The Past

The Ride

Sorry this took a month lol, been busy with exams.

When morning came, Paves and Teirr announced that they would not be going to the caverns. Instead, they would be conversing with the locals—which Athern so graciously offered to help with— in order to find out if there were any clues as to the Mirror's whereabouts.

Athern was doing everything to not stay in the ship, but I couldn't claim that we didn't need the help.

"Just us, then?" I said to Remor as I stood in the doorway of his cabin, which was slightly smaller than mine.

"Just us." His white smile overcame the lower half of his face as he confirmed it. Perhaps there was more to him than instructions from his mother or the game Laesin claimed he was playing.

Or perhaps he knew of Athern's plot and was simply competing.

It was uncanny how similar the two were, with their tall and slender frames, both of which were capped with dusty blonde hair. Unlike Athern's always hazel eyes, the storm god's eyes changed daily, letting those near him know if the skies were cloudy or clear; his eyes could either be a pale, silky blue or a startling shade of silver.

Today, they were blue.

He grabbed our small leather pack with food and a spare change of clothes for each. We had agreed to stop in town and purchase two horses and saddle packs that held blankets before heading off to the nearby mountains to find the caverns I had read about. I had my doubts that the Mirror would be there, but it was the only starting point I had.

We could go north up the coast, if the caverns did not hold what we were seeking, but that was no man's land. More likely, we'd go to the home continent of the ship's crew, and start our further search in the tiny country that was called Xital.
For now, I hoped that the Mirror was in the caverns, as Remor exchanged our gold coins for a pair of horses. The sun was already high in the sky by the time we were on our way out of the city, our mounts trotting at a steady speed. I rode a tall black stallion as we made our way inland, away from the city made of sand. Dry vegetation began to sprout half a day from the city walls, but the faraway mountains had no trees to be spoken of. It would be a full days' ride to them at the very least.

I tried my best to keep up conversation while we rode, but it wasn't as though we had much in common.

"So..." I started, just as our ride began. "Your parents want you to get married?"

I figured that we might at least have our parents in common, both being royal children and whatnot.

"You do realize gods do not usually marry?" He said to me. "Not properly, anyhow. We marry humans, yes, but marrying another god would prove absolutely ridiculous. One cannot be expected to love only one individual for an eternity."

"Oh. I suppose you're correct. Most humans cannot handle a full lifetime of monogamy, after all. We don't have very much in common, do we, Remor?"

"No, I suppose we don't. I should like to, though. You're a very lovely person." Even as he sat atop his horse, his posture was pristine and regal, and his clothes were perfect as well.

"You can't possibly know that, for you know not my thoughts. I find being inebriated rather fun, I am not entirely opposed to murder if the right motive exists, and I've ingested some questionable substances that my mother would disinherit me for."

"I said a lovely person, Princess, not necessarily a holy one." Subtle dimples showed when he smiled just then, which I had not noticed before. "Besides, who's to say what's right and what's wrong? Do the gods determine it? If so, which of us? We all have differing opinions. My father may think hallucinogens improper, whereas my mother has quite a bit of fun with them."

"So you don't believe in right and wrong?"

"I think harming others is wrong. Cruelty is wrong. Infidelity is wrong." I was in total agreement with all that he said. "But trying to marry your child off to someone they don't love is also wrong. Enjoying a flask of wine excessively does not compare with these things."

"You couldn't be more right."

The conversation reached a sudden halt, and did not find its footing again for a long while. Around us, the land was still sandy and barren, our horses hooves slipping on the unsteady ground. With each step, we sunk and rose in the dusty, miniscule pieces of rock and minerals.

The dunes went on for a league or so, before giving way to a dry dirt plain, accented with shrubbery an olive shade of green. There was no water to be seen, as of then, but the sun was already making its way west. We had an hour of sunlight, two at the most, and then we'd have to make camp.

I uncapped my water pouch and funnelled the water upwards, into my mouth, and then to Remor's when he asked for a sip. The heat was parching.

"Are you grateful to my mother," he asked, "For the powers that she granted your people?"

"Well, yes. I suppose they are all I've even known, so they're just normal. I can't imagine life without the elements. I've never known sickness, for my body heals itself. I've never known cold, for I can heat myself. I'll never go without shelter, for I can form one made of stone in an instant. I suppose it's what makes us royal, what makes us special."

"You can make storms as well. Not as powerful as mine, of course, but with water and wind, you can create a tempest. I can teach you to fight with your water, if you'd like." He twisted to look back at me, and commanded the water out of my pouch. Seconds later, it swirled in his palm, growing as he drew in air. He pushed it several feet away as he allowed it to grow as large as a person, and we could both feel the pressure of the wind drawing us nearer.

As quickly as he formed the hurricane, he dissipated it and returned the water to my pouch and turned back to face the mountains.

"I'll teach you."

"Really?" I knew how to use my elements, but I had nowhere near his mastery.

"In time, Kinheal, you will learn all you wish. Our journey will prove fruitful, even if we do not encounter your Mirror." Remor drew his horse to a sudden halt, stretching his neck southward, whence we came. "The sea speaks; We must find shelter as soon as possible."

Around us, the land was still barren, no housing to be found. I spotted a low hill, with a dried out tree at its base. "There! I can create us shelter in that hill, provided I have enough time."

"You haven't got very long."

I squeezed my legs into the sides of my horse, urging him to go forward, then pressed again to call for speed. A light mist began to drip around us as we reached the hill.

"Bloody rain," I swore, extending my shield of wind to the tree. We need that wood for fire, I thought as I hopped off my horse, handing Remor the lead. "Watch this."

I slammed my first into the hill. "Motherf- Mother of Alarithe, that hurt!" It did have the desired effect, though, and the hill now boasted a human-sized hole. The rain outside was beginning to fall harder. Another punch, with my feet planted firmly in the ground. One more.

"A self-made cave," Remor noted, joining me under the roof of compact dirt and stone to avoid the storm now going on outside.

"Indeed." Taking the horse's leads from him, I walked outside by the tree, planted the leads in a hole I created in the ground, and melded them with the ground. "There, the horses will not be leaving."

"Remarkable talent, Kinheal. Shall we eat?" He pulled the saddle packs off the horses and dropped them in our small cave. "I am famished."

"Me too." I wound a rope of air around the tree and pulled it down, and inside. "A warm fire would go well, too."

"It would."