Tales of Cadence/Chapter X

Raven lay down on the cool deck of the ship, putting a hand to his forehead as the sea spun around him dizzyingly. He had not mentioned to the others that he had never sailed before; he didn’t know he would get seasick.

“Are you feeling any better?” Elsynne asked, kneeling next to him. She blocked out the blinding sun and cast a shadow over his face as she leaned over to put a damp cloth on his forehead.

“Yeah...” he murmured, closing his eyes again.

She smiled. “I didn’t know you got seasick, Raven.”

“Neither did I.”

Elsynne laughed lightly and looked towards the railing where Felix and Skylar were standing. Felix stood on the tips of his toes to look out over the ocean and Skylar kept an eye on him to make sure he would not fall overboard.

“I’ve been thinking...” Raven muttered, still keeping his eyes closed. “My dad just let me go yesterday and apparently they’ve been looking for me for all these years.”

Elsynne kept her eyes on Felix and Skylar. “I know...”

“Do you know what was he talking about?”

“I’m not sure...”

Raven was quiet for a while and Elsynne began to wonder if he was feeling too sick to talk again. “Do you think he believes those stupid stories about the Heir or something?” he asked after a long silence.

“Why would he?” Elsynne asked matter-of-factly – although Raven could detect a hint of sarcasm in her voice – as she took the cloth off his forehead. “The priest said that humans didn’t believe in the Heir and the Messenger anymore...not many of them, at least.”

“My parents were pretty religious. They might believe...or not. Who cares.”

Elsynne sighed and set the cloth aside. She positioned herself so that she was sitting next to Raven and leaned back.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Raven said, finally opening his eyes. “Did he scare you?”

“No, it wasn’t that,” she replied, pulling her legs to her chest. “It’s nothing. I’m just thinking.”

Raven nodded and closed his eyes again. “I wonder...”

Elsynne did not reply. She looked back towards the others and realized that Skylar was standing next to her.

“I thought you didn’t believe in myths,” Skylar said to Raven, smirking.

“Don’t get me wrong.” Raven replied, this time opening only one eye as he stared up at Skylar. “I’m still thinking about the whole Heir and Messenger thing. But I’m sort of curious...if Elsynne really is the Heir – this is all hypothetical of course – then who is the Messenger?”

“I wish I knew. That would make things easier for us, wouldn’t it?” Skylar mused as he ran a hand through his pale green hair.

“It’s Elsynne’s job to destroy the Messenger before he can get to her,” Felix said as he joined the others. “If she doesn’t stop him, then she’ll continue to suffer.”

“So you basically have to kill the Messenger?” Raven asked, turning to Elsynne. She frowned and bit her lip nervously, then nodded.

“Unless we can find another way...” she began.

“There isn’t another way,” Skylar murmured.

Raven shrugged. “If that’s what you have to do.”

Elsynne looked at him nervously, then turned away again, focusing on the horizon. “You’re willing to just kill someone like that? Even if you don’t know them?” she said quietly.

Felix looked at her strangely, tilting his head to the side. “Elsynne...”

Raven ignored her question and looked over the other passengers on the deck of the boat. He quietly scrutinized each person, wondering if there was anyone that he knew from the city, or if perhaps his father had not kept to his word and sent out a few soldiers to shadow him. His gaze finally rested on a woman with long, russet-brown hair and sallow, almost sickly skin. He could barely make out the ashy-gray circles beneath her brilliant green eyes; he noted how unnatural and beautiful they looked compared to the rest of her unkempt appearance.

His eyes suddenly widened with realization as he shot up into a sitting position, ignoring the wave of nausea that nearly overtook him. “Ophelia!” he hissed, his hands tightening into fists as he recognized the strange woman.

“Ophelia?” Felix repeated, confused.

“Didn’t the dragonlings we ran into mention that name before?” Elsynne said thoughtfully. She followed his gaze to the woman who was standing by the railing, whispering in undertone to a cloaked man next to her.

“I think so,” Raven replied, gritting his teeth as his stomach turned uncomfortably. “The Ophelia I know used to work in the castle as one of my father’s advisors until it was discovered that she was working with black magic. She was exiled and disappeared after that.”

