Post by Solana on May 22, 2014 15:59:21 GMT -5
Chapter Seven- Scattered Pieces
Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable to him; a new friend is as a new wine, when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure- Ecclesiasticus, 9:10
Aryn felt like her world and insides were spinning in opposite directions during the teleport up to the Crystal Citadel. She wasn't sure if it was from the fire essence now swimming in her body, the teleport itself, or the first indication of just exactly what she had gotten herself into. She and Solana had become fast friends on their journey back here, but that Bachlan was a cold fish. He wasn't going to be easy to work with.
Once they arrived and Aryn got a good look at her new home, she forgot her discomfort.
"WOW!!!! What a pad! I can't believe you have a crystal fountain in the entryway!" Aryn gushed, going to check it out. A gigantic sphere of crystal carved with Merna's natural features dribbled water from eight spouts into a crystal basin. She turned to Solana, her expression mischievous. "This is your doing, isn't it?"
"Maybe," Solana admitted, looking pleased at Aryn's compliments.
Bachlan seemed at a loss of words for Aryn's enthusiasm, as he had on the journey back, so Solana stepped in to give the tour. "As you know, the Citadel used to serve as the Palace of the Golden Ones. Since there are now only eight of us, we mostly use the upper levels for our living quarters. Up the stairs here-" she pointed out a carved crystalline staircase, "-is our common room, which then links to all of our chambers. This hallway intersects and goes to our library-" She stopped and turned misty-eyed for a moment, then continued, "-and our kitchens are to the left here-"
"Kitchens?" Aryn repeated, dropping her bags to the floor. A gleam of anticipation had appeared in her eyes.
"We can show you those later, but for now-" Bachlan began.
"A kitchen's the heart of a household, buddy. Everyone knows that," Aryn interrupted, and skipped off to the left to check it out now. Her bags were abandoned exactly where she had dropped them. Chuckling a little, Solana followed her to give a full explanation.
Bachlan felt a headache coming and decided to wait outside. He rubbed his temples wearily, but the noises trailing from the room weren't helping it much.
Step, step, step. "Hey, this is the stove to work with?" Clang, ca-clang! "Pretty solid, but I could get a great deal for a better one from home." Step, step, step, squeeeeeak, rattle, rattle. "Pan's a little rusty." Clang. "You're kidding me. Junk." Clink. "Junk." Clang. "Seriously, did you bring this with you when you came here?"
Bachlan's headache was getting worse, and he was starting to get a teensy bit annoyed. One foot tapped out a rhythm that got faster and louder with each new sound.
Step, step, step, squeak. "Ah, the spices! Come to ma-" Click, click. "-ma. Come on, this is fine for a daycare, but Guardians? Luckily, I can fix that." Ruffle, ruffle, thud. "A few dishes made with a little of this-" thud, "-a little of that-" thud, "-and it'll put chest hair on the guys and cancel some of your water out a little-" thud.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and rushed in after them. "ARE YOU QUITE FINISHED??!! I BROUGHT YOU HERE TO BE OUR FIRE GUARDIAN, NOT OUR COOK!!!" His glare could have frozen a sea in a single glance, but Aryn didn't flinch. In fact, she was amused. Solana was a little apologetic, but had a tiny smile on her lips as well.
Bachlan gave up, having had enough of his newest Guardian for now. "Solana, take her to her new quarters and get her settled in. We'll go over your new duties after supper. I'm going to lie down," he barked. Spinning on the ball of one foot, he turned and left the kitchen.
Aryn didn't make a peep as the pair left the kitchen. She gathered up her abandoned bags and followed Solana up the stairs to the common room and to a large set of chambers facing directly south. Towards home.
"These are the Fire Chambers. We're allowed to decorate in any way we wish, and quite a few of us have chosen to represent our elements," Solana explained.
Aryn whistled again under her breath as she took it all in. Here was the biggest fireplace she had ever seen, big enough to keep a cauldron or three handy if she wanted to do a little experimenting up here. There was plenty of space for sword practice in an area well-lit by torches, including on that giant four poster bed if she wanted. Rich tapestries dyed in expensive scarlets and golds lined the walls. It was a little much to take in and think that this would be all hers for who knew how many millennia.
Solana noticed the strained look on Aryn's face. This transition took everybody a bit of getting used to, and Bachlan never made things any easier. "Can I help you unpack?" she asked kindly.
"Sure, that'd be great," Aryn admitted.
Solana opened up one of Aryn's bags and oohed and ahhed over the contents. Sturdy but lovely cotton tunics and workout gear, well polished leather pieces, and a few gowns for more formal events were shaken out and placed in the room's massive armoire. The two chatted amiably about Aryn's new life as they worked, and slowly Aryn felt herself begin to relax. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.
Still, Aryn had noticed something on Bachlan's departure. "He doesn't like you much either, does he? Does he like anybody?"
Solana hesitated as she hunted for a diplomatic answer, proving Aryn right. "It's true, he doesn't," she finally admitted. "I think he felt that he was stuck with me when Kiel sent me here."
Aryn sobered, remembering how they had traded stories on the trip here. "And he wanted to change his mind after meeting me." Her face brightened. "We'll just have to work hard and prove him wrong, right? I mean, it's not like he could have a grudge against us for doing that."
"I would hope not," Solana replied with a laugh. She hung up the last of Aryn's clothes, a dazzling emerald gown and its matching leather bodice, then took Aryn's hand. "Come, I want to introduce you to everyone else. Eziban has been wanting to meet you..."
Kilika would be a great place to retire, if Guardians ever DID retire, Eziban decided on his first view of the tropical city, but there was no way to tell when that would be. Unfortunately, the essences that granted the Guardians a healthy dose of their chosen elemental powers, a sampler of the other seven and dramatically lengthened lifespans hadn't come with instruction books. Instead, they'd relied on training from Bachlan and the older Guardians as well as a lot of guesswork to figure their powers out.
Still, it might be nice to look around once things had quieted down. There were some pretty little bungalow-style houses built on docks over the gentle waves, plenty of good smells of local food and flowers, and he'd bet his entire precious stones collection at home that the place was sitting on what had been a volcano at one point.
Not to mention the friendly people! He'd already been welcomed with a few slaps on the back and offers of free drinks while still on the docks. Eziban was quite surprised at their enthusiastic hospitality, and soon discovered that they wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
"I'm just here on business, to find some friends of mine..." he tried to explain to a cheerfully insistent guard.
"Yes, yes, all in good time," the man interrupted, overrolling his objections like a giant boulder of good graces. He then clapped an arm around Eziban's shoulders and steered him towards a large open-air hut built over the water. "But first, you must come join me for just one drink. What good is a celebration without a new friend to celebrate it with?"
Eziban secretly wondered just how many "new friends" the man had made already, but shrugged and joined him at a bamboo counter of a bar/restaurant called the Salty Dog. The food smelled amazing, and it seemed as likely a place as any that someone here would know of Aryn's whereabouts at least. The two men exchanged introductions and were soon given drink menus to start things off.
"What kind of drinks do you like, Eziban?" the guard asked.
"Anything is fine, Uthel. Fruity, musky, woodsy, or barley, I can handle it all," Eziban replied confidently.
"Is that so?" Uthel asked, a gleam in his eye as he signaled over the bartender. He leaned over to whisper conspirationally, "Make it two Djose screwdrivers."
"Would you also like a floor cushion?" she asked in a serious tone as she took back the menus.
"No, just the drinks," Uthel replied casually. The bartender gave Eziban an obvious "It was nice knowing you" glance and quickly mixed up two glasses containing a brew that smelled like a combo of orange and mango.
