Vistus: Storm Queen

Dear Journal,

I enrol at Bellfall Academy tomorrow. I am… not as thrilled as I feel I should be.

I have heard stories about students losing their limbs to other students; teachers leaving hopeful pupils stranded on an island with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the will to survive; beasts being let loose in the arena to devour students for the audience’s enjoyment!

Those are all tales designed to scare me, I know that well enough. But Vacerus, it worked. I am terrified. It does not help that I have no muscles to speak of and I cower from falling leaves.

But my parents think I am ready. I am there to learn, to grow, to be a better person. What I want to do requires me steeling my resolve and my body for what is to come. Life is not so easy when monster attacks ravage your town weekly, and I hear the Shadow Mages in Havran are growing bloodthirsty. Protests are no longer peaceful.

I have to help stop them. I have to learn how to protect my town and my people.

Even if the thought turns my stomach enough to make me sick.

-

Thick clouds rolled in, coating the forest in darkness. A chill wind pierced Laerya, almost knocking her off her feet. She pushed back the hair whipping at her face to see a tree hurtling straight for her.

She managed to dodge, wincing as more trees groaned from the wind’s attempt to uproot them. She couldn’t stay here.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but the forest was endless. The world got darker and darker as she ran until the sky turned pitch black and she found herself trapped amid the creaking dark trees, surrounding her, taunting her.

The wind howled as it battered her, threatening to burst her eardrums with its shrieks. She shuddered and shut her eyes, bending over and covering her ears. I don’t want to be here! I don’t want to see this!

A deep, rumbling snarl echoed in her head, one she could not block out no matter how hard she covered her ears. The wind -- no, that’s not the wind, don’t kid yourself -- the screams of villagers rang inside her as the snarl grew louder and louder until it threatened to tear her body apart.

“How would you have her die, then?”

Laerya’s eyes snapped open.

Before her loomed the corpse of a mighty dragon, Dark magic licking at its bones like flames. It towered over her, even one of its claws easily dwarfing her. She was no bigger than an ant by comparison. The hollows of its eyes burned with rage as it swung its enormous tail, instantly uprooting the trees blocking Laerya’s path.

From the dragon’s gaping maw sprung several tendrils of magic, writhing like ghostly tongues, launching straight for Laerya.

Fear gripped her limbs like ice. She wanted to scream. Nothing.

Her chest constricted as the tendrils grabbed her, crushing her body like it was a toothpick. She was the dragon’s plaything, hanging limply from its grip. She opened her mouth to gasp in air, but her throat seized up. She couldn’t even cry out in pain as the tendrils choked her.

Help me! Please!

She could only watch helplessly as the dragon raised its massive claws, preparing to strike. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t do anything.

With a roar, the colossal dragon struck. 

Laerya woke with a gasp. Her heart raced as she sucked in as much air as she could, her body trembling. The image of Vacerus lingered in her mind, freezing her blood. She was not sure how long she lay there for, panting like she had just run a marathon.

Eventually her body quieted, as did her mind. That dream again. Again, and again, and again. The scenario was a little different every time, but it always ended with Vacerus killing her. She was used to it by now, so the dream’s effect faded quickly, but with every repeat it chipped at her soul. Why couldn’t she just put this behind her? Why did she have to relive Greenglade’s destruction every few nights?

Laerya groaned, feeling no desire to move from her position. She wasn't even entirely sure where she was, but until she fully shook the dream from her mind, she didn't care.

I wouldn't want to associate with anyone whose blood's hollow.

Her eyes flew open as Elora's words stung her anew, and she cursed. She'd hoped she could sleep the bitterness off, that the only reason she felt so strongly about the insults was because she'd been tired.

She sat up on the warm bed, clutching the thick duvet. Hollow blood… I don't have hollow blood. She gripped the bedding. Just because she can conjure fire, doesn't mean she's better than me.

Laerya peered past her large, soft bed at the TV perching unused on its stand. She had tried to watch something last night to distract herself from Elora, but had given up and settled for an early night instead. I can’t believe a stranger’s words are getting to me so badly. Why?