“If she’s on this boat, then that means she was in Itona,” Skylar said, his tone becoming more serious. “Is she particularly dangerous?”

“I’m not sure...she didn’t do anything wrong in the court, as far as I know. But the dragonlings you helped us fight off mentioned her name.”

“Who’s that man she’s talking to?” Elsynne asked. “Why is he wearing a cloak in weather like this?”

Raven flinched as Ophelia turned and met his gaze. She grinned cruelly and motioned to the man next to her.

“They’re coming this way,” Raven said as he tried to push himself to his feet. He wobbled uneasily and fell back down, putting a hand to his stomach and grimacing as he felt sick again.

Ophelia approached the group and came to a stop at a safe distance, followed closely by her companion. “You’re the last one I thought I’d be seeing on a ship out of Itona,” she said to Raven, her smile spreading. “I’ve heard that you’ve been getting yourself into trouble...again.”

“That was all an accident,” Raven said, trying to will himself not to be sick.

“You mean the accident three years ago, or the incident the other day?”

Raven ignored her question. “What are you doing back in the city? I thought you left six years ago.”

“I was,” she said casually, pretending to examine a chipped fingernail as she spoke. “It doesn’t hurt to go back every once in a while to check up on things, though, does it?”

“I heard you’ve been working with dragonlings.”

Ophelia pursed her lips. “How did you...? Never mind.”

“Why did you send them after us?” Raven demanded, finally getting to his feet. Elsynne stood as well, shrinking back behind him. “And why are you working with them?”

“I probably know more about you than anyone else besides your immediate family,” Ophelia replied, quickly recovering her cool demeanor, “and I can use that information to my advantage.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I believe in the old stories about the Heir and the Messenger. I’ve heard stories about certain things, whispers of the gods...” she said, speaking in an undertone so that the other passengers on the ship could not hear them. “But certain requirements must be fulfilled in order to obtain such a tempting thing as the Heir’s or Messenger’s life.”

“You’re after Elsynne’s life, aren’t you?” Felix asked, putting a hand to the rapier at his waist. “What could someone like want?”

“That’s my secret. Besides, I’m not working for myself.”

“What?”

“There’s someone I need to beat in order to obtain what I want.”

Raven quickly remembered that it was his job to keep Elsynne safe as he drew his sword. He grinned, realizing that her job could end up being more exciting than he originally thought.

Ophelia took a step back and held out her hand. “Don’t try to pick fights you can’t win, Raven, or whatever stupid name you’re going by nowadays,” she warned with a wave of her hand. A plume of fire suddenly materialized beneath Raven’s feet and exploded, sending him flying backwards.

“Raven!” Elsynne cried, quickly kneeling beside him as she healed his shallow wounds.

“I’m fine,” he lied, getting to his feet shakily. A rush of adrenaline blocked out the rolling nausea in his stomach, allowing him to steady himself easier and prepare for the fight.

“I don’t have time for this.” Ophelia stepped backward again. She placed her hands against the railing and motioned towards the cloaked man who had been watching her quietly. He turned to face Elsynne, smiling cruelly. The sun finally hit his face and they could clearly make out his features; his scalene brown skin was etched with black markings and symbols.

Elsynne gasped. “He’s a dragonling!” she said, her hands suddenly tightening on Raven’s arm.

“Ow! Let go!” he said, jerking away as the burn flared on his arm.

“I’m sorry, I keep forgetting that happens,” Elsynne said quickly, careful not to let her hands touch his skin again.

“Go ahead. You know what to do,” Ophelia was telling the dragonling. He nodded and flung himself over the railing.

Felix jumped back. “He just fell in!” he exclaimed, looking back and forth between Ophelia and the space where the dragonling man had been standing moments before. “Aren’t you going to help him?”

Ophelia grinned slyly. “Don’t worry. We’ll be seeing each other again very soon,” she promised, speaking to both Raven and Elsynne. And then she threw herself backward over the railing, just as her companion had.

