Tales of Cadence/Chapter VII

The vast, emerald-green plains had become and endless blur from the back of the icy dragon. Elsynne had never traveled so fast or so high in her life, and she was absolutely terrified. But Skylar convinced her that it was the only way to catch up with Raven, who was probably already in Itona.

“Why didn’t I think of this earlier?” he asked himself, wincing slightly as Elsynne tightened her grip around his stomach. He turned and saw that she had lowered her head, trembling against his back.

“It’s not that bad, Elsynne,” Skylar said reassuringly. “Besides, we haven’t been flying that long.”

“We should have walked!” she protested in a muffled voice.

Skylar sighed and shook his head. They had traveled by foot until they got to Adair, and then he suggested using Glacier to get to Itona faster. Elsynne adamantly had refused until they started walking and ran into a larger pack of monsters.

Before long the kingdom and castle came into view on the horizon. Skylar eased the dragon into a low glide before he turned to Elsynne again.

“Glacier’s too young to land without falling over. She’ll crush us,” he said, raising his voice over the sound of the wind in their ears. “We’ll have to jump.”

Elsynne’s eyes widened even more. “J-Jump off?!”

Before she was even allowed a second thought, Skylar grabbed her around her slim waist and slid off the dragon’s back, pulling Elsynne along with him. They hit the ground and rolled a few times before stopping in the long, cool grass. Glacier picked up speed without them and disappeared over the plains, taking off into the skies until she was a small speck on the horizon; she wouldn’t return until she was called again by her Keeper.

“Phew! That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Skylar asked as he sat up, brushing dirt from his clothing. Elsynne remained facedown on the ground, clenching and unclenching her white-knuckled fists.

“Are you ready to go?” he questioned, standing up. Skylar turned and looked towards the city and found it odd that there was not a single soldier standing guard at the gates.

“Give me a second, please...” Elsynne murmured, pushing herself to her knees slowly. She took a few deep breaths of air before standing. “I’m ready to go.”

“Everyone’s first time flying is a little strange. You’ll do better next time,” Skylar promised as they set off towards the city gates.

Elsynne flinched. “No, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again...” she said in a quiet, nervous voice. Skylar laughed and patted her shoulder gently.

Once they passed the gates, Elsynne felt a sudden sense of relief, just as she had in Estershore. She felt at ease in the familiar city atmosphere – of course, it would never compare to her home, but she couldn’t help but feel comfortable surrounded by the tall buildings and crowds of people.

She quickly noticed that many of the city’s residents were rushing through the streets, all headed for the same area. She exchanged a quick glance with Skylar.

“I wonder if something’s wrong?” she questioned, stepping aside as a small group ran past. They were murmuring excitedly.

Skylar tilted his head to the side, closing his eyes as he strained his ears to listen to the babble of the people. “It seems they’ve found someone important near a northern district of the city,” he said presently.

Elsynne had to stop her jaw from dropping. “You heard them saying that? But I couldn’t hear anything but muttering...”

He touched one of the pointed ears beneath his long, neat hair. “These aren’t just for decoration on my head, you know.”

“I know, I just didn’t think your hearing was that strong,” she laughed.

“Heh...you’d be surprised.”

Elsynne and Skylar followed the crowds through the maze-like alleys, both in awe at the sheer number of people.

“I don’t think I’ve seen so many humans in one place before,” Skylar said, narrowing his eyes. “I thought Estershore was busy, but...”

Elsynne nodded in agreement. “There are a lot of people, but it’s nothing compared to where I come from,” she said, then paused, wondering if she had said too much. Skylar did not comment, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Before long the groups of people began to thicken as they reached the edge of the plaza. The two pushed through the crowds and entered the central square. Elsynne’s breath caught in her throat as she finally saw what had drawn so many people there.

“It seems that they’ve finally found him,” a woman nearby was whispering to the curious man next to her. “Edward finally came back to Itona.”

