Warrior of the Moon

20

Xyris stood by the river and stared at his reflection in the calm waters. It was not very large; perhaps fifty feet across to the other shore. It flowed at a gentle pace, which was probably why it was called Harmony. If he had to guess, it probably gained the name during Queen Muiress and King Micah's reign; though he supposed there must have been times of peace before they took over, or else he was not sure why the heavens would have chosen their race to bestow magic upon.

He was here for many reasons. One of them was, of course, that he missed Cleamum, but it was more than that. Her note had sent an unpleasant jolt of realization through him. Where do you stand? she had asked him. He had been tempted to tell himself he belonged only at Cleamum's side, but with her so adamant that she was meant to stand with the Fae, it made him realize that perhaps that was truly where he should be, too.

His magic had emphasized that. The more he thought about the way it had tugged him toward the Infernals' invasion point, the more he understood that it had chosen him, out of anyone else in the Realm, to witness that scene. It had given him the chance to perhaps save lives, maybe even the kingdom city.

When he had denied it, he had denied his magic's - and thus, the heavens'- plan for him. His magic had been silent ever since, and that was not something he would accept. His magic was a part of him. The heavens were watching over him. And he would make up for his mistake.

"Hello?" he called out. Cleamum had written that he would find people to help in his next steps here; or at least, this is where he supposed she meant, given that it was the closest river to Kirkwell, streaming by just a few miles outside its borders. If he were to travel northeast for a few days, he would reach the Reaching Rill - the largest river in the Realm, he thought - but Cleamum had never been gone for more than a day at a time during their stay in Kirkwell. If she had been meeting with some kind of Fae rebels, it was far more likely that it had been here.

"My girlfr-- my friend, Cleamum Lutair, told me to come here if I wished to meet those who might help me join this fight," he went on, scanning the trees around him, even looking toward the opposite shore in the hopes that someone might appear.

He tried his best not to feel foolish as still, nothing happened. Every rustle of leaves had him whipping around, wondering if someone was trying to sneak up on him. He doubted that the Infernals would come to Kirkwell right away; it was too far west to make much sense if they wanted to tackle the bigger cities, though he supposed that it would not be too out of the way if they sought to go to Direcrest. Which, he realized with a twist of his stomach, would make a good amount of sense. Direcrest was known for housing most of the richest jewel mines in the Realm, which was why the Olin family was so wealthy.

At another noisy wind, Xyris turned completely away from the water, expecting an Infernal to be standing behind him and having no idea how he might fight them off. Of course, nobody was there, and with a deep breath, swearing at himself not to be a damned coward, he turned back around.

And jumped into the air like a damned coward.

The man standing at the very edge of the river had very clearly just arisen from it, his shoulder-length golden hair dripping-wet and plastered to his neck, though his simple white tunic and pants - cut off just below his knee - looked dry. He was not even wearing any shoes, but he had made time, apparently, to strap a sword to his waist.

Xyris instantly noted his pointed ears with relief; he was not an Infernal. Even his eyelashes had a few droplets of water stuck to them, which Xyris noticed as the man blinked the deep blue eyes he recognized immediately. How could he forget his run-in with Princess Serena, when she had looked at him over the bar with those piercing eyes; when even in her looped state, they had softened as she caught sight of the great General Wulf? The hue he remembered perfectly matched the eyes that were narrowed at him now.