Vistus

Laerya continued to practise, but it was apparent with every training session, when she would try her utmost to focus on breathing and finding her magic, that she actually might not have any magical ability to find. With distractions like the dead Cragwing and Shady keeping her busy, she had no time to let her shortcomings bother her. Until today.

The sun continued to shine its warm light over the village of Greenglade, but for once Laerya couldn’t appreciate it. Almost two weeks had passed since she came here, and in that time she had accomplished nothing. Alex was probably getting bored trying to train her; he was pretty much just watching her meditate by this point. At least she managed to maintain concentration for longer than half an hour now.

After yet another useless training session which consisted of Alex glancing at her every so often, Lae was ready to admit defeat. It didn’t help that sometimes Jinny’s words would flash through her mind, or the experience of the necromancer. She wasn’t as sensitive to criticism as either of them were, but even she figured the villagers were judging her by this point. Outside of lessons they still spoke to her normally, but Lae couldn’t help remembering Jinny’s opinion of them, and it pushed its way into her mind with every interaction, skewing her perception of them. Were they really friendly, or were they just covering up their spite?

No, she couldn’t afford to think like that. She sighed, almost smacking her head against the rock in frustration. She sat there now with Akorri and Shady, watching Jinny and Alex’s training session.

One good thing had come out of Lorelei’s words, at least. Jinny had taken them to heart, and after her confession back at the inn, had resolved to give magic another go. Lae noticed she was shaking even under Alex’s encouragement, and froze up on more than one occasion, but at least they were the only ones to see.

“We should go to the market and get her sweets or something after this,” Akorri said.

“Huh? Sweets?” Lae raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah. I mean, she’s gonna feel like crap after this is over, so why not give her something nice to cheer her up?”

Lae blinked in surprise. Akorri really was more thoughtful than he let on. Now she was a little annoyed she hadn’t thought of that herself, but pushed it away in favour of appreciation. She was glad Akorri was thinking about someone else like that. There was hope for him yet. “You think she likes sweets?” she asked.

“Well, most people do,” Akorri replied. “We... we don’t actually know what she likes yet in terms of food, but sweet stuff is a good bet.”

“What do you think, Shady?” Lae was still wary of talking to the dragon, but ever since he came to the village he’d done nothing but sleep and follow Jinny. He seemed to be safe.

Shady shrugged, looking over at the market with his sharp yellow eyes. The usual shouts of vendors could barely be heard here, even for Lae, but she suspected Shady could hear everything in clear detail.

“So do you think we should get her sweets?” she tried again.

After a bit of pondering, the dragon nodded. Even he didn’t seem to know quite what Jinny liked to eat yet. Lae wondered what she actually told him.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” She stood up and brushed the grass blades from her shorts. “C’mon, Akorri.”

The two of them left Shady to watch Jinny and they headed for the marketplace which was, as always, alive with various sights, sounds and smells. Lae noted the scent of incense this time, something she had not picked up on last time she was here. Obviously a new vendor, maybe a travelling merchant. As she walked through the market she saw stalls selling jewellery, food, weapons, books and all sorts of other things, and each vendor would watch her with hungry eyes, waiting for her gaze to linger on one of their objects so they could swoop in and intercept her like birds of prey, overly eager to sell the item to her. She did feel a little like prey here, and she could only imagine how someone like Jinny might take such pressure from overbearing sales folk.

Every now and then she’d catch snippets of conversations, and to her surprise, almost all of them were focused on the same thing. “A big shadow,” said one. “Some sort of massive bird or something,” said another. “I thought it was a cloud,” someone replied, “it really covered up the sun for a bit there.”

She was interrupted from observing further by someone clamping her arm. She made to jerk her arm free from such a constricting grip when she saw the gloved hand holding her and stopped. She looked at Akorri, following his gaze until she found a familiar black-suited bat girl looking over one of the weapon stalls. Even in her strange skin-tight attire she blended in with the crowd; Lae wondered how Akorri was able to pick her out so easily.

“It’s just Yuli,” she said in confusion.

“What?” Akorri replied.

Lae pointed to her arm, and Akorri let go so quickly that she felt like a gross bug he’d accidentally touched. “Wow, didn’t think I was that repellent,” she muttered.

