Skwyr Court

Master Durwey walked him out of the hospital and through the castle. Apart from the occasional guiding word, she said nothing for most of the walk. Based on the surroundings he could feel, Oshal guessed they were walking to the forest.

Oshal didn’t know what Master Durwey knew. She hadn’t asked him any questions yet, but he knew they were coming. He’d broken the rules, and he was going to be in trouble. That’s what happened when people broke the rules.

They walked through a door and into the forest. Oshal carefully tapped his way around roots and sticks. They stopped after about 20 paces. Oshal listened to the chirping birds and squirrels racing through the trees. The wind rustled the leaves over his head.

“Our Lord High Artisan told me what he thinks happened,” Master Durwey said. “He said you were worried for your sister, and so you wove happiness into her.”

“That’s right.”

“I thought you knew better than that.”

Oshal didn’t know what to say. He would’ve thought so, too. His mother had stressed many times not to do exactly what he’d done. He’d thought of her at the time, hadn’t he? What had he been thinking? He’d known it was wrong, and he’d done it anyway. Roshil had been so happy when he’d done it, and nothing else had gotten through to her.

“Court rules dictate that I’m to take away your free reign privileges until such time as I can trust you again.”

“Oh.”

“I can sense the conflict you have with yourself.” Master Durwey allowed a little concern to filter through her carefully concealed emotions. “What’s on your mind, Apprentice Oshal?”

“I think Our Lord High Artisan is mad at me.”

Master Durwey dismissed his concerns.

“He always seems like he’s mad at someone. Perhaps he’s not happy with you, but he understands, I’m sure. Before long, he’ll have moved on. That’s the thing about being an adult. You begin to learn what really matters. Lord Grund knows I’ll take care of it. He’s said his piece, and now he’s left it to me.”

Oshal nodded, still feeling small.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Of course not. My opinions of your sister aside, I know you care deeply for her. I can sense it in you. I can also sense your guilt, as I’m sure Lord Grund could. But you must understand how dangerous it is to manipulate others’ emotions, even if you have the best of intentions.”

“Roshil was so upset. I was just trying to help.”

For a moment, Master Durwey didn’t speak. Oshal didn’t sense the usual discomfort with the topic of his sister. Instead, the usual silence he felt from Master Durwey had somehow gone more silent.

“My first apprentice thought he could help people. He thought it’d be better for the court if everyone were always happy. By the time I learned that he’d changed his ideas into reality, it was too late. He was completely convinced that he was doing the right thing.”

“What happened to him?”

“That’s not the point. The point is that he did a lot of damage before we stopped him. Many people needed a lot of time to recover. Some never did. He’d infected so many people. What happened to your sister happened to nearly a hundred people in the court, and more throughout the kingdom. Our gift is dangerous, and we mustn’t abuse it, no matter what our intentions may be.”

Oshal nodded. He was beginning to understand that now. He’d lived with his gift his entire life, but never had he realized how massive it was.

“It needn’t weigh on you. You’ve got a kind heart, Oshal. I know you want to do the right thing. It’s merely my job to ensure you don’t go about it the wrong way.”

Oshal smiled. Master Durwey had been so hesitant around him at first (not unlike everyone else he’d met in the past few years), but she was alright.

“Will Roshil be okay?”

“I’m sure she’ll be back to making the court uncomfortable in no time.”

“She doesn’t mean to!”

“I’m sorry. Of course, she doesn’t. I mean there won’t be any lasting side effects. We caught it before it got out of hand. Lord Grund will see to it that she recovers and doesn’t end up in a euphoria den.”

“What’s a euphoria den?”

Master Durwey hesitated, giving Oshal the impression that she hadn’t intended to mention it to him.

“The court was built in the forest many years ago. We couldn’t expand, so the builders had to plan for a larger population. Thus, we have several buildings that aren’t being used for anything. Some weavers use these buildings to hide in, weaving happiness into other people for money. It’s illegal, but the court doesn’t want to be everywhere, less we make people nervous and paranoid. These places are called euphoria dens. It becomes a problem when people experience symptoms as Apprentice Roshil did, and a dire problem when they get addicted to it.”

Oshal nodded again, understanding why Nourd liked the forest so much. Everything was complicated in the court. He had to walk carefully, always worrying about his gift. Not checking up on people, not eavesdropping on their emotions, not forcing emotion into people. Out in the forest, everything was calm, peaceful, and simple. Birds flew by, squirrels and chipmunks played, and the trees swayed in the breeze.

“I like it here,” he said.

“I’m glad. I thought this would be a better place to talk. I don’t think punishing you is necessary.”

“I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble. I can’t go anywhere on my own anyway.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“Can I still visit Nourd?”

“I’m sure we can arrange something. I was impressed by how well Apprentice Nourd handled being around Apprentice Roshil.”

Oshal smiled, full of pride for his friend, and hope that Nourd and Roshil could get along one day. Not only that, but maybe Roshil would be happy one day too. He wondered how she was doing. He hoped she was okay.

“May we please stay here a little longer?”

“We can stay as long as you like.”

#VolumeTwo #HowToHelp

Nourd stirred as the first flecks of light shone over the city walls. The sound of birds chirping made it feel almost like home. Almost.

Everything still smelled wrong. Almost three moons he’d been there, and it still didn’t feel like home. He longed to return to the forest, but Master Gorkle insisted it would “impede the progress” they’d been making. He wasn’t allowed in the castle all the time to see Oshal, and he wasn’t allowed to return to the forest to see his family. Nourd did not care for it here.

He sat up. Some of the other druids were stirring. They slept in a special part of the gardens, sectioned off from the rest of the area. While Nourd liked the feel of grass beneath his feet, it felt wrong. The air wasn’t abound with energy like it was in the forest. It was too organized.

Master Gorkle had told him that he needed time to adjust to being in the court before he could start spending more time in the castle. Nourd hadn’t been in the castle yet, nor did he think he wanted to. Until he thought about Oshal again, and then he wanted to be wherever Oshal was.

Nourd wondered what Oshal was doing. Was he with his sister again? She gave him a feeling as though a nest of spiders were crawling over him, but saying anything about it upset Oshal, so he focused on anything else when he was with them. So long as Oshal was happy, Nourd could tolerate Roshil.

Something caught his attention. Some sound coming from another part of the gardens. Nourd stretched his arms, then his legs, in the way that Elder Wolf had taught him, then crept toward the noise.

He walked through rows of tall bushes. There were trees around the area, hiding the speaker from sight. She smelled like an apprentice, the same sort of earthy smell that all apprentices had. And her words were strange. They didn’t make any sense to Nourd.

Water trickles over a creek Sustaining the earth and creatures Giving life to all it touches Echoes of birds chirping Tossed around between trees By the cool wind Green sparkles in the sky Twinkling with the sunlight of a clear day When night falls glittering stars shine and moonlight illuminates a brand new world

Her words sent Nourd back home. He heard the calls of the birds, the howl of wolves, and grumbles of bears. The wind shook the leaves, speaking to all who could hear. And the smells. Bark and pine, fresh water on grass, and fruit growing for those who knew where to look. The smell of wolves and bears, of apes and deer. The smells of home.

“Excuse me?”

Nourd opened his eyes and found a girl staring at him. Her skin was a pale peachy color, like Master Gorkle’s and Roshil’s. Her thick black hair hung to one side over her shoulder. She held a book with both arms, as though to protect it from him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I heard a noise, and I came to hunt it.”

“Um… what?”

The girl didn’t understand him. That happened a lot. When it did, Oshal had told him to try being nice. That’s what Oshal did, and it always worked.