Raven and a small boy dressed in crimson-red clothing were pressed against the walls of the buildings on the edge of the plaza, fists clenched and weapons drawn – or, in Raven’s case, what was left of his. The blade of the rusted sword he always carried was at his feet, broken into many sharp, shining fragments. He still held the gilded hilt in his hand, as if the stub of the sword left on it could protect him from the masses of guards surrounding him. The boy next to him held a rapier awkwardly in his left hand; even Elsynne, who had never wielded a rapier in her life, realized that the boy had never been trained properly with the weapon.

At the head of the group of soldiers was a noble holding his sword out, the point tipped towards Raven’s throat. His dark, solemn eyes were framed by black hair.

“It’s no use for you to try fighting anymore – you’re weaponless and completely surrounded,” the noble was saying, speaking in a loud, clear voice over the constant din of the chattering people around them. “We’ll let the boy off, but you’ll be coming with us.”

Raven hesitated for a moment, still holding onto the broken sword hilt as if he was still planning on fighting. The boy beside him said something, but Elsynne couldn’t hear his words.

“Should we try helping them?” She asked, turning to Skylar.

“It would be noble, albeit suicidal,” He replied thoughtfully. “We can’t jump in and fight off the guards, but maybe there’s something else we could try?”

“There are so many people watching...”

“I know, that’s what I’m worried about. The distraction would have to be large-scale and effective – there’s no time for second chances here. I could call Glacier, of course, but I doubt that she would be of any help in this particular situation.”

Elsynne put a finger to her chin, thoughtful. “Maybe I can try again...” she muttered.

Skylar raised an eyebrow. “Try what...?”

When she turned to face him again, her eyes were full of resolve. “You’ll see,” she said, adjusting her stance so that her feet were close together and her hands were clasped at her chest. “Just watch.”

Skylar’s eyes widened and he began to protest. As Elsynne murmured words in an unfamiliar language, a bright yellow glyph began to materialize beneath her feet, extending from the soles of her boots like a web. Symbols began to form within the glyph, spiraling and shooting across the stone streets. The people surrounding them were too engrossed in the action in the plaza – now, the noble was advancing on Raven and the boy, who made no move to escape.

Elsynne’s eyes opened again and she threw one hand upward. Skylar jumped back when he saw her normally warm, navy-blue eyes; they were completely blank and lifeless.

The noble was speaking to Raven again, his voice pleading. “Please, Edw-“

His words were suddenly cut off. Raven tensed, waiting impatiently for his brother to continue.

Felix gasped and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, pulling him aside. Raven followed the boy’s gaze and saw tendrils of light reaching up from strange glyphs in the ground. They quickly encircled the guards and the citizens, who were all staring at the light with equal amounts of amazement and fear.

“Let’s go! This is our chance!” Felix said, dragging Raven across the square again. Raven didn’t bother to pull himself from his grasp this time; his eyes were locked on the tendrils of light, watching in surprise as they suddenly wrapped themselves around the guards and his older brother.

Felix tried to follow the glyphs back to their source, reading the symbols like an intricate puzzle. Raven was about to ask what he was doing when a small, cream-colored cat jumped up and perched itself on Felix’s shoulder.

“Reo!” Raven exclaimed, surprised to see the tiny cat. Reo turned to him, her eyes glowing. She suddenly jumped off Felix and darted back into the crowd, stopping once to look back at them.

*‘If Reo’s here, that means... Elsynne!’* Raven realized, this time grabbing Felix and pulling him through the crowd. He ignored the boy’s protests and followed Reo until he saw both Elsynne and Skylar standing near the middle of the excited crowd. Raven stopped in time to see Reo dart away and disappear into Elsynne’s bag.

“Raven!” Skylar exclaimed. “Come on, we’ve got no time to waste,” he said, pulling at Elsynne, who stared at them with her dead, empty eyes. “I’m surprised that no one in the crowd noticed us...yet.”

Raven nodded and finally pulled himself away from Felix. The people around them were either rushing into the plaza to examine the light closer or running in the opposite direction to get away from it.

