh was not my home anymore, not until I left; this place would protect me for as long as I needed.
It would be my home, mine to call as such, until I decided to return—return to my true home.
Once I stepped past this golden-lettered megalith, I would not be a Chieftess anymore, only by blood and name. There, I was to be respected, here, I was just another immigrant, another stranded soul washed up on Eastern shores.
Perhaps Orinm would be my home, at least until I could control my magic and learn much more about the darker side of this world.
But when people spoke of home, there was only one place I would immediately think of.
But there was only one place that would ever mean home in my heart.
I closed my eyes. And I took a step forward.
-----
As soon as the first tower appeared before me, taller than I could've ever imagined, I was stopped at a security gate and told to go inside. Around me, cars roared through the streets. Immigration. I couldn't back out of this now. So I followed the officer.
He dropped me off inside the building, telling me to register with the clerk at the front desk first, and if there was a problem, then he would see me afterwards.
"Hi," I mumbled nervously, all too aware of my Northern accent in this impeccable city.
"Hi," she responded with a warm smile. "I assume you're here for immigration?"
"Yep," I confirmed with a quick nod. Good. No small talk.
"So, I'll ask you some questions, just about where you're from, your records, etc etc…" I nodded quickly, and she began her interrogation, sorry I meant tirade of queries, oops, I meant questions. "Name? Middle name too, if you have one."
"Chandani-Amita Zarramere,"
"Age?"
"Sixteen."
"Continent of birth?"
"Sereia."
"Uhh." her friendly voice faltered a bit. "What was the name of your territory?"
No tribes here, each with their own striking culture and song of their ancient lands. Just territory.
I felt equally awkward sharing the details of my old tribe. "Kaleveh."
She hesitated as she typed it in. Just barely. But just enough for me to tell.
"Is something wrong, miss?"
"No, no, nothing at all," she maintained, regaining her composure. "It seems you might have to see an immigration officer after all. Don't worry, it's nothing big, but we just have to do some check-ins."
And so, it continued.
Until she suddenly stood up, shuffled the papers in front of her, and told me, "The immigration officer will be out soon. You can wait in the foyer."
"Alright, thanks," I answered, already backing away to the aforementioned foyer. I had barely taken a seat when the officer appeared again. He had taken his cap off, revealing wispy, thinning hair, and without the layers of his jacket, I could clearly see the outline of his pudgy silhouette.
I trailed him into his office, the first thing I spied being a half-eaten box of round pastries with holes in the middle of them. He noticed my stare and said by way of explanation, "Donuts. Want one?"
I declined politely and we sat down. Well, I sat; he slumped into his spinny chair that groaned and sank under him. He got straight to business, none of the chit-chat that was customary to be had with officials in Kaleveh. "So. You're Chandani?" I nodded my affirmation. "A Chieftess?"
The question surprised me. "Ye-yes,"
"Daughter of Asil Zarramere and Maylin Elison Lille," a statement, not a question.
I fidgeted in my seat. "Yes."
"You see, your father met with me, over phone of course," he added, seeing my confused expression. Ah yes, phones. I didn't need to learn how to use one until the leadership passed to me, and now, I might never bother. "Your father mentioned you might be coming here to seek shelter and to say that he approved and had sent you here. But in that meeting, your mother wasn't present. She hasn't been seen for more than two months. I don't suppose you could tell us where she is?"
"No," I replied shakily.
He continued, "Of course, for you to be here, you must have passed through Laverrene. Northern Landers are less than welcome there, and officials reported an altercation in an inn which resulted in the death of the Black Shadow. Now, was this your doing? Be honest with me,"
His piercing gaze felt like it was x-raying my mind. I supposed, if he had been a murderer, there was nothing to hide. "Yes."