Raven quickly pushed himself up and ran to the railing, ignoring the crowds of other people who had seen Ophelia’s display and were already standing in his way to get a better glimpse of the woman and her strange partner. Raven leaned over, expecting to see both her and the dragonling bobbing in the water, trying to keep themselves afloat on the rough waves.

There was no one there.

“It seems that we already have an enemy to contend with,” Skylar mused as he joined the others at the railing. “We haven’t known Elsynne’s story for more than a day and now we have that bothersome woman and her dragonling pet on our trail.”

When the boat finally docked in the small town, Raven was the last one off. Once the adrenaline rush from the brief skirmish had worn off the excruciatingly painful nausea returned and kept him almost comatose on the deck of the ship. Elsynne had remained bravely beside him, bringing him cold water and placing damp washcloths on his forehead. She even sat beside him through the freezing night as he slept on the deck, too seasick to even move below deck.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said once they disembarked the ship, too embarrassed to look her in the eye.

Elsynne smiled gently. “It’s all right. I didn’t mind.”

“Ships are fun, but I’m happy to be back on solid land,” Felix said, grinning again. Their short-lived encounter with Ophelia had stunned him for a while and left him uncharacteristically serious as he threw himself into a protective mode, trying to keep Elsynne safe from the new threat that hung over them. He seemed to be better now; Raven was already growing weary of his overzealous attitude.

Skylar, on the other hand, remained his usual self – somewhat cheerful, yet pensive – throughout the remainder of the voyage. Raven was amazed at how calm he had remained during their encounter with Ophelia and the dragonling.

“I never want to go on another ship again,” Raven said as they left the harbor and entered the small town. “That was absolutely horrible...”

“Yes, I’m not going on a ship with you anymore,” Skylar said, sighing. “Your misery is my misery, I suppose.”

“What does *that* mean?”

“All of your whimpering and groaning was beginning to get on my nerves.”

“Well, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t sound sorry at all.”

“Because I’m *not*.”

Felix quickly jumped between the two, throwing out his arms. “Come on, don’t start arguing now! We have a job to do, remember?”

“Yes,” Elsynne added, clasping her hands together nervously, “I was thinking...maybe we should try forming pacts with the Spirits of this region.”

“Spirits?” Raven repeated, confused.

“The Spirits were beings that used to work with the Gemini Gods before the two turned on each other,” Skylar explained. “They’re said to be powerful beings that will form pacts with certain people who can summon them into a fight for assistance and guidance.”

“They might help us while we’re looking for the Scale,” Elsynne said.

Raven narrowed his eyes. “Where can we find the Spirits?”

“They’re all over the world. I know that there are definitely two here on Libra.”

“The Spirit called Rhett is here, right?” Felix asked as he pulled at the hem of his hat. “He’s hiding in the east, I think.”

“That’s right. His cavern is somewhere near the Tower, if I remember correctly.”

“This is all sounding more and more ridiculous...” Raven complained, letting his shoulders sag. “First you tell me a story about this extinct race that turns out to be alive, and then-“

“No one said you had to come with us, Raven,” Skylar said tensely.

“Yeah, I’m being paid to come.”

“You can still go home if you’re getting tired of all our fairy tale nonsense.”

Elsynne turned to Raven, careful not to take his hands or accidentally grab his shoulders. “Please don’t leave, Raven.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he replied. “I’m just saying that this is all sounding weirder and weirder as we keep going.”

“No one’s forcing you to believe us,” Felix pointed out, smiling. “But once you see the Spirit Rhett, you’ll understand!”

“Sounds like fun,” Raven said sarcastically as he followed them out of the town.

The landscape of Libra was far different from that of Austror; high mountains and dark forests replaced the familiar open green fields as they walked up the well-worn trails. The sky and sun were a dull gray, partially obscured by a thin layer of colorless clouds. However, the dirt roads leading from town to town were much more defined than those on the plains, making the journey much easier.

“Who can form pacts with the Spirits?” Raven asked as they walked up one of the trails leading to the next town. “Or is that something only the Heir and Messenger can do?”

“You have far too many questions for a nonbeliever, Raven.” Skylar said, although his tone was patient and even. “You act as if you could care less about the Heir and the Messenger, and yet you’re constantly pestering Elsynne with questions about them and their history.”

