Beautiful and Broken

1.

I couldn't decide if my first field assignment from the Atlantis Council of Magic should be considered a compliment or an insult. First, it was to a land where the existence of magic was conflicted at the least: mages were shunned, even persecuted not so long ago, and even now their acceptance was questionable. Second, the land was permanently at war with two of its neighbours, which basically meant all of them, considering that on their other borders they had an ocean and a sort of impenetrable magical anomaly called The Fold. Third, it was a northern land, which meant long and gruelling winters interrupted by brief summers; and I was a southern witch through and through, in love with everything warm and sunny.

Fine, the third one wasn't really a point, since such subjective preferences were never an argument when choosing someone for a field assignment. But still, the first two either meant that I was so good that they trusted me with a difficult mission – or on the opposite, they thought that I was so useless that I didn't deserve an assignment with the slightest chance of success.  

Either way, not accepting your first Council field assignment was the best way to assure you never got another one, so for better or for worse, Ravka it was. It was expected from me to explore the anomaly called the Fold or the Unsea, learn its nature and the possible ways to cease its existence, and return to Atlantis to report this knowledge, without taking any further action or calling any attention to myself in Ravka. But before I even could consider packing my bags, I needed to learn the language. 

My tutor, Dima proved to be rather charming and easy-going, so we both agreed that becoming lovers would be a nice side benefit. So I've learned the not-so-fun Ravkan language in the most fun way possible, and I've gathered some first-hand knowledge of the land while doing so. Dima turned out to be a magician like me, only that they called themselves Grisha instead of witches or wizards. As soon as they learned of his abilities, his parents have sent him abroad, to save him from a military career that was mandatory for all Grisha in their land and which often ended young lives prematurely. 

The only escape was to leave, even if this meant families being torn apart, because many parents, Dima's included, couldn't finance the journey for the whole family. Dima became a deck boy on an ocean ship, which was one of the few ways for a child to earn their living, and the way he ended up in Atlantis. Now as a grown-up, he alternated between joining ship crews for an adventure deemed worthy risking jail for, or getting by selling the fish he caught with his boat called Bugger. This was the boat he took me on out to the deeper waters where the ship was anchored that was meant to take me to Novyi Zem, where I would board another ship, that will take me to Ravka. Both of us were sad to the extent where you already know that you'll feel much less sad by tomorrow, and in a few weeks remembering the time you've shared with each other will only bring the quiet satisfaction of a well-spent summer afternoon.