“No, you are,” Akorri quipped automatically, “but I mean, I didn’t notice I did that. Sorry.”

“Yeah, your grip was kinda tight.”

“Sorry. Again.”

“So why’d she spook you so much?”

Akorri paused. “She didn’t,” he said after a bit.

“Uh, yeah.” Lae pointed to her arm again.

“... She didn’t spook me,” Akorri insisted and looked away, slightly embarrassed.

Laerya sighed and turned back to watch Yuli. The bat girl had picked up a dagger, trailing her finger over its edge and murmuring something. She put the dagger back and nodded at the vendor as if in approval, and bowed before taking her leave.

“Just seems like she’s super into weaponry to me,” Lae murmured, “but that’s it. Nothing for you to get worried over.”

“You would think...” Akorri mumbled under his breath. Clearly Lae hadn’t meant to catch that, and she wondered what he meant. She didn’t have time to ask, though. Yuli must have noticed she was being watched, as she was now weaving her way through the crowd to reach Lae and Akorri.

“Yes?” she asked.

Laerya blinked. Had she made it so obvious that she was watching? “Um. Nothing. Just saw you and... I dunno...” she trailed off, unsure of how to justify her spying. In her defence it wasn’t really spying, just observation, but for some reason it felt a lot like it. Probably because of Akorri’s sudden strain.

“It’s weird to see you without Lorelei,” he said, looking Yuli straight in the eye.

“Perhaps to you,” replied the bat girl.

“Where is she?”

Yuli’s already sharp eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t know.”

Akorri seemed to stare at Yuli for an eternity. People continued to pass by, unaware of the tension sparking between them. But Lae could feel it. Her ear twitched uneasily as she tried to figure out why the two of them were so seemingly hostile towards one another.

“I’ll take your word for it,” said Akorri after a while.

“Good,” Yuli replied, “now while you’re here, let me ask you this: what do you think of this village?”

Laerya stared. What did that have to do with anything? This time Yuli was also looking at her, so that meant she was eager to hear her opinion as well.

“I have nothing against it...” Akorri replied carefully.

“I like it,” Laerya said, “you’ve got travellers coming here to buy and sell stuff, to learn magic, and all sorts. That’s pretty cool.” No matter what Jinny thinks... this place isn’t that bad, she thought. Right?

The sound of the bustling crowds seemed to dim during the conversation as Lae found herself entirely focused on Yuli’s question. What she said was true, but again Jinny’s words circled her mind. If you were a slow magic user, you were shunned. If you could barely use magic at all, everyone looked down on you, especially if you were a native to the village. A pathetic excuse for a Greenglader.

“I see.” Yuli nodded. “And... Laerya, was it? How is your training going?”

“Um...” Lae figured there was no point in lying. Not to Yuli at least, who was also a foreigner and therefore less likely to judge her, supposedly. “Badly. I don’t think I have any magic in me after all...”

“Then I suggest you leave.”

Lae blinked in surprise. Of all the things Yuli could have said, that was not what she expected. While she was probably right, Lae felt a pang of irritation at such an abrupt dismissal. “I’ll leave when I want to leave,” she mumbled petulantly.

“Do as you like...” Yuli sighed deeply; too deeply for that to be a casual comment. “I just suggest you move on if there is nothing for you here.”

“I don’t need you to tell me when to go,” Lae replied.

“You are right, you don’t.” Yuli turned away and made to leave. “I just see no reason to stay. But as I said, do as you like.” She then disappeared into the crowd, melding with the throng until she was out of sight. The marketplace continued as normal, vendors shouting prices, buyers spending and barters trading. Laerya hardly noticed it all now.

“Why did she say that?” she asked, folding her arms. “She basically told me to buzz off.”

“I don’t know...” Akorri murmured.

“She doesn’t even live here and she’s judging me.” Lae continued to mumble irritably. “Rude.”

Akorri shook his head. He seemed to have something else on his mind, because he was still looking through the crowds. “Let’s... let’s just focus on finding something for Jinny.”

-

“Oh...”