She looked around her small room with its maroon walls and carpet, idly thinking the colour choice to be odd for a hotel room. A painting of a famous Lucive knight hung on the wall by her bed, but that was all that passed for decoration. There was a window on the parallel wall with a view of the quiet hamlet, currently obscured by curtains. Faint light seeped through them, enough to suggest to Laerya that morning was well underway.

“What am I moping for, anyway?” she murmured as she slid out of the bed, feeling the soft carpet beneath her feet. She pulled back the curtains, welcoming the flood of warm sunlight washing over her. The sight of a clear sky lifted her spirits. “Today’s a good day, I shouldn’t waste it feeling crappy.”

She spotted Shady flying down nearby, figuring he had completed his hunt for the day. Thank Vacerus he does that stuff when we can’t see it.

Humming to herself, Laerya brushed her long purple hair from her face and started her day.

With her morning routine over, dressed in her vibrant green sleeveless hoodie and blue shorts, she headed for the room Akorri was currently staying in, breathing in the scent of cinnamon that drifted up from the lobby. She gave a knock and stood there, but no response came. She looked at the clock on the wall: 10:34 AM. “Oh, boy, did I oversleep. Yeah, he’s definitely awake,” she said. Her stomach gurgled, alerting her to her hunger. “I hope breakfast’s still going…”

She tried Jinny’s room next, a disgruntled groan greeting her knock. She chuckled. Jinny was always last to wake, and she was at her most uninhibited right before rising. “Morning, Jinny! Gotta get up while there’s still breakfast! Hopefully.”

Laerya hurried downstairs, her stomach practically howling from the scent of fried eggs in the dining area. The bright room was mostly empty save for a few occupied tables, but the most important thing was still there.

The long buffet table laden with various cuisines looked like heaven to Laerya. Without wasting time she filled her plate with breads, jams and other condiments, picking out a spread she had never tried before just because she found the name funny, and looked around for a seat. She saw Akorri sitting at a table near a window, finishing off his croissant.

“Morning, Akorri!” she chirped as she sat down opposite him at the white-clothed table. 

He looked up from his plate, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Morning, Lae.” His red hair was as dishevelled as always -- Doesn’t he ever bother to comb it? -- and he quickly dusted his maroon tunic of crumbs. “Or should I say, good noon.”

“Hey, it’s still morning and you know it.” Laerya spread her bread with jam. “So, how’d you sleep?”

“Like a log.” Akorri sighed happily. “It feels so good to sleep in a bed again.”

“You got that right.” Laerya nibbled at her sandwich, disgruntled. So Akorri slept well, while she was plagued by nightmares? She was annoyed the first time she’d gotten to sleep in a proper bed in a few days had been marred by her night terrors.

Akorri stared at her. “Something wrong?”

“Oh, uh…” Laerya paused. “Nah.”

His red eyes continued to observe her. She stared him down, but she knew he was analysing her. She was not so full of herself as to think she could hide her displeasure from Akorri. Thankfully he had not asked her about it in the past, but it didn’t seem fair that she hid things from him while he had opened up to her before, and she knew how hard that was for him. Despite that, she felt it was her responsibility to keep a straight face for her friends. They relied on her. She was their rock. She couldn’t afford to show vulnerability.

Akorri shrugged and carried on eating. Laerya took a bite out of her sandwich, its sweet taste spoiled by her thoughts. He was going to let her go again. Do I really want that?

“Actually…” She spoke quietly.

“Hm?” Akorri looked up.

“Akorri, have you ever had, like…” She rubbed the back of her head, refusing to meet his curious gaze. “Y’know, nightmares?”

“I think every living being has at some point in their life, yes.”

Okay, I deserved that. It wouldn’t be Akorri if he didn’t sneak flat remarks in.  “How about… recurring ones?”

“Yeah.” After a pause in which Laerya thought he was done speaking, he continued. “I dream about my life before you guys every so often. My home, my family, you know, that kind of stuff.”

He said it so casually, but Laerya’s heart ached all the same. She couldn’t imagine losing her family or her home, but Akorri just seemed used to it now. She still had to visit Treetop one day with him. Before she could say anything, he went on.