“I’m just curious,” Raven replied, frowning. “These dumb legends are mostly news to me. I figure if I’m going to have to listen to them during my time with you guys, I might as well familiarize myself with them.”

“But why do you care?”

“I don’t care, I’m just curious!”

“That’s contradictory and hypocritical.”

“Anyone can form a pact with a Spirit,” Elsynne cut in, hoping to stop the oncoming argument. “The Spirit just has to accept the person who desires a pact.”

“The Heir and the Messenger can’t make pacts, either,” Felix added, “so that means it’s up to the three of us to form pacts.”

“And you can hold pacts with as many Spirits as you’d like.”

“Hm,” Raven said indifferently, shivering as a cold breeze swept over the road. “It doesn’t sound too complicated.”

“It isn’t, if you think about it that way,” Elsynne said. “But the biggest problem we’ll have is getting the Spirit to want to form a pact with one of us. They have to approve of the pact-maker, and many Spirits are very...” she trailed off, thinking of the correct word.

“Picky?” Felix offered.

She nodded. “Yes. They take a long time to choose who they want to serve and protect. It’s a big decision for them, since they’re essentially signing themselves away into servitude.”

“If I had the same power as a Spirit, I wouldn’t be offering it up to any humans,” Raven said, “so why do they form pacts with normal, weak people?”

“They’re bound to the location where they rest,” Elsynne replied solemnly. “They aren’t allowed to leave for anything.”

“So a pact with a person is basically their ticket out?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“If the Spirit named Rhett refuses to form a pact with any of us, we’ll have to give up and go on to the next one,” Skylar said, “but it would be beneficial to us if we could form pacts with as many Spirits as possible. It will make things easier when we finally run into the Messenger.”

Elsynne fell silent again, pretending to focus her gaze on the item pack at her side. Reo poked her head out from the opening of the pack and purred as Elsynne stroked her long, soft fur.

“What was Reo before she was mutated by the black magic?” Raven asked. He held out his hand for the cat, who leaned forward and bit his middle finger.

“A normal domesticated house cat,” Elsynne replied, laughing as Raven cursed loudly and quickly wiped the blood from his finger. “She’s been my pet since I was born.”

“That’s an abnormally long life span for a normal cat,” Skylar observed.

“The black magic is supposed to keep things alive for a very long time,” Elsynne explained as she pet the cat one last time before closing the flap of the pack. “Reo will probably end up outliving even me.”

“It all sounds weird to me, but I saw the cat transform,” Raven said before Skylar could open his mouth and ask about his curiosity in the cat. “It had to be black magic. That stuff is potent enough to make dragonlings.”

Felix suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, causing Raven to trip over his feet as he tried to stop himself from running into the boy.

“What the hell did you stop for?!” Raven demanded, trying to steady himself. Felix ignored him, looking over his shoulder at something behind them.

“Isn’t that the girl we met in the castle?” he questioned, pointing at a figure charging up the road towards them.

“Oh, I do recognize her...” Elsynne said, cautiously putting a hand on her staff. “I remember wondering why the court would hire such a young girl.”

“That’s Ilia Ruden,” Raven said exasperatedly as the girl came into view. “She’s one of the half-elven mages of the court.”

“I had a feeling that the king wouldn’t let you out of the country so easily,” Skylar said, sounding amused. “Let’s see what Ilia has to say.”

“I want to know how she got here so fast,” Raven said. “I didn’t even see her on the boat.”

Felix jumped in front of them, clumsily brandishing his rapier. “Elsynne, get behind us so you can use healing arts if someone gets hurt. But be careful not to overdo it, okay?”

“I’d be advising Raven to be careful, if I were you. He’s usually the one who gets hurt,” Skylar pointed out.

“Oh, you’re right.”

“H-Hey! That’s because I’m usually the only one who has to fight!” Raven protested.

When Ilia finally caught up to them, she stopped in the road and leaned against her knees, trying to catch her breath. “I...I’ve finally...caught up to you!” she gasped. “I’ve been behind you...the entire time!”