The two of them had come back to find Jinny was finished with her training, sitting down beside Shady and staring at her hands. A bit of light sparked from the fingertips, which she glared at. She immediately shifted to a neutral expression when the others approached, but Akorri had time to catch the frown. Wondering how badly her session had gone, he had immediately handed the sweets to her.

“What? Did we get the wrong kind of sweets? Or do you not like sweets at all?” he asked. He was beginning to think this was a mistake, judging by Jinny’s underwhelming reaction.

“No, I do... I just didn’t, um, expect them.” She held the pack of gummies in her hand, delicately inspecting the brightly coloured packaging. It had been Laerya’s idea to buy these ones in particular, but mostly because they’d appealed to her, since she had no real frame of reference for Jinny.

“It was Akorri’s idea!” she chirped.

Akorri rubbed his head, a little self-conscious as Jinny looked at him. It wasn’t like he had a reputation as an aloof guy, or that he wanted one, but there was something embarrassing about showing he cared. Which was ridiculous, because he wanted to care and he was glad he did, but it was still awkward. “Uh... I guess it was,” he muttered.

“Thank you.” Jinny smiled, opening the packet and taking a gummy.

“So how did you find the training session?” Lae asked, sitting beside her. Akorri quickly followed suit.

“Difficult,” the white Feln replied quietly. “I’ve been putting off actual learning for a while... so... I’m rusty. And I guess I never really tried to push myself, so it was hard to, well, get anything going for a while. With Alex watching me...”

Lae nodded. “But hey, at least you gave it a go, right?”

Jinny’s ear twitched. “I suppose. I don’t really... um, I don’t really want to try again in a hurry, but I’m going to force myself to now.”

Akorri wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or not. On the one hand, he was glad Jinny was taking her studies seriously; on the other, he didn’t want her to go out of her way to do it. If she really was forcing herself, was learning magic really what was best for her?

“Why?” he asked, and quickly bit his lip. He hadn’t meant to speak up.

“Hm?” Jinny blinked. “Why? I’m... well...” She sighed deeply, fiddling with the packet in her hands. She looked down at it, her silver hair falling over her face. “I guess it’s because I’m ashamed. And... when I see Laerya trying, I want to maybe... make something of myself too. And when I talked with the both of you about it... it gave me motivation to try.”

Akorri opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw Jinny was trying to form more words, he stayed silent.

“Despite how... yes, how scared I am of failing at it. Every time I freeze up, I feel worthless.” Her ears lowered. “But I feel even more worthless when I’m reminded of how I don’t actually do anything.” She finally looked up, her visible eye slightly moist despite her neutral expression. “So the logical solution is to just... power through, I figure.”

Shady nuzzled Jinny’s face, and she pat his snout with a sigh. Akorri wondered how much of a role the dragon played in her determination to practise. He was clearly her main source of comfort. If he was around, she would persevere.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Laerya replied, grinning widely. “And we’ll help you every step of the way! Right Akorri?”

He nodded dumbly, not expecting to be addressed. “U-uh, yeah,” he said.

Jinny smiled again, taking another gummy. “You don’t have to...”

“We’re your friends, we’re glad to do it,” Lae said.

“I... I see.” Jinny looked down, her hair obscuring her face.

They didn’t say anything else for a good few minutes, leaving Akorri’s mind to wander, and it inevitably led to Lorelei and Yuli. Yuli’s behaviour at the marketplace had been strange. He never knew her to be standoffish; telling Laerya to leave was the last thing he would expect from the docile bat girl. In all their meetings, Yuli had never once challenged him or Lorelei, and it was unlikely Lae had hit a nerve when speaking to her, for Yuli had a scary amount of patience. She always operated in the shadows as Akorri did, but while he disagreed openly with Lorelei when he could be bothered, she never spoke a word against her.

Not to mention what the both of them were doing here in the first place. Why Greenglade, of all places? He doubted they wanted to study magic. He was unsure of their power, but he’d always known Lorelei’s threats against him if he disobeyed were never empty. There was no reason for her to learn magic in the village. What other reasons did people have for coming here?

The sun was slowly being obscured by dark clouds, greying the landscape. There was very little wind, but Akorri’s fur felt ruffled by some kind of chill. It seemed as though rain would come soon, forcing them to hide indoors.