“I liked the words you spoke,” Nourd said. “They made me think of home.”

“Thank you? It’s supposed to be about the forest.”

“That is where I lived until I was forced to come live here.”

The girl stared at him, smelling of confusion and a hint of fear. She reminded him of a time he’d tried being nice to a rabbit.

“Does the court know you’re here?”

“Yes. I am Master Gorkle’s apprentice.”

Rabbit Girl nodded. She clearly wanted to escape to her warren before he ate her.

“I will not eat you,” Nourd said to assure her.

“Okay.”

His words had not assured her. This was one part about humans he didn’t understand. Even when you insisted you wouldn’t eat, hunt, or kill them, they still believed that you would. If anything, they seemed to believe it more when you told them that.

“Um… I have to go now,” she said, pointing toward the rest of the gardens. She sidled away.

“What do the humans call you?” Nourd asked, remembering something Master Gorkle had taught him called “manners”.

Rabbit Girl froze. What little relief that she had started to feel disappeared.

“Um… Apprentice Anej?”

“I am Nourd.” He thought for a moment, then added, “Apprentice Nourd.”

“Sure. It was… nice to meet you, I guess.”

Anej turned around and walked off, keeping her head down.

Nourd watched her go, still thinking about her words. What were they? Had she been in the forest? Whatever they were, he liked them. He tried to remember them, but he couldn’t. How had it gone? Water, and life, and birds. Leaves were part of it too, he was pretty sure.

He took a deep breath, getting an idea of her scent. Master Gorkle had told him he wasn’t supposed to track people by their scents. It related to the thing called “manners”, which didn’t make sense to Nourd. It sounded like some sort of mating ritual, but he didn’t want to mate with Anej, he wanted to hear her words again.

He began to follow her trail, but then he caught another, more familiar scent.

Master Gorkle walked through the gardens, hir sight set on Nourd. That meant zie wanted Nourd for something. Maybe it was time to go back to the forest.

“Apprentice Nourd.”

Nourd turned to face zie.

“You’re supposed to stand attention when a master approaches you,” Master Gorkle said.

Nourd stood up straighter.

“Much better. Today we’re going to go to the castle. It’s not time for you to stay there full-time yet, but we’re going to try just walking around today.”

“I want to see Oshal. Will he be there?”

Master Gorkle nodded. “Apprentice Oshal will be there, yes. He and Lady Durwey will accompany us.”

Nourd smiled and followed Master Gorkle, Anej’s words still drifting through his head. For a moment, he’d been back in the forest without being there. He didn’t know if it was some other form of human magic, but he’d liked it. He wanted to know more about it. Perhaps Oshal would know.

#VolumeTwo #TheRightWords

Nourd walked with Master Gorkle through the court to the castle entrance. He’d tried the other entrances before, but after nearly being sick, Master Gorkle had decided it wasn’t a good idea. This way also gave them the opportunity to see more of the city.

Hundreds of scents floated through the air. Not only human emotion, but food. Nourd was fascinated by all the food the humans had. Not only fruit and plants, but pastries, breads, and sweets. Sweets were Nourd’s favorite. He’d tried chocolate with Oshal, and hadn’t thought of anything else for the rest of the day.

Nourd caught the scent of chocolate and stopped walking.

“I smell chocolate,” he said, his excitement growing. “I want some now. May I have some now?”

“No,” Master Gorkle said. “Too many sweets will make you sick.”

“But chocolate is delicious. How can it also make me sick?”

Master Gorkle emanated patience at all times. The only exception was when they were around Roshil. Zie didn’t like her either, but zie’d explained that they had to tolerate her. Nourd hadn’t needed a reason for that; he knew it was to keep Oshal happy.

“That’s how it is with sweets,” Master Gorkle said. “They can also hurt your teeth, so you need to be careful.”

Nourd wondered why there were so many rules in the human world, but he’d already asked that question many times. Master Gorkle had reminded him that there were a lot of rules in the forest too, but Nourd knew them all, because he’d grown up with them.

They reached the castle entrance, where Oshal and Lady Durwey were waiting for them. Lady Durwey was never far from Oshal. While humans all looked different, she looked more so than others. Her skin was darker, and her hair fell around her shoulders in distinct strands. Nourd thought it looked like wool. When he’d asked to touch it, Master Gorkle had gotten upset, but Lady Durwey had calmly told him that most people didn’t want you touching their hair. It was yet another part of “manners”.

“You wouldn’t ask Elder Wolf that, would you?” Master Gorkle had said.

Nourd had agreed. Elder Wolf would simply devour any human that tried touching her.

Oshal smiled. Nourd liked it when Oshal smiled. It reminded him of eating chocolate. It was the same rush, the same exhilaration. Nourd had the impulse to throw his arms around Oshal.

“I am happy that you are alive,” Nourd said.

“I’m happy you are too,” Oshal replied.

The way Anej had treated him was the same as almost every other human did. Nourd didn’t like feeling so out of place, but he never did with Oshal.

“I wish to squeeze you with my arms,” Nourd said.

“We call that ‘hugging’,” Oshal said. He spread his arms. “Go ahead.”

Nourd wrapped his arms around Oshal and squeezed. Oshal did the same, although somewhat more gently than Nourd did.

“Please stop now,” Oshal said through a strained voice. “You’re squeezing too hard.”

Nourd let go of him and stepped back. He liked Oshal’s smiles, but he liked his hugs even better.

“I liked that,” Nourd said.

“Me too, but try being a little softer next time.”

“I will try.”

“We should get going,” Lady Durwey said. “Apprentice Oshal and I have a busy day ahead of us.”

The four of them walked into the castle. As always, they walked slowly to allow Oshal to keep up.

“The castle is a large square,” Master Gorkle said. “It can take time to get where you need to go, but it’s easy enough to find your way.”

Nourd smelled the air. It smelled of humans, and something faintly sweet.

“What do I smell?” He smelled again. “It smells like flowers.”

“Every few weeks, the staff rubs flower water on the walls to make it smell nice,” Master Gorkle said.

Nourd wasn’t sure how he felt about using dead flowers to make a human dwelling smell nicer. He liked the smell, but the thought of killing flowers to make it happen didn’t sit well with him.

“I do not think I like that,” he said.

“It would smell worse without it,” Master Gorkle said. “We pick flowers and put them around the castle. That’s mostly what you smell. As they wilt, while they still have a scent, they’re crushed to make the water they put on the walls.”

Nourd had seen flowers around the court. Master Gorkle and Oshal had explained those to him as well. He didn’t like that either.

They walked down a long tunnel, which Master Gorkle called a corridor. It was lined with doors, like the ones on the human dwellings.

“Do humans live in these?” Nourd asked.

“No, these are rooms the masters can use to meet with their apprentices alone,” Master Gorkle explained.

“Or when some of them want to study together,” Oshal added.

“Apprentices live in the north tower,” Master Gorkle said. “As a druid, you’ll sleep in the gardens. You will still have a room set aside for you, if you want one.”

“Why would I need one?”

“To store changes of clothes, which you will be required to have, among other things. For now, we can continue to provide you with clothing.”

“We’re between the south and east towers,” Lady Durwey said. “Masters sleep in those two. The west tower is where the officers’ rooms are. You are never to go there unless specifically invited by an officer.”

“In the middle of the castle is the great hall,” Master Gorkle said. “That is where meals are served.”

“Is there chocolate?” Nourd asked, getting excited.

Oshal smiled at him, making Nourd feel even more excited.

“Sometimes,” Master Gorkle said. “As I said earlier, sweets must be enjoyed in moderation.”

They walked a little further before Master Gorkle pointed out one of the doors.

