The Past

Th'alane

Soon after our discovery, we attained a map of the area and bought fresh horses. We had resold the ones we acquired in the previous city, as we couldn't very well fit them on our ship. I instructed the innkeepers to keep little Anya fed while we were gone, and to search for her every evening if she did not return to the inn by sundown. One could not be too careful with a kitten that was as precious as a child.

As all five of us began our silent and tense ride inland, there was no discussion  to be had. Paves and I exchanged one glance, but–

"I understand that you believe me a hypocrite, Kinheal, but you were the one who decided to pursue the Mirror to begin with. You wanted to leave."

"Yes, but I planned on returning." I turned my head away from her, straightening my posture atop my horse. "You don't."

"Hmph."

That ended any possibility for conversation.
I had a goal, a quest, a duty, so why did it matter? Talk would not get us any closer to finding the Mirror.

When we made camp for the night, we had no shelter, so Teirr and I formed one ourselves. Hardened rock was not the most comfortable roof, as we did fear it could come down on us at any moment, but it was our only option.

I didn't want to light a proper fire, for fear of alerting bandits or wild animals, but Paves insisted. Wood was scarce, but the field we were in boasted peach trees, though few and far between. One of these such trees had been felled at least some nights before, and was just dry enough to be thrown into the flames.

It was the beginning of the fertile season then, so green sprouts were beginning to show on the other trees. Suddenly, the tree closest to us began to fill with buds at an alarming rate. Pink flowers came from those buds, then quickly turned to peaches. Standing behind the tree was a small blonde-haired, green-skinned, certain little someone.

"You! You followed me?" I asked him, walking up to the tree. "I'm afraid I never asked your name."

"I am Th'alane. I would like to help you on your journey, Princess." Th'alane was clearly very young, far too young to be journeying with us, so I said as much. "I- we can sense the Mirror, it is in our nature, like a beating in our heart. I will be able to tell when it is near."

Which he knew was an indispensable trait.

"All right," I said. "You may join us, but you must obey us, for your own safety."

"I am here to help."

"Why?" Athern could never just accept someone being good-natured, of course. "Kinheal told us that the Mirror steals your magic."

"We steal its magic, too." He pointed to Paves. "That girl is pregnant with the Prince's child, and it is a special child indeed. I knew it the moment Princess Kinheal mentioned it, and I will lay down my life to protect it, if I must."

We spent more than a month in the wilds of Xital, splitting into pairs to delve into each cavern. Teirr and I trained our ability to sense things through our abilities with the earth, as Th'alane guided us away from many dead ends. We relied on Athern's hunting for food long after our supply ran out.

One of the first things Th'alane did for us was to fortify our clothing. Though we all looked like forest people, we found that this enchanted leaf and flower material was much sturdier than any leather or cloth, but also much lighter. Our shoes allowed Teirr and I to better sense the earth beneath us while we searched, which also became helpful when Athern taught me to hunt. There were few nights that we didn't feast, and that was for lack of prey, not skill.
Paves and I made our peace, choosing to ignore our displeasure with each other, rather than allowing it to continue. Even so, after the long month, the Mirror was nowhere to be seen.

On our ride back to the city, called Little Iska, named after the god Xitan people worshipped, we passed through the field of peach trees once again. This time, full bloom was upon us.

Dozens of trees blessed the natural little orchard, each branch overflowing with bright pink blossoms that were starting to be replaced with small fruit.
Th'alane allowed his power to concentrate on one of the trees, speeding its blossom until ripe, ruby peaches dangled from every branch. Extending his small green hand out, he could not even reach the lowest one. Vines began to sprout from the ground and envelope his legs, pushing him upwards and allowing him to grab a peach.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to extend the branch?" Asked Teirr, taking a peach for himself.

"I cannot reverse growth, so the branch would permanently be over-extended, and that would damage the tree," he said. "Better to grow vines that will fall back to the ground and cause no issue."

We returned to the city and spent three days there before heading out to the next one, in another nearby country. From city to city we went, leaving little Anya at inns as we spent several months journeying by horse and on foot. Even upon reaching the southernmost point on the continent, called Vynao, we had not found the Mirror.

Disheartened, dishevelled, and disappointed, we opted to spend two weeks in one city, called Maiwerth.