He had been about to suggest they go to the inn when he saw Katarina approaching them. He raised his eyebrows, surprised to see her. She was wearing her usual orange tunic and tights, looking very bright compared to the steadily darkening sky.

“Katarina!” Lae sprang up to meet her. “Hi!”

“Hello.” Though the squirrel girl gave Lae a pleasant smile, her eyes flickered from Jinny to Shady. “It is nice to see you both again, and... you as well, Jinny.”

Jinny started. “M-me?”

Katarina nodded. “I intended to meet you properly when you brought the dragon over, but I was busy. I wanted to congratulate you on befriending such a magnificent creature.”

“U-um... well... um...” Jinny looked down. “Thank you, I think.”

Shady tilted his head, looking at the squirrel girl with wide yellow eyes.

“It’s difficult to engage a dragon, much less make friends with one,” Katarina went on. “You must be skilled.”

“S-skilled? At what?”

“Talking, of course.” Katarina smiled kindly. “Am I wrong?”

Akorri wondered if Kat saw the irony in her assumption. Judging by her gentle smile, she probably did.

“I just healed him, that’s all,” Jinny mumbled, rubbing her arm. “It had nothing to do with being skilled or anything.”

“I see.” Katarina looked at Shady. “So who is this dragon, exactly?”

“Shady. Um, I mean, that’s his name.”

“Shady...” Katarina carefully approached the dragon, who blinked at her. Akorri was impressed that she wasn’t even a little bit frightened. “Nice to meet you.”

Shady nodded.

“So, how exactly did you two find each other?”

“I found him hiding from hunters in the woods near her,” Jinny replied.

“Hunters!” Katarina narrowed her eyes, her tail bristling. Akorri felt a stab of unease. Seeing  the normally calm Katarina irritated was unnerving.

“Yes...”

“So there are people who actually purposefully hunt dragons?”

“Y-yes...”

“I...” Katarina closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Whatever anger she had seemed to fizzle out as quickly as it appeared. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Why would they, though? What do you gain by killing a dragon?” Laerya spoke up.

“Their scales must make good armour and weapons,” Katarina replied with disgust. “That is why most people hunt beasts. Well, that and because they believe them to be dangerous. But... to hunt a dragon is disgraceful.”

Shady sighed, lifting his tail and examining it. As Akorri watched, he noticed how tough the black dragon’s hide looked, and how it might attract an eager hunter.

His nose twitched as water splashed it, and he looked up to see rain was beginning to fall. He barely felt the light drizzle on his fur, but he knew there was more to come.

“I suppose we shouldn’t stay out here much longer,” Katarina murmured.

“Oh, bah!” Lae muttered. “Dang rain.”

Akorri stood up, trying to shield his face from the drops. “Guess we should head back to the inn,” he said.

Laerya nodded, but when she opened her mouth to reply it was not her voice that spoke first. “Laerya? Are you there?” It was a deep voice, and it was coming from her backpack.

“Fericeus?” Lae said. “Wow, it’s rare for him to call first.” She looked over at her pack, but didn’t open it yet. “Let’s do this back at the inn, I don’t want the ball to get wet.”

They waved goodbye to Katarina and hurried to the inn, with Jinny and Shady following. This time the dragon didn’t come inside, staying out and lifting a wing over his head to try and shield himself from the rain.

Once they were in the room, Lae took out the ball, put it on the table and blew on it gently. The glass fogged up for a bit, then the vision of Fericeus’s dim study faded into view. The wolf sat with Kiyake, a book open in his hands.

“Feri?” Laerya prompted.

“Laerya, there is something you need to know.” Fericeus looked more serious than Akorri had ever seen him. “What do you remember about the story of Vacerus?”

“The dragon?” Jinny whispered near Akorri’s ear. She sounded excited, but he just wanted to hide. His heart froze with dread. Why would Fericeus bring up Vacerus unless...? He knows...he realised, his stomach dropping.

“Um, that he made Tananshia, right?” Laerya said.

“Yes, and he died there as well.”

“...Okay...”

Oh no.

Fericeus‘s eyes pierced through the crystal ball. “We went to inspect the Fields following the earthquakes, and a large hole has opened up there. In the exact location where Vacerus was buried.”