“There are doors that lead to many different places in the kingdom,” zie said. “One for the library, one for the forge, and one for each of the temples. There are doors that lead into the forest, and one that leads to the school.”

Master Gorkle had explained each of these to him before. A library was a sick, twisted place where humans splattered plant juice over dead trees. The forge was where they bashed pieces of earth together to make weapons with which to slaughter innocent animals, and occasionally other humans. The temples were places where humans worshiped things they couldn’t see that occasionally helped them kill each other better, and a school was a sort of prison where humans went to learn about all the ways humans had killed each other in the past.

While Nature’s Power allowed him to understand human speech (as much was possible), it didn’t allow him to read it. He saw what humans called “letters” or “numbers” on each door, but didn’t know what any of them meant.

“What is this door?” he asked, pointing to the door Master Gorkle had indicated earlier.

Oshal walked over to it and felt a series of bumps next to do the door.

“It’s the Temple of Words,” Oshal said. “They worship Yvgrengher, deity of literature, poetry, and music.” He turned back to them. “He teaches them that the right words can change the hearts and minds of anyone.”

Nourd frowned. He knew what literature and music were, but he’d never heard of poetry before.

“What is ‘poetry’?” he asked.

“It’s when you put words together to make people think differently about something,” Oshal said. “Or to make them think of something specific.”

Nourd thought of Anej and her words. Had that been poetry?

“Like Apprentice Anej,” he said. “She spoke of the forest, about things that weren’t there.”

“Apprentice Anej is an apprentice priest at the Temple of Words,” Lady Durwey said. “She was probably practicing poetry in the gardens.”

“I enjoyed it,” Nourd said.

“I’m glad,” Oshal said. “Maybe we can go there together some time. Tomorrow’s not too busy.”

Neither Lady Durwey nor Master Gorkle smelled happy about it. They stared at each other, although Nourd didn’t know why.

“Perhaps tomorrow,” Lady Durwey said. “Only if we can get everything else done today that we need.”

If Nourd had been a wolf, he would’ve been wagging his tail. Not only would he be seeing Oshal two days in a row, but he’d be able to go to the Temple of Words where Anej was and hear her poetry again. Perhaps then he’d be able to feel at home again, even if he couldn’t return.

#VolumeTwo #TheRightWords

The next morning, Anej wasn’t in the gardens reciting poetry. While Nourd was a little disappointed, it quickly went away when he remembered he’d be going with Oshal to the Temple of Words later that day.

He still couldn’t remember the words she’d used. He could only remember how he’d felt and what he’d seen. For a moment, he’d been back in the forest, back where everything made sense, back where he knew where he belonged. Nourd hoped that would happen every time he heard those words. If he heard them again, he could pretend to go back, even if he couldn’t really go back there.

He’d tried imagining himself in the forest, but it didn’t work the same as when he’d heard Anej’s poem. He still couldn’t smell or hear the forest on his own. It wouldn’t matter though, not once he heard Anej’s poem again.

“We’ll go to the Temple of Words today,” Master Gorkle said when he arrived to fetch Nourd. Nourd could sense hir reluctance. Was there something wrong with going to the Temple of Words? Perhaps there would be hunters there.

“I do not have problems with hunters.”

A brief smell of confusion passed through Master Gorkle.

“Hunters aren’t my concern. When you’re there, you’ll need to follow the rules. Keep quiet. Don’t make any assumptions about what people are talking about. If they use words you’ve never heard before, wait for them to explain what they mean.” Zie sighed. “They do that.”

Master Gorkle’s attitude toward the Temple of Words reminded him a little of when Mother would try to keep peace between the tribes. Perhaps there were people there that argued all the time. Nourd had seen humans arguing many times during his brief stay at the court. Perhaps they were all angry about how complicated being a human was.

They met Oshal and Lady Durwey later that day. It always brightened Nourd’s spirits to see him. The exhilaration made him think of jumping through the treetops with the apes. He didn’t care what the birds said; flying couldn’t be as much fun.

Once again, they walked through the court rather than the castle. Most people moved out of their way, not unlike when they’d been through the court with Oshal’s family. Unlike that time, people moved away out of respect. He’d smelled their fear before. The humans didn’t like Roshil either.

“Here we are,” Lady Durwey said as they approached a large human dwelling.

Outside the temple there were two large stones carved into the shape of humans. One of them was frozen with her mouth open, looking out to a public that wasn’t there. The other had his head down, absorbed in the material in front of him.

“What are they?” Nourd asked. “Why are they like that?”

“They’re statues,” Master Gorkle explained. “Depictions of people that might’ve been alive long ago.”

“Why do humans keep dead humans in stone?”

He had heard that some humans stuffed dead animals, like the monsters humans were. They could at least have the decency to eat the animals and use their pelts to keep warm.

“They aren’t kept in stone. It’s… symbolic.”

“I—”

“I know you don’t know what that means.” Master Gorkle drew in a breath, but he let it out without explaining.

“Yvgrengher teaches the importance of books,” Oshal said. “When humans see statues, they think it must be something important. So they built statues of people reading to show how important books are.”

“Why do humans think carved stones of dead humans are important?”

“Because it takes a lot of work to carve the stone into dead humans,” Oshal replied. “So when people see that someone took the time and effort to make it, they think it must be important.”

Nourd looked at the statues again. He didn’t understand the significance, but he agreed that it must’ve taken a lot of time to make them. Perhaps there was significance in them.

Lady Durwey smiled at Oshal as the four of them walked inside the temple. Inside was a large cavern lined with trees carved into shapes. On those shapes were housed books, packed tightly together. Master Gorkle had told Nourd about books before, along with his explanation of a library. Books were dead trees with crushed up plants smeared on them, bound together by animal skin. Supposedly they were important to humans. In addition to the passing stories and survival skills from one generation to the next by way of teaching, they also did so with books.

Nourd could understand that somewhat. It would be helpful to know more than just what the previous generation remembered. There were times when he wondered if it would be helpful to know everything Elder Wolf’s ancestors knew.

A human male walked out to greet them. He wore robes of black, covered with sparkling pieces.

“My Lady Grand Weaver, Grand Master Druid. Welcome to the Temple of Words. May Yvgrengher share His infinite knowledge and wisdom with you.”

“Thank you, Master Rindumna,” Lady Durwey said. She motioned to Nourd. “Apprentice Nourd is new in the court, and was curious about the temple.”

“Of course. The temple welcomes all with a thirst for knowledge.” He looked down at Nourd. “What is it you would like to know, Apprentice Nourd?”

“How can one be thirsty for knowledge? One cannot drink knowledge.”

Master Rindumna frowned at Nourd, then at Master Gorkle.

“He doesn’t know what a metaphor is,” Master Gorkle said. “Apprentice Nourd was raised in the forest by Mother.”

“There was a woman reading words in the gardens yesterday about the forest,” Nourd said. “Master Gorkle said it was ‘poetry’. How does a human make poetry?”

“You allow the feelings in your heart to well up inside you, until it bursts forth in a shining fountain of your inner self.”

Nourd looked down at his chest. He’d seen what was inside a heart. It was just blood and bits of flesh. Did Master Rindumna mean he had to stab himself and bleed out? He was certain that would kill him.

Oshal raised his hand.

“Yes, Apprentice Oshal?” Lady Durwey said.

“Nourd, I think Master Rindumna means that you make poetry by writing down what you’re feeling.” Oshal turned his blind gaze to Master Rindumna. “Right?”

“I suppose that’s another way of explaining it,” Master Rindumna said, somewhat crestfallen. “If one were to use simple language.”