Uthel took his in hand and waited to see his new friend's reaction before sampling his own. Eziban picked his glass up and gave it a careful sniff, then twirled it around experimentally while holding it up to the sunlight pouring in. "It may look pretty, but it can knock a greenhorn down to the floor faster than a round of martinis," the guard added.
"Try not to be disappointed. Cheers," Eziban replied, clinked his glass with his new friend's, and tipped his head back to down his first gulp. Uthel watched in amazement, having seen many pass out from the fumes alone. Eziban licked his lips in appreciation. "Not bad. A nice blend of citrus fruits, while the mango adds some body to it, but the alcohol... that's a fermentation system I'm not familiar with."
"You're quite right. The Al Bhed developed a secret new method, to make a brew that could be as flammable as lighter fluid in a pinch when on a salvaging trip," Uthel confessed, taking a swig of his own. His expression turned curious. "How did you develop such a tolerance level and knowledge of fine drinks?"
Eziban smiled proudly. "I like experimenting, and one of my best friends says that excellent foods and drinks are an art. She specializes in fiery foods, and eating them seems to have helped me handle just about anything," he remarked, then savored another sip of the drink. As potent as it was, one was all he was going to allow himself here.
Uthel took another sip himself, determined to keep pace with him. "She would likely get along quite well with another guest in our fair city, that just managed to fix our volcano. Her name is Aryn-"
Eziban suddenly coughed, spraying about half of his mouthful of drink across the table and sending the other half down his windpipe. Uthel was ready to pound him on the back, but Eziban shook his head as he kept hacking and finally managed to get it out and into a napkin. "Aryn? She did what?" he finally squeaked when able to talk.
"You know the lady?" Uthel asked, a hint of suspicion in his tone.
Eziban nodded and gave one last cough. "That's why I'm here, to find her and Solana. Where are they?"
Uthel's expression faded from suspicious to apologetic. "Then you must be acquainted, since I said nothing about her friend. Aryn is probably training just outside the city gate to the north. She's been doing that a lot lately."
"That's Aryn. Thanks for the information, Uthel. We'll have to finish that drink another time," Eziban replied gratefully. He quickly wiped up the mess he had made with a napkin, apologized to the shocked bartender, and took off.
Uthel glanced at Eziban's retreating figure, then down at his half-full glass. "Speak for yourself, lad," he murmured, and slid the glass within easy reach.
Aryn was indeed outside the city gates, working on perfecting some of the new sword techniques that Elma had taught her. Sweat trailed down her face and her hair was fighting its way out of its braids, but she wasn't done training yet for the day.
To be more accurate, she was TRYING to train. Aryn was very worried about Solana going back to Merna without anyone to watch her back. It had been a stupid thing to do. Bachlan was a tricky customer, and who knew what could be waiting for their return? Except when it involved creating a delicate dish, waiting patiently had never been Aryn's defining attribute.
"How long have I been out here?" she murmured, glancing up at the sun. Startled to see that it wasn't even noon yet, Aryn redoubled her efforts until her sword became a flaming blur in the tropical air. She tried one of the leaping attacks again, but she swung too widely, overcompensated and finally stumbled. While falling, she shifted her position to land on the flats of her arms instead of flat on her face. (Again.)
Growling, Aryn rose and finally replaced her sword on her back and decided to head into the forest for some real exercise to take her mind off of her worries. Maybe a nice run would calm her down...
"Aryn!"
Aryn whipped around, gasping as her face went dead white at the voice and seeming apparition from the past. "Ezi...?" she asked in shock. Oriana had said that she was working with Eziban, but to see him again after everything that had happened was still a jolt. Her hazel eyes eagerly drank in the sight of a dear friend that she had seen but once in over four decades. How much she had to tell him about her travels with Solana, and so much to ask about the Citadel and Merna.
Eziban saw the joy and shock mixed in her eyes and walked to her with a huge smile, arms open for a friendly embrace. The familiar reckless grin that he knew so well spread across Aryn's face as she sprinted to meet him, throwing herself at him in a bonecrushing hug that almost knocked both of them right over.
Silence reigned for only a moment as the joy of their reunion sank in, and a few tears were trickling down both faces. Aryn sniffled loudly, not realizing exactly how much she had missed him all of these years until this moment. It felt like a piece of her had been returned. Ezi was a kindred spirit, and it had been way too long since she had been able to hug him like this.
Finally, they pulled apart with a shaky laugh. "You look different, Aryn. Taller, tougher, and there's something new in your eyes," Eziban commented. Whatever she had been through, it had only made her stronger.
"It's been anything but a vacation," Aryn admitted, studying him in return. There was a genuine confidence there, compared to the old cocksure attitude he had sported long ago. Lines of pain or worry had added a new maturity to his face. She liked the change in her old friend, and gave him a happy slap on the shoulder as if to reassure herself that he was really there. "I've missed you so much! You wouldn't believe what we've been up to!"
"What, causing havoc and tricking more people into trying your hottest treats?" Eziban teased.
Aryn blushed and ducked her head, not willing to admit to it or lie. "You know you love them, and I have some new ones for you to try," she replied, and Eziban pumped his fist happily. "How's Merna been doing?"
His joyful smile was washed away, and he hesitated. Aryn gave him a discerning look, wanting the truth. "We're doing what we can, but it's been a helluva lot harder," he admitted, choosing his words with care. "Could you believe that Bachlan's become even more impossible since Oriana spirited you two away?"
"Yes," Aryn replied dryly, absently fingering her morningstar.
Eziban's eyes followed the movement, and he cocked his head in puzzlement. "Aryn, where did you get that? And your power... it's not just the fire essence anymore, is it?" Concern entered his tone. "What have you been doing all this time?"
Aryn really didn't want to get into the gritty details of her journey with Solana right now, particularly the past few years, but she owed him the truth. "We found a haven, Ezi, the same place that we found answers. The Shrine to Ghaleon in Lunar. You remember the Fate and Destiny wars? Solana and I were involved."
Eziban scratched his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, those were some scary times. Merna got off pretty lucky compared to a lot of places, but you were obviously where you needed to be. Probably where I should have been, too- ah, crap."
His face flushed as he realized that he'd given her an opening. This was it, where Aryn would give him the tongue-lashing he deserved for wimping out on her the last time they had seen each other. He braced himself.
He knew his old friend well. Flickers of flame appeared in Aryn's eyes as her mind called up the same memory, and Eziban reflexively took a step back. Self-righteous anger roared like a supernova in Aryn's veins. "Oh, you mean to support a friend? Maybe having their back when someone tries to blast them?" she spat, "What the hell, Ezi?! You're one of the most important people in the UNIVERSE to me, but you couldn't say one damn word that day?"
Eziban flinched, hurting after hearing out loud what he had been berating himself for these past few years. "That was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life, and I'm sorry for it. I... I don't have an excuse, firebird. I wish I did, or that I could turn back time to do things differently, but I can't. So I've been working with Oriana to make up for it," he replied sorrowfully.
"Why? Because you're sorry, or because you want to?" Aryn asked sourly. Her expression saddened. "I gotta know, Ezi. I have to know if you're really with me this time."
He took her hands in his, amazed that she let him. "Believe it, firebird. I've been doing a lot of hard thinking these past few years, and I've seen what Bachlan is capable of. He's gotta be stopped."
Aryn sighed ruefully as the flames died down, and Eziban looked at her hopefully. She'd almost forgotten how soulful those dark chocolate eyes could be when he was so serious. Besides, with what he had managed to accomplish, would it have really been any advantage for him to have made the same mistakes that she and Solana had?
