Journey onto the Storm (BOOK 2)

Chapter 36

FENRER

Auras danced in time with the classic Hanekan jig played in the corner of safety from the rowdy patrons, a swollen current in the air to press deeper into his temples, but he resisted the urge to grab his aurablinder to block out the excess in senses. Reyn's words from the King's Summit remained in his mind and the truth became clear for his need to get the dawnblade back in his hands — the hands of a Pyren where it belonged. Agitation sliced through the jovial streams of wispy aura seeping through the swirling wood containing the energy of his countrymen. Yuven occupied the corner of the booth with one foot on the table and his arms crossed, the icy maelstrom forming a bubble of clarity around the table. Thankful for Yuven's imposing aura and Adara's thick silver mist to swallow the rest, he abandoned the temptation for his aurablinder to study the problem at hand. Every word slipped out of their mouth with drunken spittle, though some sharpened to fine points of awareness. Yuven shook his head, listening to the same words, but Fenrer needed the answer from them all the same.

I just need to figure this out.

Fenrer sipped at his mug and tasted the gentle sweetener of honey. Listen. Wait. Vital teachings for all Aurus to measure the aura of the flow, and to avoid drowning in its oceanic torrent. Unable to ignore the plight of others slinging across his own emotions, he curled his hands over his mug and continued to wait for a crucial moment to dig into the root of the broken pieces of wordy leaves carrying the frustration and pain in their hearts.

'You think we'd follow a Kolis after what happened to the stewards of the Goldwood?' A string of words, cold, clear, and unwilling to change with the tide. Fenrer dug his fingers into his knuckles at their misplaced rage towards a man who had been eight during the night of the Desecration. Flowers wilted in hungry oil, not made of Derelict ooze. He tucked his nose on the edge of his tented fingers and tried not to bounce along to the pulsing auras, projecting Yuven's further around him in focus when the congregation of auric flames burst into an inferno at the peak of bitterness and resentment.

"Who does the king think he is?" the ringleader spat into the flames and sent a plume of embers from the edge of his annoyance. "I say we block off the roads for good. If they rely so much on our lumber, they should've thought of that before desecrating the groves and hillside! His bastard father salted the ground and murdered the stewards, including the children, in cold blood!" His fist slammed into the stone, which took the impact with ease. "I won't follow a Kolis ever again!"

People nodded along to his spitting flames and chimed in with their own grievances.

Fenrer breathed out in time with the arrows whizzing overhead in a memory. He released his hand to unhook his crescent blade to rest it on the ground, using his foot to nudge it out of the way of the boiling point. Yuven cast his gaze downwards, a pearl forming into a question, but he hoped for his Oathbound to understand without needing his constant words. Across from him, Adara's tension thickened the mist when her own knowledge stretched at uneasy familiarity of raucous patrons in a tavern. But we have always been so set in stubbornness... Fenrer rested his arm around his mug before taking one last drink for the road ahead.

"Sivaport will crumble without access through the Goldwood," one piped up. "I agree. I say we set up posts at the most used routes by his housecarls. They can go around, they can try their luck at Blackwater Pass or through the marshes, but they cannot be allowed to cross the forest."

"Molvisaliz," Yuven's came out a thin warning, but he set his plan in motion.

Fenrer twisted his knees out, then asked through the auras, "This vendetta won't lead anywhere," he said above the noise, causing the music to quiet in its curiosity, and the agitated Wolford residents to twist to him. "The war is over, and pressing upon old wounds won't bring the dead back to life." His arm burned beneath his band, but he tucked it closer to himself for a position of defense. "Haneka will never heal if we continue to go this route — you believe shutting down access through the Goldwood will make things harder on Heiise Reyn, but I'm afraid to tell you it wouldn't just be him. You would be affected as well for your stubbornness."