“Let’s go to the west district,” Raven said, unconsciously putting himself in the lead. “It’s where all the businesses are. We can find a discreet place to hide out while we wait for things to die down here.”

He led them down several narrow streets, dodging the few people that still lingered there. It seemed as if most of the city’s residents and tourists were still in the plaza or they had run into the southern district, the farthest place from the northern square. They were relieved to find that the western district was almost completely abandoned, save for the few stands and stores still being tended to by loyal shopkeepers.

Felix pointed towards a small, surprisingly rural-looking inn. “What about this place?” he suggested excitedly.

Raven nodded tiredly. “It’ll do.” He agreed. “We can’t stay here for long – only until nightfall. The guards will catch up with us eventually.”

The innkeeper inside seemed reluctant to offer them a room for the evening. Raven wasn’t surprised; the group was comprised of an elf, a girl with strange features and empty eyes, and a short boy with gaudy stage clothing. After managing to get a key, they went to the room on the second floor of the building.

Raven quickly bolted the door and slid the curtains closed. The room became almost completely dark until Skylar used magic to light a small candle on the table.

“Elsynne?” Raven asked, waving his hand in front of the girl’s face. She suddenly blinked a few times before looking back at him, her eyes full of life once again.

“Oh, Raven...” she said absently, still coming back to her senses. “Did everything turn out all right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your light magic?” Felix exclaimed, bounding over and perching by Elsynne’s side. “Of course it worked! That’s the best I’ve seen yet!”

Elsynne suddenly recoiled, horrified. “Felix...!” she murmured, unable to disguise her surprise. “What are you-“

“You know each other?” Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I didn’t know you and Elsynne were friends, Raven!” Felix said. He didn’t seem to notice the mortified expression on Elsynne’s face. “You should have told me!”

“I didn’t know the two of you were friends, either...and who said I was friends with her?”

“Of course we are! I’ve known Elsynne my whole life!”

“Well,” Skylar said, smirking as he seated himself on one of the beds. “Surprise, surprise.”

“You don’t sound so surprised,” Raven said accusingly.

Skylar shrugged noncommittally. “I’m more amused than surprised. Besides, Elsynne doesn’t seem to recognize as Felix as a friend...she’s been regarding him as more of an enemy.”

Felix turned and frowned when he saw Elsynne’s expression. Then, as if realizing that he had made a horrible mistake, his face became impassive.

“It’s too late, Felix. You’ve said enough,” she muttered, sighing deeply. “I’ve put up enough of a facade for now, anyway.”

“What do you mean by that?” Raven asked skeptically. He tensed, suddenly alert and on guard. Whatever Elsynne had been hiding from them would finally be brought out in the open – and if the secret was deadly enough, he could be drawn in.

“Is something wrong, Raven?” she asked, noticing the sour expression on his face. “Did I say something?”

“No,” he said, curiosity overcoming his common sense. “Are you finally going to tell us where you’re from?”

She nodded solemnly and folded her hands on the table. “I wasn’t lying when I told you that my name was Elsynne Neott. And you were right when you accused me of not being human. However, I’m not a dragonling or an elf, either. I’m from a very small continent to the south, far from Austror – it’s called Lavinia.”

“The Penna live there,” Felix added, smiling.

“The Penna...” Skylar murmured thoughtfully. “They were thought to have gone completely extinct after the two Gemini Gods were ‘sealed away’, or so the legend says.”

“So you’re a Penna, or whatever?” Raven repeated. “How many of you are there?”

“There are still many Penna living to this day,” Elsynne replied, her eyes suddenly gleaming. “Our race might not be as big as the humans’, but we make up for our size with our prowess with technology. We are far more advanced than any other continent.”

“Why?”