“Is Apprentice Anej here?” he asked. He smelled the air, but there were too many humans.

“She’s not here right now,” Master Rindumna said.

“She wrote a poem about the forest. I want to hear it again.”

“Nothing soothes the weary soul quite like a recitation from the heart.”

Nourd opened his mouth to ask, then remembered Master Gorkle’s orders not to ask questions.

“He means he likes poetry too,” Master Gorkle said.

“I do not know poetry yet. But I liked Apprentice Anej’s words. Do you know what they were?”

This human with his words that were more confusing than normal human words was making Nourd angry. He hadn’t come to be talked to in confusing words, he’d come to hear Anej’s words again.

“Whatever her chosen lyrics, she has yet to recite them for other ears to enjoy.”

“That means ‘no’,” Master Gorkle said. “I think it’s time we left.”

“But I haven’t heard Apprentice Anej’s words.”

“I’m sure we’ll find her again.”

“But—”

“Nourd,” Oshal said. “Please?”

Nourd sensed that Oshal wanted to leave too, so he allowed himself to be led out of the temple. Another human thing. Humans that made everything confusing. Humans that kept him from going back to the forest.

“Maybe you can write your own,” Oshal suggested as they walked back to the castle.

“I cannot write.”

“Sorry, that’s an expression. Maybe you can come up with a poem. You know the forest better than anyone.”

Nourd began to get an idea, remembering what Oshal had said earlier about poetry. It was about saying the words from his head. Was that all it took? He knew how to say the words… somewhat. Maybe he could come up with the same words Apprentice Anej had. Maybe he could use his own words to return to the forest.

#VolumeTwo #TheRightWords

Nourd sat in the gardens that evening, trying to put words together. It didn’t help that every time he thought he had something, it didn’t come out right. Human language was so confusing.

How was poetry supposed to work? How could he dream of the forest with his own words? If he needed words, how was he supposed to know the right words? What if he didn’t know the right words?

He caught a familiar scent and spotted Oshal entering the gardens. There was a girl with him, one with brown skin. He had his arm through hers.

“Thank you, Demndun,” Oshal said. “I can find my way from here.” Oshal frowned in concentration, something he did when he was sensing for someone, then beamed. He turned toward an apprentice sitting on his own. “Apprentice Kurgm!”

The boy smiled at Oshal and walked over to him. The girl with Oshal, Demndun, froze in place, like a squirrel that had just heard a hawk overhead.

“Apprentice Kurgm, have you met Apprentice Demndun?” Oshal asked.

“We have history together, don’t we?” Kurgm asked.

“Yeah,” Demndun said. “You’re… um… you’re really good at it.”

“I’ll see you both later,” Oshal said, smelling rather proud of himself. He tapped his way over to Nourd and sat down.

“I believe that female wants to mate with that male,” Nourd said. “Why does she make no indication of it? Her current approach is not going to work. He is not aware of this.”

“They’ll figure it out. It’s harder for humans.”

This didn’t come as a shock to Nourd. Everything was harder for humans. Why did they make their lives so difficult?

“Why?”

“Because it doesn’t feel good when you get rejected by someone you like, so most people don’t risk saying anything. Other people close themselves off so no one can hurt them.”

Nourd wondered if he would be the same. So far, the only person he liked at all was Oshal, but Oshal was male. Oshal couldn’t be his mate, could he?

“Are you still worrying about poetry?” Oshal asked.

“I liked the words Anej used,” Nourd said, allowing his lingering confusion to fade away. “But I cannot remember what they were.”

Oshal scrunched up his face in thought. Nourd wondered what words he would use to describe Oshal, but he didn’t know the human language well enough to do even that.

“Maybe it’s like weaving,” Oshal said at last. “Humans can use weaving to make other humans feel something. I… I’ve done it before, but…” Oshal’s voice trailed off. He shook his head and smiled. “Everything’s fine now. Anyway, I can’t use it on myself. Not exactly, anyway. Trying to use weaving on myself is just thinking happy thoughts. I think poetry is like weaving, but using words to change peoples’ minds instead of threads.”

Oshal had tried explaining weaving to him before, but that was the first time Nourd had ever understood it. Could Oshal make him feel at home, like Anej had?

“Can you use weaving on me?”

Oshal shook his head. The air filled with panic and fear, something Nourd had never smelled coming from Oshal before.

“No. No, I can’t. I… I can’t explain why, but I can’t. Well, I can, but I shouldn’t. Weaving’s dangerous, and I shouldn’t use it on other people.”

Nourd began to panic too. Oshal had never been like this. Nourd knew he’d upset other humans, and had learned not to care about them, but Oshal was different. He didn’t want to upset Oshal.

“I did not mean to upset you.”

Oshal took several deep breaths. The fear in the air began to fade away.

“It’s fine. I… It’s nothing to worry you about. I’m sorry.”

Oshal smiled at him, but it wasn’t the same smile as usual. There was something different about him. Maybe it was the lingering smell of fear coming from him. It didn’t smell right on Oshal. It was foul, sickening, like a body that had been rotting too long in the sun.

“You smell scared,” Nourd said. “I do not like it.”

They sat together in silence for a time. The smells around Oshal shifted through fear and happiness, but they all faded away the longer the silence persisted.

“Next time you go into the forest, write down how it makes you feel. Then next time you miss it, you’ll have something to remind you of the forest.”

“I cannot read or write. Master Gorkle is teaching me, but it is confusing. I like it better in the forest, where everything is communicated with smells.”

“Oh. Maybe someone can write it down for you.”

Nourd perked up. “You can write it for me. I really want you to see the forest. You would like it there. It is safe, and there are rules that are not confusing like human rules, and the creatures are friendly and do not get frightened when you insist that you will not kill them. They will all like you a lot, because you are nice and will not hunt innocent forest creatures.”

Oshal smiled, and this time, it was a good smile.

“That sounds nice. I would like to go some time, but I can’t write anymore. I didn’t like writing before, or reading really. The grownups in our tribe used to tell us stories, but books were always really boring. Not for Roshil, though. If she wants to know something, she won’t stop until she’s figured it out.”

“Stories make more sense. That is how wisdom is passed down through generations in the forest. We learn to survive that way.” Nourd thought for a moment, then added, “You should still come to the forest.”

He thought of how happy Oshal would be to see everything in the forest. Elder Wolf and Elder Bear would like him. He wouldn’t be able to play with the wolf pups like Nourd could, but Oshal was always so happy and kind that they would like him anyway.

“I like the forest,” Oshal said. “I haven’t spent much time there, but it’s so peaceful. I don’t have to worry about how everyone’s feeling.”

“Oshal!”

The boy from earlier, Kurgm, came over to them.

“It’s almost curfew,” he said. “Demndun and I are going to start heading back.”

“Okay,” Oshal said. “Apprentice Kurgm, this is Apprentice Nourd. He’s a druid.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kurgm said.

Nourd still didn’t understand the correct way to greet someone. Was that it? “Nice to meet you”? What if it wasn’t nice at all? Nourd didn’t want to meet this person, he wanted to talk with Oshal more.

Oshal took a piece of something humans called “parchment” from one of his holding sacks, or “pouches” as Master Gorkle called them.

“I know you can’t read it,” Oshal said, “but I found Apprentice Anej at dinner and asked her to write down her poem.” He pressed it into Nourd’s hand. Oshal’s hand was warm and gentle. It sent a tingling feeling through Nourd’s arm. “Maybe Grand Master Gorkle can teach you to read it.”

The jumpiness that Nourd felt when he ate chocolate returned. A smile stretched over his face.