“I assume you’re going through something like that right now.”

She met his gaze, her sandwich forgotten. “Yeah.”

Akorri leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. Laerya noticed that even at breakfast, he still wore his signature purple gloves. “Are they about Greenglade?”

She gasped. “How did you…?”

“Come on, Lae, you aren’t exactly the hardest person to understand.” Akorri gave a small grin. “You feel guilty about not being able to save the village in time; you feel guilty about leaving it in ruins. Not to mention you had to face off against the corpse of a dragon that helped shape our world as we know it. It’s understandable you’d have nightmares.” He sighed. “I do too, sometimes.”

Laerya was feeling a little violated at having been figured out so easily, but Akorri’s confession quelled her unease. “You do?”

“Yeah. Jinny does too.” He glanced at the door, as if expecting the Feln girl to appear. “It’s normal, probably. What we saw…. we shouldn't have had to see.”

Laerya pawed at her sandwich. “I thought I’d put it behind me. I don’t even think about it when I’m awake. Much.”

“The psyche’s stupid like that. Makes you live through stuff you repress in the day time.”

“It sucks. I’m stronger than that. I’ve travelled the world, I’ve seen stuff. I mean, nothing like that, but still.”

“Having nightmares doesn’t make you weak. It’s just our brain’s way of trying to make sense of stuff we’ve experienced.” Akorri cocked his head. “I guess.”

“Wow, you sounded pretty smart just then.” Laerya grinned, her mood lightened by sharing her load and from the knowledge that she wasn’t alone in this. “That almost makes sense to me ‘til I remember that one time I dreamt I was a princess facing off against evil toasters.”

“Maybe you were a princess in a previous life.”

Laerya snorted, and Akorri grinned. Her stomach grumbled with a renewed appetite, and she happily appeased it. “Thanks,” she said after eating her sandwich.

“Thanks for telling me what was up,” said Akorri, his croissant long finished. “Was worried you were gonna keep that locked up ‘til you went nuts.”

Laerya rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t.”

“You would.”

She frowned. There were both upsides and downsides to having a friend who knew her so well. “Okay, yeah, I would.”

After a few minutes of idle chatter and eating, a familiar face joined them, her silver hair evidently given only a quick brush. Jinny sat down beside them with her breakfast, letting out a sigh.

“Tough day at the office?” Akorri quipped.

Jinny responded by gently poking his forehead, her expression unamused.

“Morning, Jinny,” said Laerya as she finished off her breakfast. “What’s up?”

Jinny fiddled with the egg on her plate before answering. “Oh, nothing, really. It’s just, well, someone outside saw me waving to Shady from my room, and they called out to me, and I kind of panicked and rushed off without answering…”

Laerya shook her head, chuckling. “Without even a hello?”

Jinny sighed, hanging her head. “I know, it’s terrible.”

“Never mind, it’s probably not important anyway,” Akorri said.

Jinny fidgeted in her seat, poking her vegetables with her fork. “Mm, well. You’re right, probably not.” She ate a tomato, swallowed, and hurriedly said, “ExceptitwasactuallyElora.”

Laerya and Akorri blinked. “What?” they chorused.

“Speaking of, Laerya, aren’t you supposed to meet her today?” Jinny said, the shift in focus so blatant even Laerya caught it. “When was that? This morning?”

“Uh…” Oh Terros, I completely forgot. Her thoughts still lingered on her dream last night, and Elora’s request barely registered among the insults she remembered the Lucive throwing.

“It’s almost eleven,” Akorri said. “Wouldn’t wanna keep her waiting, would you?”

Laerya huffed, thinking that actually wasn’t a bad idea. Elora deserved it for what she said last night. “She can wait ‘til Jinny finishes breakfast,” she replied with a firm nod.

Akorri snorted, while Jinny shook her head. “Oh no, Laerya, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience the both of you,” she said as she continued her meal. “There’s no need to wait for me.”

“I know, but it’s not like Elora’s gonna go anywhere.” Laerya shrugged. “Probably.”

Akorri smirked. “You really don’t wanna meet her, huh?”

“Not even a little bit, nope.”

“Then why’d you agree to?”