Solana, sometime I'll figure out how your voice of reason got into my head, then get rid of it.
Loyalty to one's beliefs, instincts, and friends and family was everything to Aryn. Yes, her second best friend in the universe had refused to fight at her side, but as a result...
... he had had more freedom than Oriana and had been able to help her investigate Bachlan.
... he had been able to continue looking after the world they loved while she had been needed in other missions.
... he was here, at the risk of his own life, to help her do what they needed to do.
"So, am I forgiven?" Eziban asked carefully.
"Almost," Aryn said, then let go of his hands and stepped back to think things over as Eziban squirmed a bit. Finally, a devious smile appeared on her face. "When things are back to normal and I'm practicing sugar-work, YOU'VE got dish duty."
Eziban winced. He'd helped her on cleanup before after these tests, and the blackened messes resulting from fire and sugar combined were a pain to scrub. "For how long?" he asked cautiously.
"Six months."
"Dammit!" Eziban growled, then sighed. He deserved it, and he wouldn't even cheat by using an aquamarine to speed up the process. "You drive a hard bargain, firebird. Deal."
Aryn nodded happily, reaching out to take his arm as Eziban smiled in reply. Despite not looking forward to dish duty, he felt a lot better than he had in years. Oriana had been right- one mistake wasn't enough to destroy all these millennia of their friendship.
"I swear to you, firebird, I'll find a way to make up for not being at your and Solana's sides when you needed it. Whatever it takes to stop this nutcase that was our leader, we'll do together." His mouth quirked. "But if I get there first, I can't promise I'll save you much."
Aryn felt relief of her own in hearing that confidence back in his voice where it belonged, but she still had to one-up him. "You'd better do what you can in the first shot, old friend, because I've got some retaliation of my own against him. If Solana hadn't jumped in front of me when he blasted that spell-"
"Speaking of which, where is she?" Eziban interrupted in alarm, suddenly realizing that the Water Guardian had not yet made an appearance.
"Solana went to Sagia to check out what you guys sent us-what?!" Aryn demanded, seeing his brown eyes widen sharply.
The Earth Guardian groaned, feeling a fluttering of panic enter his gut. "We've gotta catch up to her, now! If she finds out from somewhere else first-"
"Finds out what? Spit it out already!" Aryn snapped.
"Oriana... she's vanished. Bachlan says that she went on a trip, but since I found something important under her desk, I don't believe it for a second," Eziban answered grimly.
Aryn gasped, her eyes holding an icy fury at the thought of any harm coming to the woman who had saved their lives and acted as a second mother all of these millennia. "If he hurt her, I'll shove my flaming sword so far up his-"
"I don't know, but if he feels the need for something that drastic, it can't be good," Eziban admitted, cutting off Aryn's rant. That fire would be put to better use against their leader.
Nothing with that bastard is ever good, Aryn thought to herself. They started heading back into the city to pay off the hotel tab and make tracks back home to Merna as fast as possible.
Back to Merna. Despite her worries about what Solana was up to ahead of them, Aryn was almost giddy with excitement at the thought of seeing her beloved homeland again after what seemed like so long, and with Ezi back at her side. On the way they could see her volcanoes, the prairies and forests that were under her protection, and the food- oh, the food! What she wouldn't give to once again taste some of the fireball cherries that couldn't be found anywhere else in the universe.
But her happiness at returning home at last couldn't quell her fears for her friend. "Even Bachlan wouldn't be so stupid as to advertise this latest dumb move, would he? He'd try to keep it quiet," she stated with a false bravado.
Eziban nodded uneasily, having wondered the same thing himself. "But even if he didn't, Solana has the sense to not charge off on a rescue by herself. She'd get in contact with us first."
"Of course she would," Aryn agreed cheerfully.
They paused and stared at each other for a moment...then both broke into a run.
Solana let out a yawn, her eyes blurred and her head aching. She had spent a few weeks scouring the libraries of the city, but Jarkeb's book had been a single diamond in the rough. The man himself had left for the southeastern desert city of Ninaz not long after their talk, so that avenue was cut off for the moment.
The librarians milling around were getting the same look of 'I'm trying to be polite, but GO HOME already!' that she had seen so often in her travels, so she put away the last book and returned to her guest quarters for the night. Luckily, Sagia was well-equipped for visiting scholars.
Solana stretched out on the utilitarian but comfortable bed, lacing her fingers together under her head and closing her eyes in memory. The past few years had been very strange in how the two biggest roles in her life had come back and intertwined. Aryn had been very sweet about telling her to go spend some time with her people and get caught up with Kiel. Solana had gotten Kiel back up to speed on the major events in the Universe that had occured between the Fall and their reunion, as well as her travels with Aryn.
Kiel had also been able to help her unlock more mysteries of the Asterite Aura that he had bestowed upon her the day of the Fall. "The Asterite was very solitary in our time; most of what we know comes from what Ecco told our ancestors. Perhaps now..." Kiel had trailed off thoughtfully, then went back to his original point. "Despite that, it's a very primeval creature, with ties to everything that partakes of the seas, the lakes, and any drop of water. What they became, so could the Asterite, and now you may as well to a point. Keep looking beyond merely their ties to our element, my dear."
As always, Solana had taken his words to heart. Her years of studying the seas and its creatures had taken new meaning, and she had been working hard to put together old lessons and new feelings through the Aura. Spira had been yet another source of fresh inspiration. She felt more ready than ever to tackle her responsibilities as Merna's Water Guardian, and now she was back in Merna at long last.
So many years of travel and being away from her adopted world had almost made her forget the things she loved about it. There were the hard-working and honest people that came from so many walks of life, the way the sunlight danced on the beautiful Tethys Sea, and the northern end of the rippling Shenioka Plains that seemed to extend all the way to forever. Bachlan or no Bachlan, Kiel had selected well for her new home under Oriana's tutelage so long ago.
Thinking of Oriana again after all this time, she opened her eyes and held up her pearl pendant to admire the way it shimmered even in the lavender moonlight coming in through her window. The pearl was from Atlantis, when Oriana had made a trip there to see the symposium where they had first met. Atlantean pearls were uniquely lustrous, but this one seemed more so than any she had ever seen. Oriana had presented her with the pendant on the night that she and Aryn had left the Crystal Citadel to begin their journey. "A piece of your home reef," she had told her. Nostalgic AND useful, it had saved her life many years ago in Tiraz-leen.
BAM!! She looked up at her window, startled. A large branch had slammed it with enough force to crack the glass in its panes. The night winds had picked up suddenly, from a gentle breeze to a gale that roared like an express train. She could feel a strange hum in the air that didn't seem right.
"Quick, open some of the windows to equlibriate the pressure! Barricade the guests!" a voice shouted in the hallway. Solana threw her cloak on over her nightgown and left her room to go find out what exactly was going on.
The hotel manager was yelling out orders as the workers nodded and ran off to lead guests to the basements or activate the defensive spells around the building. His face was somewhat pale, but he kept his cool and his voice even. He snapped off instructions to two more stewards before she could get his attention. "Excuse me, what's going on?" Solana asked.
He looked a little annoyed at being questioned. "Best get into safety, miss. Hurricane coming, just as suddenly as one could wish. Unnatural, if you ask me."
Unnatural..."Mage-made?" Solana asked tightly.
"Probably, but that won't make it any less dangerous. Now, get to safety and let Sagia's mages handle it, since that cowardly Water Guardian of ours took off," the manager replied.
Solana kept her face expressionless as she returned to her room to dress warmly in her travel gear before heading outside to see for herself. The stewards were busy calming the nervous guests and didn't pay any attention to one figure slipping through the crowds.