“We lost our ability to use magic when the Gemini Gods were sealed,” Felix explained. “You see, the legend goes that one of the Gemini Gods – the one you humans call Albasta...” he suddenly cringed when he spoke the name, “They say that Albasta was the one who created the Penna race Herself to be superior to Baldur’s – that’s the other Gemini God – races, the humans and elves. I don’t know the exact details, but supposedly Baldur took our ability to harness magic and healing arts and exiled us to the island where we live today.”

“But to make up for our lack of magic and healing arts, we’ve developed powerful forms of technology that put us at an advantage,” Elsynne continued.

“But *you* can use magic and healing,” Raven pointed out.

She smiled calmly. “I’m just getting to that part. Aren’t you wondering why the Penna haven’t come to the mainland before? Or why humans, dragonlings, and elves haven’t found us?”

“I wonder that myself,” Skylar spoke up. “If the Penna are as powerful as you say, why haven’t they returned to Austror? Why are they hiding?”

“There are many reasons. There’s a massive crack beneath the ocean that acts as a natural barrier between your continents and ours – the crack emits so much black magic that ships are torn asunder whenever they sail over the crack. It hangs like a heavy fog over that section of the ocean, and sailors have begun spinning myths and stories about how if you sail into the fog, you’ll never return. People naturally begin to fear it, despite what common sense tells them.”

“How did the two of you pass the black magic, then?” Skylar asked.

“Let me guess,” Raven interrupted as Elsynne began to explain. “This advanced technology of yours, right?”

 “The Penna have found positive uses for the black magic because our continent is teeming with cracks emitting it,” she said, opening her bag. Reo jumped out and crawled into her lap, purring as she stroked the cat’s soft fur. “Reo didn’t become a full monster because we were able to manipulate her genetic code.”

“That’s...morbid.”

“It sounds that way, doesn’t it?” she said, smiling ruefully. “But when I came here, I realized that black magic is considered taboo, so I can’t let people see Reo’s monster form. But if used correctly, black magic isn’t as bad as humans and elves have made it out to be.”

“Because of our knowledge of the black magic, we were able to develop ships with armor thick enough to penetrate the cloud and make it safely over the crack,” Felix said proudly. “But the Penna have to be careful if they decide to come to the mainland; one false move, and an entire continent and race will be against them.”

“Remember that Albasta is still considered to be the enemy of Baldur, the god your people worship so fervently,” Elsynne said, looking at Raven. “The people here have heard whispers of a race infused with Albasta’s power and secretly fear them. Imagine if their fears came true and this powerful race suddenly showed up on their doorstep? What would happen?”

“...A war.”

“Exactly. The Penna have no business with the humans, and have no desire to start a war.”

“Then what’s your reason for coming here?” Raven asked, finally sitting down in the chair across the small table from Elsynne. “And what did you mean earlier about ‘saving your life’? And being able to use magic-“

She put her hand up and motioned for silence. “You’ve heard the stories about the Messenger and the Heir, haven’t you?”

He nodded impatiently. “Yeah, yeah. The Heir was made by Albasta as Her last resort so She could be revived one day, so Baldur counterattacked by making the Messenger.”

“Both forces are supposed to collide, and one must kill the other,” Skylar said. “But only once in the past were the Heir and Messenger said to finally meet. Although many people like to believe in the existence of the Messenger and the Heir, they find it hard to do so because they have a hard time believing that the Penna are still alive.”

“People see my race as a threat that can simply be wiped off the face of this earth. But if such a thing were so easily done, why do the Penna still stand today? It’s because of the lineage of the Heir that we’ve continued to thrive,” Elsynne began. “The stories are true. The blood of the Heir has been passed down through the generations since Albasta created the first Heir. The Heir is said to be a being that acted as a ‘ray of hope’ for the Penna; one who could use limited light magic and heal, arts that had been lost in the end of the war.”

“It’s the Heir’s job to find the Scale, revive Albasta-“ Again, Felix flinched upon saying the god’s name before continuing, “-and restore the Penna race to what it once was. She also has to destroy the Messenger and end his bloodline before it can continue.”

Raven looked across the table at Elsynne and clenched his fists. “And you’re the Heir.”