“Maybe you can write your own someday,” Oshal said. “I always like to hear about your life in the forest.” He stood up. “We’ll talk more later, okay?”

“Yes. Of course. More later. Tomorrow?”

“I’ll try.” Oshal smiled at him. “Good night.”

“It is a good night.” Nourd’s voice sounded strange to him. It was crackly and higher than normal.

Nourd watched them leave, then looked down at the parchment in his hand. He didn’t have any dead skin holding sacks of his own, but he could ask Master Gorkle for one. For once, he had something worth keeping.

#VolumeTwo #TheRightWords

Grund wheeled his way to the gardens, Roshil at his side. He didn’t much care for Gorkle’s new apprentice, but zie had convinced him that Apprentice Nourd wasn’t about to try to kill Roshil. Besides, if he tried, Grund had at least six ways of stopping him.

And all without getting out of your chair.

Pwurmn used to make jokes like that. He’d always say it with a goofy smile on his face, one with which Grund had fallen in love after the first time he’d seen it. To Pwurmn, Grund’s legs were no big deal.

Grund pushed all that back down, knowing that Durwey would be there with them. She’d pick up on the slightest hint of emotion, and then she’d ask about it as if he wanted to talk about it.

Sure enough, Durwey and Gorkle were sitting on a bench in the gardens. They had a perfect view of Nourd and Oshal, who were walking through the gardens. Nourd kept asking Oshal questions, and, impressively, Oshal always had an answer.

I guess you get good at that when you grow up with Roshil.

Roshil stopped walking when she spotted the others. Grund sensed her hesitance, and another feeling, one he’d worked out was a desire to run and hide behind a project in the forge.

“You don’t have to do this today, but you will eventually, so you might as well get it over with.”

Nourd stopped talking to Oshal and sniffed the air. He turned and glared at Roshil and Grund.

“Don’t glare at an officer!” Grund barked.

Oshal stood at attention. A moment later, Nourd did the same.

At least he’s learning.

“Hello, My Lord,” Oshal said.

“Apprentice Oshal. Apprentice Nourd.” He turned to Roshil. “Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Um… okay.” Roshil had been different over the past few months, but at least Grund knew why. It’d have been worse if she’d been acting different for no reason.

He went over to Durwey and Gorkle, leaving Roshil to awkwardly get along with Nourd and Oshal.

“‘Bringing him into the castle’,” Grund said. “You sure he’s ready?”

Gorkle nodded. “He’s made good progress. I don’t think it’ll be for another few months. I want to know he’s going to get along with everyone.”

“Really? So you’re not going to set him loose on any certain cursed apprentices?”

“Don’t make me separate you two,” Durwey said, glaring at them both. “You both understand the circumstances of the others’ apprentice, so don’t start a fight. It’s one thing to do this in meetings, but don’t you dare start in public.”

Grund found it a little amusing how different Durwey was around them than she was around her own apprentice. Like Emgard, she had no problem putting herself in the middle of a fight to break it up.

They watched Oshal trying to engage both Nourd and Roshil. Grund doubted he’d find common ground, but if anyone could, it was Oshal.

“How is she?” Durwey asked. “Recovering?”

Grund folded his arms. “It’s hard to tell with her. Even before Apprentice Oshal’s mistake, and before her own, she was always a little erratic. She listens alright, but I can tell there are days when she’s trapped inside a memory and can’t figure out how to get out.”

They sat in silence again. Roshil mumbled something that made Oshal light up. Nourd begrudgingly added something to their conversation, which made Oshal even more delighted.

“There are times I can tell Apprentice Oshal remembers, too. He can still sense that dragon.”

“We could go after it,” Gorkle said in a low voice. “Remove the problem entirely.”

“King Fohra expressly forbade us from doing so,” Durwey said.

“It won’t help them,” Grund added, nodding at Oshal and Roshil, the former of whom had taken over the conversation again. “He’ll be alive in their minds for years to come.”

Gorkle looked like zie was about to argue, but another arrival in the gardens silenced him.

Lady Emgard entered the gardens, supported by her staff, followed by Apprentice Aonva. While Emgard walked over to join them, Aonva stood awkwardly with the other three apprentices.

“Apprentice Aonva!” Oshal exuded excitement, while his sister avoided eye contact.

“Hi,” Roshil said to the ground. “Um… How… how are you?”

“I’m alright,” Aonva said, also avoiding eye contact.

“Come to join our party?” Grund asked as Emgard sat down next to him.

Emgard motioned to the apprentices. “If Apprentice Nourd and Apprentice Roshil are going to be forced to get along, I thought Apprentice Roshil would like some reinforcements.”

Grund watched the four of them for a moment. Roshil was a little happier for the company, Apprentice Aonva’s in particular, but nothing compared to Oshal’s enthusiasm. The boy introduced Nourd and Aonva, then began directing many of Nourd’s questions to Aonva. As he started talking, she started explaining, and the general energy level among the four of them increased.

“If that boy has questions,” Lady Emgard said, smiling as though she’d won some competition, “Apprentice Aonva has no shortage of answers.”

“It certainly takes the burden off us to answer his questions.” Gorkle sounded as though zie had been running for days and had only just been told zie was allowed to take breaks.

“Have you officially taken over her apprenticeship from Kaernin?” Grund asked.

“Of course not. I’m far too old to be running after an apprentice these days, but we do research together. I don’t mind saying that Apprentice Aonva might be one of the most brilliant apprentices I’ve seen.”

“Do you know why she does her hair like that?” Durwey asked. “It can’t be comfortable, forcing her hair into those braids.”

“Her parents have some rather critical views of what men expect of her, I’m afraid. Including not allowing her hair to grow naturally. By the way, I love the blue beads you’ve got today.”

“Thank you.” Durwey held up a strand of her hair. “I saw them in the market the other day and couldn’t resist. And it helps Apprentice Oshal when I wear the beads. I’ve got a few books on Bywin hair I can lend to Apprentice Aonva.”

“I’m sure she would love that.” Raising her voice, she added, “Now if only we could introduce Apprentice Roshil to a comb.”

“Looks fine to me,” Grund said, smirking. “Besides, the girl wants to hide her eyes.”

“Can’t think why,” Gorkle muttered.

Grund and Emgard glared at him.

“Sorry,” zie mumbled.

Three of the four apprentices stopped and pulled out their orbs.

“That’ll be the curfew warning,” Durwey said, getting to her feet. “It was nice spending time together outside a council meeting.”

There were general murmurs of agreement as Emgard and Gorkle stood up.

Grund watched as each of them left. Emgard and Aonva left, with Durwey and Oshal behind them. Gorkle led Nourd to a separate part of the gardens where the druids slept.

He made his way over to Roshil.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

Roshil nodded. There was something different about her. A little bit of her old self was back.

“I haven’t gotten to talk to Aonva in a while,” she said, more to herself than to him.

“There are plenty more days like this one,” he said. “You’ll be so happy, you’ll be sick of it.”

Roshil laughed a little.

See? I always said you’d be good at this.

Grund glanced at Roshil, who was lost in her own world already.

I guess we both got to talk to people we’ve missed tonight.

#VolumeTwo

She beat her wings. The ground rushed past far below her. The wind whipped her face. The people that had once cast her out were so small now. All of her old problems were nothing. She was free.

She tilted her wings and curved her tail, circling around the court. Her claws grazed the treetops as she glided over the forest. People pointed and ran from her, but she didn’t care. She didn’t have to care about anything anymore.

With another flap of her wings, she soared away. Away from the court. Away from the hate. Away from all her problems.