After wrenching the front door open, Solana had to duck a flying branch that would have hit her head. The winds screamed and the Boreas sea to the east was as angry and tempestuous as she had ever seen it. Masses of dark clouds in the sky were gathering together, their movements too smooth and tidy for nature. An enormous, powerful hurricane was brewing.
After thousands of years of work, she knew the rhythms of Merna's forces. This was created, and she soon found the power signature that identified its mage.
This was Trista's work.
What are you trying to do? Solana screamed silently, Hurt or kill innocents? Was this Bachlan's idea?
A tree was swiftly uprooted and being propelled towards a house like an arrow from a bow. "NO!" Solana yelled, throwing an ice shield between the two. The tree was driven into the thick sheet of ice, but was thankfully stopped in its tracks.
But there were many other houses filled with innocents in the same danger. More trees and debris were getting ready to fly, and even roofs were quivering from the power of the winds. She had to stop the source now, and unnatural as it was felt no qualms about halting it.
Solana tapped her water essence and threw her awareness directly into the storm's swirling center. She gasped, coming face to face with the crushing power of the air essence as an adversary for the first time. The Water Guardian took control of the water vapor inside the storm, using her magic like a set of reins, and began yanking them in the opposite direction of the swirl.
The wind howled, fighting her. The droplets trembled, being tugged in two different directions. Solana bit her lip, fighting fiercely. Trista had the home court advantage in the skies, essence for essence, but she wouldn't for long. Calling on the Aura of the Asterite to supplement her powers, Solana felt it roar through her body and strengthen her hold on the water droplets.
With a mighty heave, she wrenched the water out of its deadly spiral and held it steady in the sky, looking around for its source. Deciding that she would have sensed anyone taking that much water out of only the sea, she shifted it to mist and shooed it back into normal cumulus clouds. Only when she was sure that the clouds would react naturally and wouldn't dump a deluge onto someone's head did she release her hold on the water.
Air screamed and rushed around her, hissing its fury at its defeat, but it finally began to slow down. Solana waited for more, quieting the Aura down and looking around in disbelief as the air calmed down to a gentle sigh. Even the seas, no longer being tossed around by the tempest, went back to their normal wave patterns.
At last, it was as if it had never been.
Solana didn't understand it. Why were Trista or Bachlan giving up that easily? What exactly had they been trying to do? What could they have against Sagia to warrant such a sudden attack?
People began streaming out of their houses, looking around in shock at the minimal damage and abrupt halt of the hurricane. Some were scratching their heads in confusion and staring at the sky, while others were too busy checking on their neighbors.
"You! Were you the one who stopped this?" a woman asked, momentarily tearing her gaze from Solana to eye the tree-impaled sheet of ice sitting next to her house. Behind her, someone was snapping a picture of the sight, probably for one of the local papers.
"I was ..." Solana trailed off, still stunned.
"Thank goodness! We haven't had decent hurricane protection since the Water Guardian abandoned us. Thank you!" the woman stated. More people came up to offer their thanks and opinions about the hurricane that had come so suddenly, as well as a few more slams against her 'abandonment' of this world.
Solana's heart grew heavy with shame as she internally accepted the criticism, and she wondered for the first time in a long, long time how well Mernans had fared in her and Aryn's absence.
It was one thing to go off on a journey to learn and intend to bring life to a world, but what had happened here while they were gone all of these years?
Trista stepped out of her work crystal in the Air Chambers, her fists tightly clenched and her face a stormcloud of confusion and fury. "It was STOPPED! One of MINE! How on Merna could that little-" she yelled.
"Never mind that. You are certain that it was Solana's power?" Bachlan interrupted quickly.
"I'd know the power signature of her essence anywhere, my lord, but..." Trista hesitated, trying to remember what else she had encountered. "There was another power there, helping her. I couldn't recognize it, but she needed it along with her essence to break my storm."
Bachlan paused, wondering what exactly this new factor could be, then shrugged. His experiments had confirmed that his plan would work perfectly, and once it was complete, nothing Solana had picked up in her journeying would make the slightest difference. Instead, he ran his fingers through Trista's short silver hair, marveling at the way it shone like moonbeams in any light. "You did very well, my dear. The day I've promised, when you will stand by my side for all of Merna to see, will be coming very shortly."
"I am glad, my love. Truly, to serve you is my highest pleasure," Trista stated in earnest, devotion and love shining in her eyes. Oh, yes, there were more important things to consider than one bungled storm.
Bachlan smiled and let his fingers slowly trail down to cup her cheek gently. "My dove," he whispered. "My one true strength and constant. A new beginning, Trista, for our world... and for us."
Trista's eyes closed in bliss, and she raised one hand to caress the one touching her. "Bachlan..." she murmured like a prayer.
Bachlan moved closer, his eyes alight with the fire of finally conquering his runaways and being so close to the conception of a new path for this world. The taste of victory so near to his clutches after all of this time and effort was headier than the finest Mernan wine. All of the confusion, the millennia of visions that only now were interpreted to judge the rightness of his path, the reminder of how far he had come- it had all been worth it.
As Trista moved in, he closed his eyes and concentrated on inhaling her sweet scent of violets. Closer, and closer still...
"My lord!" Joshua's voice cut in.
Bachlan and Trista leaped apart, Bachlan with curses and a dozen half-murmured spells on his lips while Trista growled under her breath. The boy had the most annoying habit of showing up at the most inopportune moments.
Bachlan suddenly remembered that he couldn't afford to get careless at this point, and that included showing any vulnerabilities such as his feelings for the girl. "What is it?" he demanded, in a tone he (mistakenly) thought masked his annoyance.
Joshua glanced from Bachlan to Trista and back quickly, but his face remained in the expressionless set it normally had when reporting to his leader. "Forgive me, sir, but Raoul wishes to speak to you immediately. He is inquiring as to the reasoning behind the hurricane that recently touched Sagia, knowing Trista's talents at preventing them."
Bachlan thought rapidly. He now knew that Solana was close by, and since Aryn kept at her side like a loyal puppy, he would soon have all the pieces that he needed for his plans. But, not yet...he couldn't afford this dissension from one whose loyalty was questionable quite yet...
Aha! "Inform Raoul that the hurricane arose due to the lack of Solana's presence, but Trista managed to halt it herself thanks to her skills," he replied stiffly. That should satisfy him in the meantime.
Joshua knew him too well for that, and raised one eyebrow. "Indeed?" he asked blandly, as if he had been discussing which wine to serve with the night's meal. "I was monitoring it in my chambers, and it seemed to me that-"
"Enough! Will you follow the path of the traitors as well?" Bachlan interrupted, as Joshua hurriedly backed up a few steps and his blue eyes widened in shock. "If you needed to know the details, Joshua, you would have been informed. I require you to monitor the grounds outside the Citadel and inform me the moment our runaways come in sight." He took a step closer, his eyes ablaze. "Unless you would rather join Oriana?"
Joshua paled at the memory even as a momentary hint of fire flashed in his eyes. After a few moments, the paleness and fire both faded away, leaving him in his normal mode. "N-no, my lord," he replied dutifully. "I shall do as you request, and pray forgive my interruption." Bowing quickly, he beat a hasty retreat.
"Bachlan, please, he has been under a lot of stress lately. He's been scrying too long, and people say crazy things when they're tired," Trista pointed out, wrapping one arm around his invitingly.
Bachlan said nothing and shook himself free. Joshua had reason to remain loyal to authority, and as long as the boy continued to serve him, that was all that mattered. He instead dismissed a disappointed Trista with a gesture and hurried to his workroom to doublecheck that all was ready for his returning guests.