“I dunno…” Laerya tilted her head, glancing behind her at an unoccupied table. “I was curious, I guess. Also I thought she deserved a second chance despite what she did.”

“But now you don’t think she does?”

“I still do, but just the thought of seeing her again puts me off.” Laerya shrugged, uneasy. “I feel rude thinking like that, but she was pretty rude last night, so that kind of balances it out.”

“Well, there’s not much point in discussing this anyway, is there?” Akorri asked. “We all know you’re gonna meet up with her whether you like it or not. You’d never bail once you made a promise.”

“Yeah…” Laerya sighed theatrically, as if she was about to perform a colossal undertaking. “After Jinny finishes eating, though.”

“Right.” Akorri glanced at Jinny, who was now rushing to stuff eggs in her mouth. “Of course.”

-

Laerya and the others entered the tavern, surprised by how empty it was compared to last night. It also seemed a lot brighter too, with natural sunlight shining from the open windows. Best of all, though, was the absence of an alcoholic smell. The heavy scent of cooked cabbage wafting from the kitchen was still pretty strong, but at least it wasn’t beer.

Laerya winced as she passed by the short cow-girl at the entrance who had thrown her out yesterday, feeling the silent bouncer’s sharp green eyes boring into her. That was all the warning she needed not to cause a fuss this time.

Elora sat at the bench near the Cragwing skull, her head resting on the table that Laerya knew had been sticky with beer last night. She hoped the tavern staff cleaned their establishment regularly. Elora’s ears pricked as they approached, and she jerked up into a sitting position, frowning. “Where’ve you been?” she asked, her voice rough. “I’ve been waiting since like, nine.”

“And you didn’t get a hangover from last night?” Laerya raised her eyebrows, admittedly impressed at Elora’s dedication to their meeting. She sat down opposite Elora with Akorri and Jinny sitting either side of her.

“Well, yeah, but a quick glass of raw egg yolks clears that shit right up,” Elora replied.

Laerya wrinkled her nose in disgust, not even daring to think how that might taste. “Right. Anyway, sorry we’re late. We had a long day yesterday and it caught up to us.” She just knew Akorri wanted to say, It caught up to you, so she was grateful he held his tongue.

“Never mind that, you’re here now, so I wanna get down to business.” Elora leaned in. “Firstly, sorry for calling you all that stuff. That was really shitty of me.”

Laerya nodded. She did not feel much better, as she knew Elora’s opinion on the magicless was unchanged, but she appreciated the apology. “Well… Apology accepted. Thank you.”

Elora nodded curtly, then said, “Secondly, I want you to get in touch with a Peacekeeper for me.”

Laerya stared at her. Of all the things she could think of that Elora might want to talk about, asking for a favour was certainly not it, and definitely not after the spat they’d had last night. That was a ballsy move, Laerya gave her that. “You want what?”

“Tsk.” Elora’s frown deepened, looking like she wanted to say something insulting. She sighed, evidently reigning herself in, and tried again. “Can you get in touch with a Peaceekeeper for me? I need to talk to her.”

“Oh, so it’s a specific Peacekeeper?” Laerya said. “Wait a second, didn’t you say something mean about them last night? Why would you want to talk to one of them?”

“Is that any of your business?” The hackles on Elora’s neck stood on end and her fists clenched.

Laerya considered backing down after that intimidating display, obviously having angered Elora in some way, but she pushed on. “It kind of is since I’m the one doing you the favour.”

Elora glared at her for a few moments in which Laerya felt like she wanted to set her on fire with her mind, but Elora sighed again, standing down. “Alright, fine. I want to apologise to someone.”

Laerya tilted her head, Elora’s attitude starting to make a bit more sense to her now, but she was still mostly lost.  “Who?”

Elora sighed deeply, rubbing her temple. “Jasmine Locspur.”

Laerya’s eyebrows quirked upwards. She wants to apologise to Jazz? What could Elora have possibly done to her? she thought. Wait, how do they even know each other? Jazz never mentioned her to me before! Granted I’m not that close with her, but--

“So can you get me in touch with her or not?” Elora asked, startling Laerya out of her thoughts. She was not aware she hadn’t responded yet.