Roshil opened her eyes. She was on solid ground. Her bed. The blankets had been hurled about while she’d slept, but at least she was where she expected to be. She turned over and checked her identification orb. There was still time before the end of curfew.

She stared at the ceiling in the dark, or the black space where the ceiling usually was. What if she stayed in bed all day? For one thing, she’d never hear the end of it from Master Grund. He’d never had occasion to drag her out of her bed before, but there was a first time for everything.

Sitting up, she started to scratch a spot on her back, then caught herself. That particular spot burned, and she knew why. She didn’t know for sure — she refused to let anyone else see it — but she was confident that scratching it would only make it worse. Instead, she laid her fingers on it. Some small part of her thought that maybe it was getting better, that it’d shrunk. That part of her quickly ran for cover when the rest of her laughed at it, reminding her that life was never that simple nor fair.

She made her usual halfhearted attempt at making her bed (she was the only one that could enter her room, so why bother?), then climbed down to the floor. Grabbing clean clothes, she washed up. Before she threw on her undershirt, she examined her back again in the mirror. Among the scars that had once bothered her was that spot. Now that she could clearly see it, she could say for certain that it was not getting smaller.

“It’s spreading,” she grumbled, then threw on her undershirt and tunic.

While she’d been informed by Master Ekla that her body would be undergoing changes (she’d noticed many of them already), she was certain that wasn’t supposed to be one of them. Despite her grievances with the other ones, at least those were normal.

Roshil brushed her hair, then adjusted it so it was shielding her eyes. She’d learned that people didn’t bother her as much when they couldn’t see her eyes clearly. Master Grund didn’t allow her to take goggles out of the forge, and insisted that she didn’t need to wear anything over her eyes. He didn’t bother her about her hair, so she would have to make do with that.

She gathered up her belongings, then checked her identification orb again. Curfew was almost over, so Roshil sat in front of the door and waited.

“I’m starting my second year, and I still can’t leave until curfew’s over. What am I going to get up to that’s so bad?”

She could hear Master Ekla’s voice starting to list off everything, then Master Grund’s voice joined it, with the occasional comments from Kurgm and Oshal.

“I didn’t ask all of you!” she shouted at the empty room. She glared at the door, which she swore was judging her.

After another few minutes, her orb flashed to indicate the end of curfew, and she ran out of her room. Apprentices were filing out of the few doors that led into the rooms of the north tower. While in reality the rooms were stacked together, they all had magic doors that were connected to one of the four doors at the base of the tower. Roshil had asked how the system worked to prevent more than one apprentice ever leaving the same door at the same time, but Master Grund refused to give her an answer. Instead, he’d grumble something about her figuring it out herself.

“Hello, Roshil,” said a small voice.

Surprise, backed up by panic, shoved her frustration away. She drew a sharp breath and turned to face Aonva.

Aonva’s big eyes darted around the corridor, taking in every apprentice that walked past, working with her feet to keep her out of anyone’s way. They landed on Roshil, and she jumped and looked away.

“You’re… you’re up early,” Aonva said. “I… I was going to go to the library.” Her gaze dropped and her hands fidgeted. “Would… would you like to… um… I thought maybe you’d like to go with me. Not that you have to, I’m sure you’ve got something important to do this morning. I know you’re always busy with something, and I didn’t want to assume you’d be free now.”

“I’m free!” Roshil said. She didn’t know if she had anything to do, although she had a nagging feeling there was some schoolwork she hadn’t done yet. She was sure she didn’t have to work on it yet.

“Okay.”

They stood still until some apprentices shoved past them.

“We should get going,” Roshil said.

“Right.”

They started the walk through the castle, heading toward the door to the library.

“Um… your hair’s different,” Roshil said.

“Yeah.” Instead of her normal twin braids, Aonva had put her hair in a bunch of distinct strands, much like Lady Durwey did with her hair. “My hair doesn’t grow like yours. Because my family’s from Bywin, so our hair grows differently, and I didn’t like doing it in the braids, they were actually really uncomfortable, not that I’m complaining, I know people don’t like it when I complain, but Our Lady Grand Weaver gave me a book on different ways to style my hair that would work with it naturally, and this is a lot more comfortable, so I’m trying it this way.” She fidgeted with one of the strands for a moment. “Does it… is it bad?”

“No!” Roshil exclaimed. “It’s fine.”

Was “fine” the word she wanted? She wasn’t good with words. It was easier to ignore people. Except Sirshi; Sirshi didn’t care how weird she was. She didn’t think Aonva cared either.

“It took me a few weeks to get through the book with all the other work I have. Does Our Lord High Artisan give you a lot of work? That’s a stupid question, I know he does. I get work from Master Kaernin, of course, but I’ve been doing research with Our Lady Arch Mage, and that’s taken a lot of time too. It’d be so nice to read books faster, but I don’t want to miss anything.”

That gave Roshil an idea. What if they could read books faster? It’d help her get her work done faster and skip past the boring reading parts. It had been so much easier to learn when the other members of her tribe had shown her instead of telling her to read a dull book that would take her several hours. There couldn’t already be a spell to do it, otherwise Aonva would know about it, but maybe Roshil could make one.

#VolumeThree #SolvingAProblem

Roshil went to the library later that day on her own. She didn’t want to tell Aonva what she was doing yet, lest she send her into a panic. Most things sent Aonva into a panic, but Roshil tried to avoid it if she could.

I’m not going to enchant something without thinking this time, she told herself. I’m not going to enchant it at all. I just want to know if it’s possible.

What’s the point of this then?

The spot on her back burned, but she ignored it and ventured further into the library. She didn’t know exactly where she’d start, but she vaguely recalled something Master Grund had told her about finding out if someone else had already solved a problem before trying to solve it herself.

If some other idiot already solved it, then don’t be an idiot’s idiot.

Roshil still wasn’t sure what an “idiot’s idiot” was, but she was determined not to be one. She’d been told all her life that she was smart, and that meant she had to have the answers when people asked. That was another reason she liked spending time with Aonva; if Roshil didn’t have an answer, then Aonva would. Unlike Roshil, who tended to get bored, Aonva wanted to learn as much as she could.

She took out books on magic, figuring that was a good place to start. Reading books faster was something all mages would want to do, so it made sense that someone else would’ve tried solving the problem already.

Hours passed, but Roshil was no closer to solving the problem. If anything, she’d learned that the library needed some sort of system for searching through all the books. Her normal approach would’ve been to ask Aonva, who seemed to have the entire library tucked away inside her head. Knowing Aonva, this wouldn’t have surprised Roshil.

Roshil left for class without getting any closer to a solution. During history class, she decided that no one had worked out such a spell yet, which meant it was up to her.

“As more immigrants arrived at the court, the citizens began to realize they would soon run out of space. While some people believed the solution was to close the gates and never let anyone else inside, the council ultimately decided to address the situation in other cities. Apprentice Roshil, because I’m sure you’re hanging on my every word as usual, can you tell us why the council decided this?”

Upon hearing her name, Roshil stood up. She thought fast, recollecting what her father had taught her about human nature.

“Because if they took over cities they’d have more room to live?”

There were a few giggles around the room, and the teacher narrowed her eyes at Roshil.

“No.”

Roshil took her seat as the lecture continued.

“The council felt that it was important to address the problem in other cities because if the people coming into the court were happy where they were, they wouldn’t be inclined to move into the court. As a result, the council sent servants out to investigate the situations in other cities. Over time, they learned that the situations were indeed grave, and offered the people of those cities a chance at a better life. The first of these cities to come under the rule of the newly formed Kingdom of Skwyr was Torpn, earning it the title of Skwyr’s Second City. Apprentice Roshil, I’ll give you an easy one this time. What is Torpn most known for?”