After all, there were much bigger fish to fry.
Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable to him; a new friend is as a new wine, when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure- Ecclesiasticus, 9:10
Aryn felt like her world and insides were spinning in opposite directions during the teleport up to the Crystal Citadel. She wasn't sure if it was from the fire essence now swimming in her body, the teleport itself, or the first indication of just exactly what she had gotten herself into. She and Solana had become fast friends on their journey back here, but that Bachlan was a cold fish. He wasn't going to be easy to work with.
Once they arrived and Aryn got a good look at her new home, she forgot her discomfort.
"WOW!!!! What a pad! I can't believe you have a crystal fountain in the entryway!" Aryn gushed, going to check it out. A gigantic sphere of crystal carved with Merna's natural features dribbled water from eight spouts into a crystal basin. She turned to Solana, her expression mischievous. "This is your doing, isn't it?"
"Maybe," Solana admitted, looking pleased at Aryn's compliments.
Bachlan seemed at a loss of words for Aryn's enthusiasm, as he had on the journey back, so Solana stepped in to give the tour. "As you know, the Citadel used to serve as the Palace of the Golden Ones. Since there are now only eight of us, we mostly use the upper levels for our living quarters. Up the stairs here-" she pointed out a carved crystalline staircase, "-is our common room, which then links to all of our chambers. This hallway intersects and goes to our library-" She stopped and turned misty-eyed for a moment, then continued, "-and our kitchens are to the left here-"
"Kitchens?" Aryn repeated, dropping her bags to the floor. A gleam of anticipation had appeared in her eyes.
"We can show you those later, but for now-" Bachlan began.
"A kitchen's the heart of a household, buddy. Everyone knows that," Aryn interrupted, and skipped off to the left to check it out now. Her bags were abandoned exactly where she had dropped them. Chuckling a little, Solana followed her to give a full explanation.
Bachlan felt a headache coming and decided to wait outside. He rubbed his temples wearily, but the noises trailing from the room weren't helping it much.
Step, step, step. "Hey, this is the stove to work with?" Clang, ca-clang! "Pretty solid, but I could get a great deal for a better one from home." Step, step, step, squeeeeeak, rattle, rattle. "Pan's a little rusty." Clang. "You're kidding me. Junk." Clink. "Junk." Clang. "Seriously, did you bring this with you when you came here?"
Bachlan's headache was getting worse, and he was starting to get a teensy bit annoyed. One foot tapped out a rhythm that got faster and louder with each new sound.
Step, step, step, squeak. "Ah, the spices! Come to ma-" Click, click. "-ma. Come on, this is fine for a daycare, but Guardians? Luckily, I can fix that." Ruffle, ruffle, thud. "A few dishes made with a little of this-" thud, "-a little of that-" thud, "-and it'll put chest hair on the guys and cancel some of your water out a little-" thud.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and rushed in after them. "ARE YOU QUITE FINISHED??!! I BROUGHT YOU HERE TO BE OUR FIRE GUARDIAN, NOT OUR COOK!!!" His glare could have frozen a sea in a single glance, but Aryn didn't flinch. In fact, she was amused. Solana was a little apologetic, but had a tiny smile on her lips as well.
Bachlan gave up, having had enough of his newest Guardian for now. "Solana, take her to her new quarters and get her settled in. We'll go over your new duties after supper. I'm going to lie down," he barked. Spinning on the ball of one foot, he turned and left the kitchen.
Aryn didn't make a peep as the pair left the kitchen. She gathered up her abandoned bags and followed Solana up the stairs to the common room and to a large set of chambers facing directly south. Towards home.
"These are the Fire Chambers. We're allowed to decorate in any way we wish, and quite a few of us have chosen to represent our elements," Solana explained.
Aryn whistled again under her breath as she took it all in. Here was the biggest fireplace she had ever seen, big enough to keep a cauldron or three handy if she wanted to do a little experimenting up here. There was plenty of space for sword practice in an area well-lit by torches, including on that giant four poster bed if she wanted. Rich tapestries dyed in expensive scarlets and golds lined the walls. It was a little much to take in and think that this would be all hers for who knew how many millennia.
Solana noticed the strained look on Aryn's face. This transition took everybody a bit of getting used to, and Bachlan never made things any easier. "Can I help you unpack?" she asked kindly.
"Sure, that'd be great," Aryn admitted.
Solana opened up one of Aryn's bags and oohed and ahhed over the contents. Sturdy but lovely cotton tunics and workout gear, well polished leather pieces, and a few gowns for more formal events were shaken out and placed in the room's massive armoire. The two chatted amiably about Aryn's new life as they worked, and slowly Aryn felt herself begin to relax. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.
Still, Aryn had noticed something on Bachlan's departure. "He doesn't like you much either, does he? Does he like anybody?"
Solana hesitated as she hunted for a diplomatic answer, proving Aryn right. "It's true, he doesn't," she finally admitted. "I think he felt that he was stuck with me when Kiel sent me here."
Aryn sobered, remembering how they had traded stories on the trip here. "And he wanted to change his mind after meeting me." Her face brightened. "We'll just have to work hard and prove him wrong, right? I mean, it's not like he could have a grudge against us for doing that."
"I would hope not," Solana replied with a laugh. She hung up the last of Aryn's clothes, a dazzling emerald gown and its matching leather bodice, then took Aryn's hand. "Come, I want to introduce you to everyone else. Eziban has been wanting to meet you..."
Kilika would be a great place to retire, if Guardians ever DID retire, Eziban decided on his first view of the tropical city, but there was no way to tell when that would be. Unfortunately, the essences that granted the Guardians a healthy dose of their chosen elemental powers, a sampler of the other seven and dramatically lengthened lifespans hadn't come with instruction books. Instead, they'd relied on training from Bachlan and the older Guardians as well as a lot of guesswork to figure their powers out.
Still, it might be nice to look around once things had quieted down. There were some pretty little bungalow-style houses built on docks over the gentle waves, plenty of good smells of local food and flowers, and he'd bet his entire precious stones collection at home that the place was sitting on what had been a volcano at one point.
Not to mention the friendly people! He'd already been welcomed with a few slaps on the back and offers of free drinks while still on the docks. Eziban was quite surprised at their enthusiastic hospitality, and soon discovered that they wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
"I'm just here on business, to find some friends of mine..." he tried to explain to a cheerfully insistent guard.
"Yes, yes, all in good time," the man interrupted, overrolling his objections like a giant boulder of good graces. He then clapped an arm around Eziban's shoulders and steered him towards a large open-air hut built over the water. "But first, you must come join me for just one drink. What good is a celebration without a new friend to celebrate it with?"
Eziban secretly wondered just how many "new friends" the man had made already, but shrugged and joined him at a bamboo counter of a bar/restaurant called the Salty Dog. The food smelled amazing, and it seemed as likely a place as any that someone here would know of Aryn's whereabouts at least. The two men exchanged introductions and were soon given drink menus to start things off.
"What kind of drinks do you like, Eziban?" the guard asked.
"Anything is fine, Uthel. Fruity, musky, woodsy, or barley, I can handle it all," Eziban replied confidently.
"Is that so?" Uthel asked, a gleam in his eye as he signaled over the bartender. He leaned over to whisper conspirationally, "Make it two Djose screwdrivers."
"Would you also like a floor cushion?" she asked in a serious tone as she took back the menus.
"No, just the drinks," Uthel replied casually. The bartender gave Eziban an obvious "It was nice knowing you" glance and quickly mixed up two glasses containing a brew that smelled like a combo of orange and mango.