“Um, yeah, I can do that,” she said dumbly. 

“You know Locspur specifically?”

Laerya nodded, still caught off-guard by Elora’s request. “Yeah. We’ve helped each other a bit in the past.” Jasmine, or Jazz as she preferred to be called, was one of Laerya’s many friends she made all over Vistus from before Akorri and Jinny’s time. “I’ve gone on a couple of missions with her… or actually, I stumbled into her missions and just ended up helping her.”

Elora rubbed her fluffy chin thoughtfully. “Looks like the world really is small.”

“Yeah.” Laerya smiled slightly. She hadn’t contacted Jazz in a while and was looking forward to hearing from her, even if she was doing this on someone else’s behalf. “When do you want to do this?”

“Right now.”

“Oh.” Laerya was not the most patient girl herself, so she understood Elora’s haste, but she still had not expected to do it right away. Thankfully she’d brought her phone with her in case this meeting had gone far differently. “Okay.” 

Akorri raised his eyebrows at her, but she paid his surprise no heed. She knew well enough what he was thinking, anyway. She agreed she was moving a little too quickly, but that was just who she was. Besides, she wanted to talk to Jazz herself.

She fished her small pink phone out from her backpack and searched for Jazz’s number. To her shame, their last correspondence had been more than six months ago, long before the Greenglade incident, and it was a simple text in Jazz’s borderline indecipherable typing style: Cach u lhater. “Jazz really needs to read what she types,” Laerya mumbled as she penned her text.

“Wow, it feels weird to see you use a phone,” said Akorri. He peered over Laerya’s shoulder. “You type fast. Though that's not really surprising.”

Lae nodded, focusing on her text rather than on Akorri.

“Uh, Lae, what kind of conversations are you having with this girl?” he asked.

“Why, what do you mean?”

He pointed to one of Jazz’s earlier text messages, and Laerya’s cheeks grew hot. “That’s supposed to say ‘client’,” she explained.

Akorri mouthed an ‘“oh” and withdrew. “But she didn’t even correct it…”

“Yeah...” Laerya sighed deeply. “Yeah.”

Elora raised an eyebrow, but stayed quiet until Laerya was done. She drummed on the table as she waited.

It did not take long for Jazz to get back to Laerya. Her phone buzzed within minutes of her text, a funky, melodic jingle ringing in the air. 

Akorri's head swayed back and forth to the ringtone before Laerya answered the call. “Hey, Jazz. I wasn't expecting you to call back so quick.”

A rough voice, slightly similar to Elora's but deeper and more masculine, answered. “Yo, Lae! It's been a while, huh? How've ya been?”

Laerya grinned, delighted to hear her old friend's voice. “Oh, I've been great! I have so much to tell you. Okay, so--” 

Elora cleared her throat loudly.

“But uh, I can save that for later.”

“She wants to talk to me that bad?” Jazz said, her cheerful tone lost but otherwise undecipherable.

Laerya nodded before she realised Jazz couldn't see her. She'd gotten too used to communicating through crystal balls. “Yeah,” she replied.

A moment of silence was quickly broken by her phone's ringtone blasting directly in her sensitive eardrum. “Ah!” She reeled back and winced, seeing Jazz's request for a video call. She grumbled, rubbing her ear as she accepted the call. “Could've warned me you were gonna do that.”

“Right. Sorry.” A bronze-furred Feln with short, messy red hair grinned back at her through the phone screen. A black leather jacket covered most of her dark tank top. While the studded jacket was striking, what always drew Laerya's attention, even though she had seen it before, was Jazz's ear. There was only half of it.

She appeared to be sitting in some sort of vehicle, though Laerya could not make much out. “A'ight,” she said, crossing her arms and revealing gloved hands, her smile dropping. “Lemme see her.”

Laerya couldn't help the feeling that she was being scolded for something, even though she had nothing to do with this. She noticed that Jazz didn't even comment on Akorri and Jinny's presence, and Lae was sure under normal circumstances she would have jumped at the chance. Laerya placed her phone on the table, facing up and towards Elora.