"Of course, you aren't being punished for this," he amended, leaning back in his chair and munching on a donut, "as the police have been attempting to prosecute him for the longest time. Now," he went on, flipping over a page in his notebook, "the report said he was burned. There were no burn or scorch marks in the area where it supposedly happened, but the innkeeper showed us a pile of ashes that matched the Black Shadow's DNA." The officer waved his free hand vaguely in the air. "Don't ask how they did it, scientists are miraculous, but we wonder how there was possibly no damage done apart from the shattered window. If you care to enlighten us…?"
I nodded quickly, deciding I wouldn't like to get in trouble with these people. "I used my Gift."
"Gift. Right. We're these Gifts determined at your Agecoming, before or after?"
"During," I said. I remembered that day, the pain of the magic being set deep inside me, as clearly as if it were yesterday. At least I knew Orinm had at least one custom that was the same as ours, the celebration of turning sixteen. "Which ones do you have? Which Gifts?"
"Fire. And Earth."
"Interesting. Interesting," he muttered. "Well, you see, we have not had a person Gifted with fire since," he checked his notebook studiously, "sixteen-fifty-two. As this is a very long time ago, please forgive me if I am slightly dubious about this. I don't suppose you could show me?" He asked, finishing his donut and looking at me curiously. His black eyebrows had disappeared into what was left of his hair. Neither Father or Aquanaya had told me how rarely Aithnaton Gifted people. Perhaps his loathing towards humans ran deeper than I thought, even if he had offered up himself for Aquanaya, or perhaps, as the Water goddess had said, souls with fierce, fiery passion in their veins were scarce. But as well, that wasn't right. Mama had the Fire gift. Then again, her Agecoming was never recorded. I wondered if it had anything to do with lineage. If he had possessed it, then I never knew.
"Sorry," I said, "I mean of course. It's quite hard to control," I rephrased. I certainly wouldn't like to be the one to set this office on fire. "No problem," he responded. "We have specially made candles that direct flame to them." He told me with a wink, setting a plain-looking candle on the table. "Again, don't ask me how." I focused, but he interrupted, "I would usually be very, very sceptical. But from our records at least, your line has a strong connection with the Gifts. Water Gifts have not been seen for literally ages, but your family has had someone with an Air Gift at least every three generations. Magic runs strong in your blood." He stared at me. "Of course, it is rather strange that you would have Earth and Fire, not Air. Especially, when according to our records, it should've been about time for Auralainei's Gift to appear again. It is strange," he finished. "Go on."
I directed my mind at the candle, willing the fire to appear. My hands warmed a bit at the command, and as my fingertips started glowing, I pressed them in a dome over the wick. I was all too aware of the officer's keen gaze.
"Strange," he murmured again.
My hands started radiating a golden brilliance, blinding in the white morning light streaming through the windows. The light flared once and receded. I took my hands away, and the candle was burning. It looked…alive. I had not paid much attention to the fire, the fire that was now mine. It flickered, bright orange and blue, glowing like a small beacon in the room. A watchtower in the night.
The officer gasped, leaning forward in his chair. He looked at me, an expression of wonder painted on his wrinkled face. "It's true. It is," he looked like he was trying to convince himself, although the proof was right in front of him. "It's true." He slumped back in his chair. "Ohmahgods. Oh my,"
Then he looked back at me, and instantly collected himself. "Apologies. You must understand what a special moment this is for me. I have found a gem, the rarest of jewels in a pile of stones." He shook his head. "Do you have any questions for me?"
"Yes, in fact. Back in Laverrene, the innkeeper of the…" my voice trailed off as I realised I had not even gotten the name of the inn I'd practically trashed, "well, inn, said that I would find out why Sereians weren't welcome there once I came to Orinm. He said that, right before telling me I had five seconds to run before he started shooting. Why?"