Uthel took his in hand and waited to see his new friend's reaction before sampling his own. Eziban picked his glass up and gave it a careful sniff, then twirled it around experimentally while holding it up to the sunlight pouring in. "It may look pretty, but it can knock a greenhorn down to the floor faster than a round of martinis," the guard added.
"Try not to be disappointed. Cheers," Eziban replied, clinked his glass with his new friend's, and tipped his head back to down his first gulp. Uthel watched in amazement, having seen many pass out from the fumes alone. Eziban licked his lips in appreciation. "Not bad. A nice blend of citrus fruits, while the mango adds some body to it, but the alcohol... that's a fermentation system I'm not familiar with."
"You're quite right. The Al Bhed developed a secret new method, to make a brew that could be as flammable as lighter fluid in a pinch when on a salvaging trip," Uthel confessed, taking a swig of his own. His expression turned curious. "How did you develop such a tolerance level and knowledge of fine drinks?"
Eziban smiled proudly. "I like experimenting, and one of my best friends says that excellent foods and drinks are an art. She specializes in fiery foods, and eating them seems to have helped me handle just about anything," he remarked, then savored another sip of the drink. As potent as it was, one was all he was going to allow himself here.
Uthel took another sip himself, determined to keep pace with him. "She would likely get along quite well with another guest in our fair city, that just managed to fix our volcano. Her name is Aryn-"
Eziban suddenly coughed, spraying about half of his mouthful of drink across the table and sending the other half down his windpipe. Uthel was ready to pound him on the back, but Eziban shook his head as he kept hacking and finally managed to get it out and into a napkin. "Aryn? She did what?" he finally squeaked when able to talk.
"You know the lady?" Uthel asked, a hint of suspicion in his tone.
Eziban nodded and gave one last cough. "That's why I'm here, to find her and Solana. Where are they?"
Uthel's expression faded from suspicious to apologetic. "Then you must be acquainted, since I said nothing about her friend. Aryn is probably training just outside the city gate to the north. She's been doing that a lot lately."
"That's Aryn. Thanks for the information, Uthel. We'll have to finish that drink another time," Eziban replied gratefully. He quickly wiped up the mess he had made with a napkin, apologized to the shocked bartender, and took off.
Uthel glanced at Eziban's retreating figure, then down at his half-full glass. "Speak for yourself, lad," he murmured, and slid the glass within easy reach.
Aryn was indeed outside the city gates, working on perfecting some of the new sword techniques that Elma had taught her. Sweat trailed down her face and her hair was fighting its way out of its braids, but she wasn't done training yet for the day.
To be more accurate, she was TRYING to train. Aryn was very worried about Solana going back to Merna without anyone to watch her back. It had been a stupid thing to do. Bachlan was a tricky customer, and who knew what could be waiting for their return? Except when it involved creating a delicate dish, waiting patiently had never been Aryn's defining attribute.
"How long have I been out here?" she murmured, glancing up at the sun. Startled to see that it wasn't even noon yet, Aryn redoubled her efforts until her sword became a flaming blur in the tropical air. She tried one of the leaping attacks again, but she swung too widely, overcompensated and finally stumbled. While falling, she shifted her position to land on the flats of her arms instead of flat on her face. (Again.)
Growling, Aryn rose and finally replaced her sword on her back and decided to head into the forest for some real exercise to take her mind off of her worries. Maybe a nice run would calm her down...
"Aryn!"
Aryn whipped around, gasping as her face went dead white at the voice and seeming apparition from the past. "Ezi...?" she asked in shock. Oriana had said that she was working with Eziban, but to see him again after everything that had happened was still a jolt. Her hazel eyes eagerly drank in the sight of a dear friend that she had seen but once in over four decades. How much she had to tell him about her travels with Solana, and so much to ask about the Citadel and Merna.
Eziban saw the joy and shock mixed in her eyes and walked to her with a huge smile, arms open for a friendly embrace. The familiar reckless grin that he knew so well spread across Aryn's face as she sprinted to meet him, throwing herself at him in a bonecrushing hug that almost knocked both of them right over.
Silence reigned for only a moment as the joy of their reunion sank in, and a few tears were trickling down both faces. Aryn sniffled loudly, not realizing exactly how much she had missed him all of these years until this moment. It felt like a piece of her had been returned. Ezi was a kindred spirit, and it had been way too long since she had been able to hug him like this.
Finally, they pulled apart with a shaky laugh. "You look different, Aryn. Taller, tougher, and there's something new in your eyes," Eziban commented. Whatever she had been through, it had only made her stronger.
"It's been anything but a vacation," Aryn admitted, studying him in return. There was a genuine confidence there, compared to the old cocksure attitude he had sported long ago. Lines of pain or worry had added a new maturity to his face. She liked the change in her old friend, and gave him a happy slap on the shoulder as if to reassure herself that he was really there. "I've missed you so much! You wouldn't believe what we've been up to!"
"What, causing havoc and tricking more people into trying your hottest treats?" Eziban teased.
Aryn blushed and ducked her head, not willing to admit to it or lie. "You know you love them, and I have some new ones for you to try," she replied, and Eziban pumped his fist happily. "How's Merna been doing?"
His joyful smile was washed away, and he hesitated. Aryn gave him a discerning look, wanting the truth. "We're doing what we can, but it's been a helluva lot harder," he admitted, choosing his words with care. "Could you believe that Bachlan's become even more impossible since Oriana spirited you two away?"
"Yes," Aryn replied dryly, absently fingering her morningstar.
Eziban's eyes followed the movement, and he cocked his head in puzzlement. "Aryn, where did you get that? And your power... it's not just the fire essence anymore, is it?" Concern entered his tone. "What have you been doing all this time?"
Aryn really didn't want to get into the gritty details of her journey with Solana right now, particularly the past few years, but she owed him the truth. "We found a haven, Ezi, the same place that we found answers. The Shrine to Ghaleon in Lunar. You remember the Fate and Destiny wars? Solana and I were involved."
Eziban scratched his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, those were some scary times. Merna got off pretty lucky compared to a lot of places, but you were obviously where you needed to be. Probably where I should have been, too- ah, crap."
His face flushed as he realized that he'd given her an opening. This was it, where Aryn would give him the tongue-lashing he deserved for wimping out on her the last time they had seen each other. He braced himself.
He knew his old friend well. Flickers of flame appeared in Aryn's eyes as her mind called up the same memory, and Eziban reflexively took a step back. Self-righteous anger roared like a supernova in Aryn's veins. "Oh, you mean to support a friend? Maybe having their back when someone tries to blast them?" she spat, "What the hell, Ezi?! You're one of the most important people in the UNIVERSE to me, but you couldn't say one damn word that day?"
Eziban flinched, hurting after hearing out loud what he had been berating himself for these past few years. "That was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life, and I'm sorry for it. I... I don't have an excuse, firebird. I wish I did, or that I could turn back time to do things differently, but I can't. So I've been working with Oriana to make up for it," he replied sorrowfully.
"Why? Because you're sorry, or because you want to?" Aryn asked sourly. Her expression saddened. "I gotta know, Ezi. I have to know if you're really with me this time."
He took her hands in his, amazed that she let him. "Believe it, firebird. I've been doing a lot of hard thinking these past few years, and I've seen what Bachlan is capable of. He's gotta be stopped."
Aryn sighed ruefully as the flames died down, and Eziban looked at her hopefully. She'd almost forgotten how soulful those dark chocolate eyes could be when he was so serious. Besides, with what he had managed to accomplish, would it have really been any advantage for him to have made the same mistakes that she and Solana had?
Solana, sometime I'll figure out how your voice of reason got into my head, then get rid of it.