Elora stared Laerya's phone down, her posture suddenly rigid. Her fur stood slightly on end. “Jazz,” she said.

“Ain't 'hello’ the proper greeting when you're on the phone?” said Jazz, her voice crackling a bit through Laerya's phone.

“Hello,” came Elora's strained reply.

“You could cut the tension with a knife,” whispered Akorri. Jinny and Laerya nodded uneasily.

“So what do you want?” Jazz asked. Laerya couldn't see her, but she imagined Jazz was leaning back in her chair in apparent disinterest. Laerya had never heard her friend talk like this before.

“To apologise.” Elora looked like a rebellious teenager being lectured by her mother. This was perhaps the weirdest dynamic Laerya had seen yet. She felt like she was watching something private, but she couldn't leave since they were using her phone for this rather touching reunion.

“Yah? I ain't gonna accept it like this, though.”

Elora bristled. “Why not?”

“You're apologising to me through my friend's phone. It ain't even your own!”

“Because I don't have your number!”

“And why's that?”

“You know why,” Elora replied, her voice eerily low. She looked away for a second before fixing Lae's phone with a glare.

“She's great at apologising,” Akorri whispered again. Laerya hid a smile, hoping Elora couldn't hear him.

A heavy sigh escaped her phone in response. “Fine. You wanna apologise so bad? Do this mission with me.”

“Wh-what?” Elora jumped, her red eyes wide. She quickly narrowed them, shaking her head. “You know I can't.”

“If Lae can, you can. Rules don't matter that much t'me.”

“That's not the problem,” said Elora. “Again, you know that.”

“Eh…” A vaguely interested murmur came from Jazz, followed by the sound of fingers tapping on a steering wheel. “I take it my forgiveness ain't that important to you after all, then.”

Elora's eyes took on a fiery gleam that Laerya was sure she wasn't imagining. “You're low,” she growled.

“Yah?” Jazz said. “What of it?”

Isn't she going overboard? Laerya thought, feeling increasingly uncomfortable from seeing (or rather, hearing) her friend act like this. This wasn't like Jazz at all.

“... Fine.” Elora hung her head for only a second before lifting it and staring defiantly back at Jazz. “I'll do it.”

Jazz murmured something Laerya couldn't make out, but she didn't miss the tone of satisfaction.

Laerya tilted her head, an idea suddenly coming to her. It perhaps wasn’t her best, nor her smartest, but she yearned for a bit of excitement, to take her mind off her dang nightmares. She also wanted to catch up with Jazz again, and the Feln always promised a fun time, but her decision wasn’t the only one that mattered anymore. She turned to Akorri and Jinny. “Hey, would you guys be interested in tagging along?”

“What?” Akorri gasped, while Jinny blinked. She glanced uneasily at Elora, whose haughty look had been replaced by one of shock.

“Oh? Yeah! I think it'll be fun, catching up with you on the job!” Jazz said, her more familiar cheerful tone thankfully coming back. “You and your friends are welcome t’join us.”

“You mean, you can just… invite yourself along, and it’s okay?” Akorri said. “Isn’t this a Peacekeeper mission?”

“Sure it is, but like I said, that don’t matter,” said Jazz. “It’s okay, Lae’s come with me before, and she’s no slouch. If you’ve been with her long enough, I’m sure this job’s no different from what you guys have already done.”

Akorri and Jinny exchanged bewildered looks. Jinny gave a curt nod Akorri's way, and he shrugged before turning back to Laerya. “Yeah, we can do that,” he said.

“Like you said, Laerya, I'm with you to experience things,” said Jinny. She put up the familiar mask of neutrality Lae had seen back in Greenglade, but her ear twitching gave away her reluctance. Laerya just knew Jinny was only agreeing because she didn't want to upset Lae, but before she could let Jinny off the hook, Jazz voiced her approval.

“That's great!” she cheered. “Now, turn me back around so we can discuss travel arrangements. Elora's mug’s putting me off.”

Laerya snatched her phone back, her face burning as she tried desperately to ignore Elora's smouldering glare. She had the feeling that going on a mission with the two of them would not be as fun as she first thought.