Roshil stood up, confident that she knew the answer this time. “Music, theater, good food, and people who don’t keep a close eye on their valuables.”

More giggles from her classmates.

“Good enough,” the teacher said.

Roshil spent the rest of class picking apart the problem. With the goal of trying to read books immediately, she’d have to first translate the book into something magic could use, which probably meant words. Books themselves were often printed with magic, that was how news was circulated around the court. That meant there was already a spell to copy a book. Now she had to figure out how to get it into the caster’s head. She’d have to see the spell for copying books, then change it to send the words to the caster’s head as a messenger spell.

That idea stopped when she remembered the bracelet she’d made for Aonva. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up only giving the caster a huge headache and a panic attack (although she suspected the panic attack was an Aonva-specific problem).

After class, Roshil went to dinner. Oshal and Kurgm were sitting with Oshal’s new friends. Roshil stole a glare at Kurgm that he didn’t notice. She didn’t know why, but Aonva became noticeably upset whenever the topic of Kurgm came up. Fighting the urge to yell at him on her way past, Roshil went to her usual spot in front of the officers’ table and sat down.

Aonva walked to the table later. Roshil knew this not because she saw Aonva’s face attached to her body, but because she’d never seen anyone else that could walk and read without running into anything.

“Good book?” Roshil asked, glancing at the title. Names of Nature.

“I’ve got a test in nature studies tomorrow,” Aonva said. “I’ve only read this four times, and I’m sure there’s something I’m forgetting. What if it asks for the uses of the strontum flower, or enchin vines?”

“What’s an enchin vine?” The name rang some sort of bell, but she couldn’t place it.

“They grow wild in the forest around dead trees. They soak up nutrients and water, and they’re safe to eat, so they can be used as a source of clean water if there isn’t a river nearby.”

“Right! My father told me about those. No, not him, it was someone else in our tribe. Father said if you ever needed a drink, look for an outdoor restaurant and wait for someone to turn their back.” Roshil waited for a moment, hoping Aonva would try to continue the conversation. She wondered if Aonva realized she already knew all the information. “What’s the strontum flower used for?”

“Healing mostly. It can be rubbed on wounds to disinfect them. Healing spell cards often have it infused into them. When the card is torn, the spell activates, applying the flower to the skin.”

Aonva continued reading during dinner, occasionally informing Roshil about something Aonva insisted would be important. Any attempts to ask about Aonva herself were deflected in favor of her book.

If she had something that could read a book faster, she’d be able to spend more time with me.

While Aonva read her book, Roshil began working through her plan to find a way to help her read books faster, more determined than ever to find the solution.

#VolumeThree #SolvingAProblem

The printing press, while a revolution in the way information was circulated, is not a complicated invention. Animation is the most simple form of magic, and, like the printing press, most inventions are created through some means of it. In the case of the press, a stencil is created, then ink is pressed into the paper.

Roshil growled at the book, then tossed it aside. She looked up at the shelves around her. Every book had either been copied with a printing press or handwritten. The idea of storing a book in some other form of magic crossed her mind, but that was the entire problem she was trying to solve.

What makes you think you can do it if no one else can, you little monster?

The spot on her back burned. She kept flinching, wanting to scratch it again.

“Roshil?”

She nearly jumped when she saw Aonva standing over her.

“You… um… I heard something,” Aonva said, sitting down next to her. “Is… is everything alright?”

I can’t do this. I’m trying to figure out a problem, and I can’t solve it.

“It’s nothing.”

Like me.

“Are you sure? I’m not trying to pry, honest, but I’ve never seen you throw books before.”

Roshil opened and closed her mouth a few times. After last time, Aonva was certain to panic if Roshil told her. But Roshil wanted to tell her. Maybe Aonva could help. Roshil knew she could do it alone, but it’d be faster with Aonva’s help.

She opened her mouth again, but couldn’t find the words. What if Aonva panicked? What if she ran away?

I don’t need anyone.

I don’t need her to know. I want her to know.

“I’ve been trying to figure out a way to read books faster using magic.” Roshil spat out the words before she could change her mind again.

Roshil waited for the panic stricken lecture from Aonva. Something about not learning from her past mistakes, or about how dangerous magic was. Thinking about it more, a lecture about not learning from past mistakes sounded more like Master Ekla, and one on the dangers of magic sounded more like Master Grund.

“Hm,” Aonva said. “That’d be interesting. We’ve figured out how to send messages to one another, so it’d be possible to convert the text of a book to something we could take in our heads. Sort of like a long messenger spell.”

Roshil remembered how Aonva’s bracelet had worked and shook her head. “No, that’d be bad. It… um… a constant messenger spell is what… that bracelet… did.”

Aonva frowned at her. Roshil could tell she was thinking about something, but that something usually came out of her mouth as fast as possible.

“That’s what that did?” she said at last.

“Um… yeah. I… It’s stupid now that I think about it, but… I wanted you never to forget about me, so… so I enchanted the bracelet to send a messenger spell with my name to you every few minutes.”

“Oh.” Aonva’s mind churned away again. “I thought you were mad at me.”

“No!” Roshil shouted, then lowered her voice. “Of course not. I just… No, I wasn’t mad. Why would I be mad?”

“You gave me a bracelet that made my head hurt. I thought you must’ve been furious, because it took so long for me to feel the effects. And…”

Roshil waited for her to answer. And what? What was Aonva going to say?

“And what?”

“And… well I’d been studying dragons to try to learn more about your curse because I wanted to try to fix it, which is stupid now that I say it out loud, because of course I can’t fix it, but I wanted to try, because no one had ever cared about what I said before I met you, and you listened to me that night when we researched dragons, but then I stopped researching them because Kurgm was always so happy when I talked about the Temple of the Rising Sun, so I thought you must’ve been mad at me for stopping my research and focusing on that, but now Kurgm hardly talks to me anymore, and it feels like I’m losing everyone, so please don’t be mad! I didn’t want to tell you any of that because I thought it’d upset you to talk about dragons, and I was so scared when you were taken to the hospital last year, and then the other time a few months ago, and I didn’t want to tell you anything in case it happened again!”

Roshil tried to take in everything Aonva had said. It was always hard to keep up with Aonva, since she talked so fast, but Roshil was sure she caught the word “dragon” in there somewhere. Aonva had been researching the curse to help her. More importantly, Aonva wasn’t mad at her about the bracelet. And there was something about Kurgm in there too.

“I wasn’t mad at you,” Roshil said. “I didn’t know about your research. Although… did you find anything? Like… other symptoms?”

“Not a lot apart from what we already knew. The symptoms vary, sometimes the eyes or hair, like you, but then other times it’ll be strange marks on their faces. It’s almost always the face, though. No one knows much, but you already knew that. I think Our Lady Arch Mage is doing her own research, too. She mentions it sometimes when we talk. She’s really nice.” Aonva’s smile faded. “Why? There’s nothing wrong with asking. I mean…” She glanced at the shelves as though they’d tell her what to say. “It’s fine, you don’t have to—”

“There’s something new,” Roshil said. “I don’t think it’s normal.”

“What is it? I don’t see anything different about you. Are you sure it’s still there? Well, of course you’re sure, why wouldn’t you be? But it’s probably nothing to worry about.”

Aonva gave her an unconvincing smile in a miserable attempt to cheer her up.

“You’re not very good at this,” Roshil said.

Aonva slumped and gave up on the smile, something for which her face was grateful.

“I know, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to worry. Even though I’m worried because I don’t want anything to happen to you. But I’m sure it will be okay. Have you talked to Our Lord High Artisan? I’m sure Our Lady Arch Mage would know what to do.”