Loyalty to one's beliefs, instincts, and friends and family was everything to Aryn. Yes, her second best friend in the universe had refused to fight at her side, but as a result...
... he had had more freedom than Oriana and had been able to help her investigate Bachlan.
... he had been able to continue looking after the world they loved while she had been needed in other missions.
... he was here, at the risk of his own life, to help her do what they needed to do.
"So, am I forgiven?" Eziban asked carefully.
"Almost," Aryn said, then let go of his hands and stepped back to think things over as Eziban squirmed a bit. Finally, a devious smile appeared on her face. "When things are back to normal and I'm practicing sugar-work, YOU'VE got dish duty."
Eziban winced. He'd helped her on cleanup before after these tests, and the blackened messes resulting from fire and sugar combined were a pain to scrub. "For how long?" he asked cautiously.
"Six months."
"Dammit!" Eziban growled, then sighed. He deserved it, and he wouldn't even cheat by using an aquamarine to speed up the process. "You drive a hard bargain, firebird. Deal."
Aryn nodded happily, reaching out to take his arm as Eziban smiled in reply. Despite not looking forward to dish duty, he felt a lot better than he had in years. Oriana had been right- one mistake wasn't enough to destroy all these millennia of their friendship.
"I swear to you, firebird, I'll find a way to make up for not being at your and Solana's sides when you needed it. Whatever it takes to stop this nutcase that was our leader, we'll do together." His mouth quirked. "But if I get there first, I can't promise I'll save you much."
Aryn felt relief of her own in hearing that confidence back in his voice where it belonged, but she still had to one-up him. "You'd better do what you can in the first shot, old friend, because I've got some retaliation of my own against him. If Solana hadn't jumped in front of me when he blasted that spell-"
"Speaking of which, where is she?" Eziban interrupted in alarm, suddenly realizing that the Water Guardian had not yet made an appearance.
"Solana went to Sagia to check out what you guys sent us-what?!" Aryn demanded, seeing his brown eyes widen sharply.
The Earth Guardian groaned, feeling a fluttering of panic enter his gut. "We've gotta catch up to her, now! If she finds out from somewhere else first-"
"Finds out what? Spit it out already!" Aryn snapped.
"Oriana... she's vanished. Bachlan says that she went on a trip, but since I found something important under her desk, I don't believe it for a second," Eziban answered grimly.
Aryn gasped, her eyes holding an icy fury at the thought of any harm coming to the woman who had saved their lives and acted as a second mother all of these millennia. "If he hurt her, I'll shove my flaming sword so far up his-"
"I don't know, but if he feels the need for something that drastic, it can't be good," Eziban admitted, cutting off Aryn's rant. That fire would be put to better use against their leader.
Nothing with that bastard is ever good, Aryn thought to herself. They started heading back into the city to pay off the hotel tab and make tracks back home to Merna as fast as possible.
Back to Merna. Despite her worries about what Solana was up to ahead of them, Aryn was almost giddy with excitement at the thought of seeing her beloved homeland again after what seemed like so long, and with Ezi back at her side. On the way they could see her volcanoes, the prairies and forests that were under her protection, and the food- oh, the food! What she wouldn't give to once again taste some of the fireball cherries that couldn't be found anywhere else in the universe.
But her happiness at returning home at last couldn't quell her fears for her friend. "Even Bachlan wouldn't be so stupid as to advertise this latest dumb move, would he? He'd try to keep it quiet," she stated with a false bravado.
Eziban nodded uneasily, having wondered the same thing himself. "But even if he didn't, Solana has the sense to not charge off on a rescue by herself. She'd get in contact with us first."
"Of course she would," Aryn agreed cheerfully.
They paused and stared at each other for a moment...then both broke into a run.
Solana let out a yawn, her eyes blurred and her head aching. She had spent a few weeks scouring the libraries of the city, but Jarkeb's book had been a single diamond in the rough. The man himself had left for the southeastern desert city of Ninaz not long after their talk, so that avenue was cut off for the moment.
The librarians milling around were getting the same look of 'I'm trying to be polite, but GO HOME already!' that she had seen so often in her travels, so she put away the last book and returned to her guest quarters for the night. Luckily, Sagia was well-equipped for visiting scholars.
Solana stretched out on the utilitarian but comfortable bed, lacing her fingers together under her head and closing her eyes in memory. The past few years had been very strange in how the two biggest roles in her life had come back and intertwined. Aryn had been very sweet about telling her to go spend some time with her people and get caught up with Kiel. Solana had gotten Kiel back up to speed on the major events in the Universe that had occured between the Fall and their reunion, as well as her travels with Aryn.
Kiel had also been able to help her unlock more mysteries of the Asterite Aura that he had bestowed upon her the day of the Fall. "The Asterite was very solitary in our time; most of what we know comes from what Ecco told our ancestors. Perhaps now..." Kiel had trailed off thoughtfully, then went back to his original point. "Despite that, it's a very primeval creature, with ties to everything that partakes of the seas, the lakes, and any drop of water. What they became, so could the Asterite, and now you may as well to a point. Keep looking beyond merely their ties to our element, my dear."
As always, Solana had taken his words to heart. Her years of studying the seas and its creatures had taken new meaning, and she had been working hard to put together old lessons and new feelings through the Aura. Spira had been yet another source of fresh inspiration. She felt more ready than ever to tackle her responsibilities as Merna's Water Guardian, and now she was back in Merna at long last.
So many years of travel and being away from her adopted world had almost made her forget the things she loved about it. There were the hard-working and honest people that came from so many walks of life, the way the sunlight danced on the beautiful Tethys Sea, and the northern end of the rippling Shenioka Plains that seemed to extend all the way to forever. Bachlan or no Bachlan, Kiel had selected well for her new home under Oriana's tutelage so long ago.
Thinking of Oriana again after all this time, she opened her eyes and held up her pearl pendant to admire the way it shimmered even in the lavender moonlight coming in through her window. The pearl was from Atlantis, when Oriana had made a trip there to see the symposium where they had first met. Atlantean pearls were uniquely lustrous, but this one seemed more so than any she had ever seen. Oriana had presented her with the pendant on the night that she and Aryn had left the Crystal Citadel to begin their journey. "A piece of your home reef," she had told her. Nostalgic AND useful, it had saved her life many years ago in Tiraz-leen.
BAM!! She looked up at her window, startled. A large branch had slammed it with enough force to crack the glass in its panes. The night winds had picked up suddenly, from a gentle breeze to a gale that roared like an express train. She could feel a strange hum in the air that didn't seem right.
"Quick, open some of the windows to equlibriate the pressure! Barricade the guests!" a voice shouted in the hallway. Solana threw her cloak on over her nightgown and left her room to go find out what exactly was going on.
The hotel manager was yelling out orders as the workers nodded and ran off to lead guests to the basements or activate the defensive spells around the building. His face was somewhat pale, but he kept his cool and his voice even. He snapped off instructions to two more stewards before she could get his attention. "Excuse me, what's going on?" Solana asked.
He looked a little annoyed at being questioned. "Best get into safety, miss. Hurricane coming, just as suddenly as one could wish. Unnatural, if you ask me."
Unnatural..."Mage-made?" Solana asked tightly.
"Probably, but that won't make it any less dangerous. Now, get to safety and let Sagia's mages handle it, since that cowardly Water Guardian of ours took off," the manager replied.
Solana kept her face expressionless as she returned to her room to dress warmly in her travel gear before heading outside to see for herself. The stewards were busy calming the nervous guests and didn't pay any attention to one figure slipping through the crowds.