She nodded. “Yes. My mother was the Heir before I was, and my grandmother before her. The Heirs have stopped leaving Lavinia because of how dangerous the mainland has become, and because of the threat of a war. The Penna strongly desire the revival of Albasta, and we’ve been improving technology to help the Heir fulfill that task. But I’m tired of waiting...so I left on my own.”

“After she went missing, I was sent to intercept her,” Felix said sheepishly.

Raven put his hands to his forehead. There was virtually no proof that these Penna and the Heir actually existed; only a handful of unreliable stories and legends existed as evidence. Of course, the humans and elves believed in the stories about how the Gemini Gods were sealed, and that another race had once existed but was wiped out. Raven, however, never believed the stories and had given up on his people’s religion when he left the castle.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Elsynne asked, tilting her head to the side. “I can understand that. This is a lot of information to swallow.”

“I don’t know *what* to believe anymore,” Raven said bitterly. “I mean, you don’t look like any normal human, but you can’t be an elf or dragonling, either, so...”

She nodded quietly. “Just give me time to prove that you can trust what I say.”

Raven shook his head and stood up. “I can’t. Listen, I’m just a mercenary, not some wandering adventurer. You can go ahead and go look for this Scale or whatever, find the Messenger...do whatever you want, but I can’t take part in it. I have to earn a living somehow, you know.”

“But, Raven-“

“I don’t have time to wander all over the world to look for some mythological artifact and revive a god I don’t even believe in. I’m not going to run off and help you based on a few stories you’ve told me when you don’t have the solid evidence to prove that your claims are real,” he argued. “I don’t base my decisions on stupid tales and religious myth. Besides, Felix and Skylar will be more than enough help, especially if this Messenger is a human and totally unaware of his or her stature.”

Felix opened his mouth to protest, but Elsynne quickly stopped him. She turned back to Raven, a strange glow in her navy-blue eyes. “You’re a mercenary, so you’ll work for pay, right?”

He nodded. “That’s right. Joseph gives me my assignments, and I collect the pay and live off my share.”

She reached into her pack and pulled out a large silver coin. “This is the Penna’s currency – real silver. I also have gold coins,” she said, reaching back into the bag and pulling out a round gold coin the size of her palm. “Exchange these here in Austror and it’s worth a fortune. That’s how I’ve been getting money here. I couldn’t give you these coins when we first met in Adair because I had a feeling that you would reject them at the time. And I was only offering to pay one hundred gald...this would be too much.”

Raven took the coins in his hand and looked them over; they were made of real gold and silver, as far as he could tell, and would fetch a high price on the market.

“I can pay you this now.” She placed a heavy bag full of gold and silver coins on the table and slid them across, just as Joseph would do when he passed Raven assignment papers. “And even more when we travel to Lavinia.”

“You’re hiring me to come with you?” Raven asked with disbelief.

“You’re a mercenary making a living by accepting jobs,” Elsynne said, twisting a strand of her white-lavender hair with one finger, “and I’m offering you a job: come with me while I search for the Scale, and I’ll pay you with these coins.”

Raven weighed the coins in his hands. Her offer was tempting, and he knew he could easily live off the pay she was giving him for a long time. He wouldn’t have to accept anymore boring jobs from Joseph because he could afford to live with what he had...

And all he had to do was follow Elsynne, protect her from whatever monsters they encountered, and listen to her myths and stories about Scales, Messengers, Heirs, and whatever else she could come up with.

“I’ll take the job.” He said, putting his hand on the bag of coins and dragging them over.

Elsynne stopped him and took the bag back. “I want to make sure you don’t run off again,” she said, taking out a few heavy coins. She placed them in Raven’s open hands. “I’ll pay you everyday until your job is done.”

Raven closed his fingers around the four coins now lying in his hands. Not only would the job be easy, but it also sounded somewhat exciting. This had to be the best paying and easiest assignment he had ever been given in the three years he had been a mercenary.