Roshil had already dismissed the idea of showing it to Master Grund. No matter what their relationship, she would never feel comfortable removing her tunic around him. She didn’t know Lady Emgard that well, certainly not as well as Aonva did. There must’ve been someone with whom she’d feel less uncomfortable telling.

“I think I’ll talk to Master Ekla about it,” Roshil said. “She had the whole ‘your body’s changing’ talk with me, so it’ll be… less awkward.”

“Oh.” Aonva’s tone and face screamed “kicked puppy”. “Yeah. Of course.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I… It’s nothing you—”

“Aonva, what’s wrong?” Roshil didn’t think pushing too hard was the right way to go with Aonva, but she also suspected it involved Kurgm and wanted to know what Kurgm had done so she could be angry at him for a reason.

“It’s… Kurgm stopped spending time with me, and he was always busy, but it wasn’t like before when he could spend time with me, and now he’s spending a lot of time with Apprentice Demndun, and I don’t know what I did wrong.”

Tears cascaded down Aonva’s face. Anything else she said was lost to her sobs.

Roshil threw her arms around her friend.

“Please don’t!” Aonva shouted. “I get claustrophobic when people hug me.”

Roshil pulled away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay! You didn’t know. That’s probably why Kurgm didn’t like me. I thought he did, but he probably saw what a mess I am, and my mother’s right about me. No one would want to spend their life with me.”

“I would.” Roshil quickly realized how that had sounded. “That’s not what I meant! I’m not saying… I mean… I meant I like you the way you are.”

“Thank you,” Aonva said. “I… I like you the way you are too.”

#VolumeThree #SolvingAProblem

Roshil and Aonva ate dinner in silence. Roshil wasn’t that hungry, but she didn’t want to ignore her stomach forever.

“I… um… I didn’t find anything,” Aonva said. “I didn’t tell anyone, I promise! But I was rereading the books I’ve got on dragons, thinking maybe there was something I missed, but I couldn’t find anything about any other symptoms. I’m really sorry.”

Roshil spotted Master Ekla when dinner finished. She pushed her way through the crowd until she caught up with her.

“Master Ekla, I’d like to talk to you. Please.”

Master Ekla stopped walking and turned to Roshil. “How can I help?”

“Alone, please. In private.”

Roshil hoped Master Ekla would agree quickly, because she wasn’t sure how long she could keep her gaze straight. She could feel her face growing hotter, and really wished Master Ekla would say something.

“Oh. Of course. Follow me.”

Master Ekla led her out of the throng of people and into the corridor between the east and south towers. She opened a door and led Roshil inside. It was an empty study room. Master Ekla walked inside but didn’t sit down.

“What is it?”

Roshil glanced back at the closed door, still reconsidering her plan.

“Um… you said that things would change with me. With… with my body.”

Master Ekla kept her face steady, showing Roshil that she was taking her seriously.

“Whatever it is, I won’t tell anyone else,” Master Ekla said. “I promise. I’m sure it’s natural.”

Roshil shook her head. “I don’t think this is supposed to be happening.”

“Why don’t you show me?” Master Ekla said. “If you’re comfortable, that is.”

Roshil turned around and pulled off her tunic, then her undershirt.

“Are these scars from…” Master Ekla’s voice trailed off. Roshil imagined her face as her eyes landed on the spot below her left shoulder. “I see.”

“It started a few days ago,” Roshil said. “I think it’s been spreading, but I’m not sure.”

“Is it alright if I touch it?” Master Ekla said.

“Yeah.”

Roshil felt Master Ekla’s cold fingers on her back, gently prodding the spot. She waited, hoping Master Ekla would tell her that it was some sort of skin infection, and not what she feared it was. Not what she knew it was.

“I wish I could tell you this was normal,” Master Ekla said. “But… I’ve never seen something like this before.”

“It’s part of the curse, isn’t it?” Tears welled up in Roshil’s eyes. “My eyes and hair weren’t enough, now I’ve got scales growing on me.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. You can put your tunic back on.”

Roshil slid her undershirt over her head, then her tunic.

“Have you told anyone else?”

Roshil shook her head, then rubbed her eyes. “I told Aonva that there was something wrong with me, but I didn’t say anything else about it.”

Master Ekla laid a hand on her shoulder, and kept her voice level. “I think we should tell His Lord High Artisan. I know there’s not much chance he’ll be able to do anything about it, but he should be informed.”

“I know I should tell him!” Roshil snapped. She wasn’t a child and didn’t need to be spoken to like she was. “I will, but… I just…”

“You don’t have to show him,” Master Ekla said. “Before you get angry at me for talking calmly, would you rather I be panicking?”

“No,” Roshil mumbled.

“It’d be better if Our Lord High Artisan heard it from you than from me. And I’m sorry, really I am, but I’ll have to tell the council about this. I don’t have to tonight; I can wait until tomorrow, so it’d be best if you told him first thing in the morning.”

Roshil nodded. She didn’t like the thought of telling Master Grund, but he’d take it as well as Master Ekla had. Knowing him, his response would be “So?” or “Good for you, now get back to work!”

“I will.”

Master Ekla smiled at her. “Okay, then. I think it’s time we both got some sleep.”

When they walked out of the room, Aonva was waiting there.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping!” Aonva jumped back, then ran forward. “Honest, I wasn’t! I saw you go off, and I know I shouldn’t have followed you, but I was worried about Roshil, and I wanted to know if everything was alright! I wasn’t listening, I didn’t hear anything, I promise. I was… I was… Is everything alright? It’s not bad, is it? Something normal? Maybe not normal, but not something about which we need worry, is it?”

Roshil looked around the corridor. They were alone. Even then, she kept her voice down.

“I have scales growing on my back.”

Aonva’s eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open. Her eyes flickered back and forth as her mind processed what Roshil had just said.

“I… I don’t… I mean I’m… It’s probably… or… um…”

“You’ll be alright,” Master Ekla said, as much to Aonva as to Roshil. “The court will look after you no matter what happens. So I don’t want either one of you worrying about what you’re going to do about it.”

“I… I noticed something,” Aonva said, fidgeting with her hair. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. Um… There are records of other dragon-touched people, but… not a lot, so maybe there’s not… I think you’re the youngest person to have it happen to you.”

Roshil frowned. She’d never heard that before. She hadn’t dug deep into it, and it’s not like anyone had ever told her about it before Master Grund had a year ago.

“Really?”

Aonva nodded, then started pulling a book out of her pack. “I realized the other people were all adults, usually mages. Obviously, they don’t… I mean, they didn’t have much to say, um…”

“Because they didn’t live long,” Roshil said. “I know. If the dragons don’t get you, the druids will. And that one man that was executed.”

“I’m sorry! I know, I don’t need to remind you, but… I don’t know, maybe it’s different because you’re younger? Or they didn’t notice other symptoms? I—”

“Let’s leave this for another day,” Master Ekla said. “Apprentice Aonva, you did well to find this. I trust you two can find your way back to the north tower without getting into trouble?”

They both nodded, although Roshil felt that that comment was meant more for her than for Aonva.

“Then I’ll be off. Good night to you both.”

“Good night, Master Ekla,” they said.

Roshil watched her go. It was nice to know she had friends in the court, even if everyone else could be called “hostile” at best.

“Thanks,” Roshil said. “For finding that out, I mean.”

“You’re welcome. Um… it’ll… it’ll be okay.”

Roshil smiled at her. Aonva smiled back.

“Yeah. It will be.”

#VolumeThree #SolvingAProblem