After wrenching the front door open, Solana had to duck a flying branch that would have hit her head. The winds screamed and the Boreas sea to the east was as angry and tempestuous as she had ever seen it. Masses of dark clouds in the sky were gathering together, their movements too smooth and tidy for nature. An enormous, powerful hurricane was brewing.
After thousands of years of work, she knew the rhythms of Merna's forces. This was created, and she soon found the power signature that identified its mage.
This was Trista's work.
What are you trying to do? Solana screamed silently, Hurt or kill innocents? Was this Bachlan's idea?
A tree was swiftly uprooted and being propelled towards a house like an arrow from a bow. "NO!" Solana yelled, throwing an ice shield between the two. The tree was driven into the thick sheet of ice, but was thankfully stopped in its tracks.
But there were many other houses filled with innocents in the same danger. More trees and debris were getting ready to fly, and even roofs were quivering from the power of the winds. She had to stop the source now, and unnatural as it was felt no qualms about halting it.
Solana tapped her water essence and threw her awareness directly into the storm's swirling center. She gasped, coming face to face with the crushing power of the air essence as an adversary for the first time. The Water Guardian took control of the water vapor inside the storm, using her magic like a set of reins, and began yanking them in the opposite direction of the swirl.
The wind howled, fighting her. The droplets trembled, being tugged in two different directions. Solana bit her lip, fighting fiercely. Trista had the home court advantage in the skies, essence for essence, but she wouldn't for long. Calling on the Aura of the Asterite to supplement her powers, Solana felt it roar through her body and strengthen her hold on the water droplets.
With a mighty heave, she wrenched the water out of its deadly spiral and held it steady in the sky, looking around for its source. Deciding that she would have sensed anyone taking that much water out of only the sea, she shifted it to mist and shooed it back into normal cumulus clouds. Only when she was sure that the clouds would react naturally and wouldn't dump a deluge onto someone's head did she release her hold on the water.
Air screamed and rushed around her, hissing its fury at its defeat, but it finally began to slow down. Solana waited for more, quieting the Aura down and looking around in disbelief as the air calmed down to a gentle sigh. Even the seas, no longer being tossed around by the tempest, went back to their normal wave patterns.
At last, it was as if it had never been.
Solana didn't understand it. Why were Trista or Bachlan giving up that easily? What exactly had they been trying to do? What could they have against Sagia to warrant such a sudden attack?
People began streaming out of their houses, looking around in shock at the minimal damage and abrupt halt of the hurricane. Some were scratching their heads in confusion and staring at the sky, while others were too busy checking on their neighbors.
"You! Were you the one who stopped this?" a woman asked, momentarily tearing her gaze from Solana to eye the tree-impaled sheet of ice sitting next to her house. Behind her, someone was snapping a picture of the sight, probably for one of the local papers.
"I was ..." Solana trailed off, still stunned.
"Thank goodness! We haven't had decent hurricane protection since the Water Guardian abandoned us. Thank you!" the woman stated. More people came up to offer their thanks and opinions about the hurricane that had come so suddenly, as well as a few more slams against her 'abandonment' of this world.
Solana's heart grew heavy with shame as she internally accepted the criticism, and she wondered for the first time in a long, long time how well Mernans had fared in her and Aryn's absence.
It was one thing to go off on a journey to learn and intend to bring life to a world, but what had happened here while they were gone all of these years?
Trista stepped out of her work crystal in the Air Chambers, her fists tightly clenched and her face a stormcloud of confusion and fury. "It was STOPPED! One of MINE! How on Merna could that little-" she yelled.
"Never mind that. You are certain that it was Solana's power?" Bachlan interrupted quickly.
"I'd know the power signature of her essence anywhere, my lord, but..." Trista hesitated, trying to remember what else she had encountered. "There was another power there, helping her. I couldn't recognize it, but she needed it along with her essence to break my storm."
Bachlan paused, wondering what exactly this new factor could be, then shrugged. His experiments had confirmed that his plan would work perfectly, and once it was complete, nothing Solana had picked up in her journeying would make the slightest difference. Instead, he ran his fingers through Trista's short silver hair, marveling at the way it shone like moonbeams in any light. "You did very well, my dear. The day I've promised, when you will stand by my side for all of Merna to see, will be coming very shortly."
"I am glad, my love. Truly, to serve you is my highest pleasure," Trista stated in earnest, devotion and love shining in her eyes. Oh, yes, there were more important things to consider than one bungled storm.
Bachlan smiled and let his fingers slowly trail down to cup her cheek gently. "My dove," he whispered. "My one true strength and constant. A new beginning, Trista, for our world... and for us."
Trista's eyes closed in bliss, and she raised one hand to caress the one touching her. "Bachlan..." she murmured like a prayer.
Bachlan moved closer, his eyes alight with the fire of finally conquering his runaways and being so close to the conception of a new path for this world. The taste of victory so near to his clutches after all of this time and effort was headier than the finest Mernan wine. All of the confusion, the millennia of visions that only now were interpreted to judge the rightness of his path, the reminder of how far he had come- it had all been worth it.
As Trista moved in, he closed his eyes and concentrated on inhaling her sweet scent of violets. Closer, and closer still...
"My lord!" Joshua's voice cut in.
Bachlan and Trista leaped apart, Bachlan with curses and a dozen half-murmured spells on his lips while Trista growled under her breath. The boy had the most annoying habit of showing up at the most inopportune moments.
Bachlan suddenly remembered that he couldn't afford to get careless at this point, and that included showing any vulnerabilities such as his feelings for the girl. "What is it?" he demanded, in a tone he (mistakenly) thought masked his annoyance.
Joshua glanced from Bachlan to Trista and back quickly, but his face remained in the expressionless set it normally had when reporting to his leader. "Forgive me, sir, but Raoul wishes to speak to you immediately. He is inquiring as to the reasoning behind the hurricane that recently touched Sagia, knowing Trista's talents at preventing them."
Bachlan thought rapidly. He now knew that Solana was close by, and since Aryn kept at her side like a loyal puppy, he would soon have all the pieces that he needed for his plans. But, not yet...he couldn't afford this dissension from one whose loyalty was questionable quite yet...
Aha! "Inform Raoul that the hurricane arose due to the lack of Solana's presence, but Trista managed to halt it herself thanks to her skills," he replied stiffly. That should satisfy him in the meantime.
Joshua knew him too well for that, and raised one eyebrow. "Indeed?" he asked blandly, as if he had been discussing which wine to serve with the night's meal. "I was monitoring it in my chambers, and it seemed to me that-"
"Enough! Will you follow the path of the traitors as well?" Bachlan interrupted, as Joshua hurriedly backed up a few steps and his blue eyes widened in shock. "If you needed to know the details, Joshua, you would have been informed. I require you to monitor the grounds outside the Citadel and inform me the moment our runaways come in sight." He took a step closer, his eyes ablaze. "Unless you would rather join Oriana?"
Joshua paled at the memory even as a momentary hint of fire flashed in his eyes. After a few moments, the paleness and fire both faded away, leaving him in his normal mode. "N-no, my lord," he replied dutifully. "I shall do as you request, and pray forgive my interruption." Bowing quickly, he beat a hasty retreat.
"Bachlan, please, he has been under a lot of stress lately. He's been scrying too long, and people say crazy things when they're tired," Trista pointed out, wrapping one arm around his invitingly.
Bachlan said nothing and shook himself free. Joshua had reason to remain loyal to authority, and as long as the boy continued to serve him, that was all that mattered. He instead dismissed a disappointed Trista with a gesture and hurried to his workroom to doublecheck that all was ready for his returning guests.
After all, there were much bigger fish to fry.