Nightspun (#ONC_2020)

Chapter 18 - Nightspun

"Then we have our destination. I have to go where the map leads."

Amira's heart plummeted at her uncle's sudden declaration, her words caught in her chest but thankfully her mother was beside her to make sense of them and call him out on his nonsense.

"Wait...what are you talking about? You can't leave!" Zaria cried out furiously, hardly believing her brother's sudden declaration.

Amira could hardly believe it either but Rayner wasn't backing down. The look in his eyes was like nothing Amira had ever seen before. It was the same one she saw in Sybil the night she decided to become a Nightspun. It was the same one she gave as a trainee Combat Mage and it was the look Claud had given him when Rayner needed to be brought down a peg or two. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Everything is clearly marked on the map. It even states the Ironwood forest as a border. If I go to the site of Daybreak with a Portal rune tonight then there will be no one patrolling there. There has to be another reason why Siara mentioned it and not the sea. I think Daybreak collapsing was a sign, a way to help us safely leave Neridia." 

"That's insane! You can't prove that! Siara was probably just randomly choosing the best route for a Sunspell elf!" Zaria insisted, adamant to stop her family from leaving her.

"Whether it's random or it's been set in stone since the beginning, Siara somehow knew that this would happen. I don't know why but...now I don't have the duty of all Neridia on my shoulders I need to see this through." Rayner begged, the runes on his belt flaring a deep purple.

Amira had no idea how the earth collapsed under her without hurting anyone and the fact there was no physical change to this border meant it didn't harm the other side either. There were no runes, no traces of Casting, not even an Earthspell elf could've moved an entire hillside without casualties and more importantly there was no sign of the wrecked cabin. The only explanation was that it was some kind of miracle. So why Rayner felt the need to follow a mystery that only led nowhere based on a hunch was crazy.

"Idiot! You'll be an outcast, Rayner. They'll brand you as a Wildspell mage, you'll never be allowed to return. I can't...I can't say goodbye to you too." Zaria said, her eyes brimming with tears.

Rayner's fate made Amira gasp in shock, the guilt plain to see on his face. Wildspell mages were elves that did not pledge themselves to using or studying only one type of Casting. They were hermits cast out from Neridia's capital and never showed their face to anyone. The elfling Spinner Tales had named them 'Pale Faces' as they did not have the glow of the Laia given to each individual elf when they were born. He wanted to give up everything.

"Twenty years. You'll both have the power to rally a diplomatic mission in Two Moons. During that time, I will gather all the information I need about Sybil's father and these other places but only if you promise to wait twenty years. Whether you hear word from me or not."

It was then that Amira stood up, distraught at the thought of her mentor, her uncle, her family being nothing more than a stranger to her because of some stupid letter.

"No, uncle! I won't let you go without me, I'll fight you, I'll...father would never have wanted you to abandon us!" Amira cried out, the tears threatening to spill over.

Rayner saw her distress and gently placed his hand on her shoulder and hugged her tight but Amira wrenched away, furious at his crazy decision to leave them. She hit him as hard as she could again and again but just as he had done with Sybil he held her hand tight and begged her to look at him.

"Amira, Mira-cub, please. I need to do this. Not for Carver or my pride but for you. After he died he entrusted me to look after you, train you and take his place as the High Nightcaster. I wasn't able to do any of these things for you and now look at you."