"Oh. That is…a difficult question. No matter, though. A long time ago, a group of immigrants from the Northern Lands came here. They passed through Laverrene, through the Nogard Desert, and came here, and founded a magical stronghold in the Calbron Mountains, the Ytgeas." He scratched his balding head. "Y—T—G—E—A—S. Is that how you say it? Yitge—as? Yeas? Whatever. I can assume that's where you are going. Now, according to legend, demons followed them from across the sea, and stopped at Laverrene, taking many people, both adults and children, with them when they went back to wherever they came from. The people who were stolen were never to be seen or heard from again, as per is the usual with demon kidnappings." His fingers made quotation marks in the air at the watered-down version of what truly happened. I shuddered internally at the memory. "To this day, the locals believe that Northern Landers bring demons and bad spirits with them wherever they go. The city is supposed to still be infested with monsters. He shrugged carelessly. "Myths, of course." I was shocked, though I didn't let it show. Clearly this man had never been anywhere outside Orinm in his life. I was right here. He could ask me.
"Of course, no demon can survive crossing the Nogard Desert, so we are relatively safe here." (I wasn't so sure about that.) "I can warn you, though, there are demons everywhere in the Calbron Mountains. They enter through Dalrene, as the country does not have much magic for the demons to feed on and they sensed the very first Northern Landers who made their home in the mountains but could never find them. Over the years, the numbers of demons on the slopes of those mountains have increased tenfold, as more and more join the hunt for the powerful souls who live there. Is that good enough?"
"Yes." I nodded hurriedly. "Yes, yes, it is. Thank you."
"No problem. Be safe, Chandani." he saluted me before walking towards the door and escorting me back outside.
The clerk at the front desk winked at me before I strode out the front doors and into the watery sunlight of mid-morning. What awaited me in Orinm? This beautiful, bustling city, where I was not ogled at like in Laverrene or bowed to like in Kaleveh. Where I blended in, just another person going about their day. Just another person—who possessed a rare and destructive power. I checked the map the officer had given me. Thank goodness for immigration officers who gave out maps.
I walked briskly through the streets, admiring the smoothly running mechanisms and flawless architecture of the infrastructure around me. So many people harking from all the races and countries of Kirasea. That feeling came over me again as it had in Laverrene. Sonder swirled around the people, tip-toeing over the streets, bringing with it the eternal reminder that around me, all these people had thoughts and beliefs and lives as complex as mine. Someone had laid this bitumen road, someone had designed the pillars of the immigration building, someone had arranged the flowers spilling onto the table in a café across the road.
It was easy enough to find a hotel with good bang-for-buck, unlike Jack's inn. At least the extra money in my transaction could help pay for the damages I had done back in Laverrene.
It was also easy to indulge in a meal at one of Fengour's best restaurants, the unknown, unique tastes of Eastern food like fine wine on my tongue. I'd also ventured to try a donut, one of those bready pastries that the officer had been munching on. They were sticky, sweet, and oily, but those completely opposite flavours formed a surprisingly tasty mix. I wished Narreta were here. She would've loved the donuts.
Travelling through Fengour was tiring, because of ducking around the endless throngs of people and having to check my map every five seconds, but that made it all the simpler an act to flop into the comfortable bed in my hotel room at the end of the day. I had also drifted into slumber lightning-fast in the inn in Laverrene, but this felt different. Then, I had been weighed down by so much, so tired from the sea voyage. But here I felt safe, like nothing could touch me. I was almost there, and that made it so much easier to fall into bed.
I had checked into a hotel in the central district of Fengour. A doorman greeted me in the foyer, while a clerk noted down my information. I passed a maid pushing a trolley laden with towels in in the hallway, while another must've tucked the sheets into the edges of the bed and folded my towel into a perfect square on my bed. So many people went into maintaining places like this, and I had never noticed.
Fengour sprawled out before me like an elysian empire from the window of my twentieth-storey room. The coruscating lights were like the absent stars above had fallen down to the earth, clinging to the obelisks of concrete and glass that rose from the ground, imitating the mountains beyond the city. No matter how fluorescent the lights were, they couldn't recreate the empyrean beauty of the silver-studded quilt shrouding the desert sky at night, or the aestival magnificence of the gentle Kaleveran sky.
Just before sleep claimed me, I was planning out my stay, mapping out the rest of my journey in my head.
Yet my last thought was that the only thing I wanted to do was rest.