“Then why did you have to run to catch up?” Felix asked, smiling nervously.

“I wanted to catch you off guard!”

The corner of Raven’s mouth twitched as he tried to keep himself from laughing. “That’s one of the worst lies I’ve ever heard.”

“B-But I was trying really hard to stay a good distance behind you,” Ilia said, straightening up. “I waited until you were all too busy chatting to pay attention to what was coming!”

“I could hear you coming,” Felix said triumphantly.

“Anyone could hear you running up the road the way you were,” Skylar added, smirking as he spoke.

“Th-That’s beside the point!” Ilia seethed as she pulled something from the pocket of her white cloak.

Raven tried unsuccessfully not to snicker as she held out a small purple baton. “What kind of weapon is that? A wand?”

“It’s not a wand! I use it to conduct magic!”

“You don’t need a baton to manipulate magic,” Skylar pointed out. With a flick of his wrist, he cast an offensive spell that caused a spark of electricity to materialize and strike the ground in front of Raven, who jumped backwards with surprise and nearly bumped into Elsynne. “You see?”

“Half-elves like me can’t use magic as easily as pureblooded elves,” Ilia said, frowning sullenly as she gripped the baton tighter in her hand. “We need a catalyst to conduct the waves of magic.”

“Ah, that’s right, I’d forgotten about that...I don’t interact with half-elves that much.”

 “Just because I can’t use magic that easily doesn’t mean that I’m any weaker than you are!” Ilia said, glaring at Skylar. She waved her baton and smiled as a brightly-colored glyph appeared beneath her feet. “Just watch!”

“Should we interfere?” Felix asked quietly as Ilia and Skylar stared each other down, both preparing to cast a spell at any second.

Raven looked between the two. “This’ll be over pretty quickly. Skylar’s a pureblood, so he’ll be able to cast magic quicker because he has a better handle over it than Ilia does. He’s also older than her and has much more experience.”

“Aqua Edge!” Skylar suddenly threw out his hand and extended his fingers as a casting circle formed beneath his feet. Several globules of water shot out from the circle and barreled towards Ilia.

Ilia jumped aside and waved her baton again. “Eruption!”

Skylar’s eyes widened. He threw himself to the side as the earth around his body grew hotter and lava materialized, shooting upwards and scalding the area he had been standing on moments before.

“See?” Ilia taunted, sticking out her tongue. “Don’t hold back on me just because I’m a kid.”

“I wasn’t expecting her to use something like that...” Skylar said, shrugging nonchalantly. “You’re a lot craftier than I originally gave you credit for.”

“Oh, come on. She just used a slightly stronger spell than you, big deal,” Raven said, folding his arms over his chest. “You just have to use something better!”

“Skylar wasn’t expecting her to use something like that at all,” Elsynne pointed out, casting a sideways glance in Raven’s direction. “He thought Ilia wasn’t experienced enough.”

“I *told* you that she was a mage hired by the royal family of Itona. Why didn’t you listen?”

Skylar ignored his comment and took an offensive stance. “I’ll be ready this time,” he warned, narrowing his eyes.

Ilia repositioned herself and grinned teasingly. “Are you sure, old man?”

“O-Old? I’m only a hundred twenty-one!” Skylar protested, suddenly flustered. “That’s not old at all!”

“It’s old to me,” Ilia said, laughing. “I’m just fourteen!”

“Fourteen, and already able to use magic like that...where did you learn it?”

“That’s none of your business! We’re here to fight, not exchange stories about our past!”

“True enough. Let’s go!”

Elsynne suddenly grabbed Raven’s arm again without thinking. “What if Skylar can’t get out of the way this time?” she asked nervously.

Raven flinched as she squeezed his arm. The pain quickly flared and intensified; it felt as if someone was holding a hot fire to his skin. Raven jerked out of her grasp, falling over in his haste to get away from her.

“Damn it, Elsynne!” he cursed, wrapping his fingers around the injured part of his arm. “Why do you always have to do that?!”

“I’m sorry! I keep forgetting!” she said, stepping backwards. “It’s a reflex, I can’t help it!”

“You’re going to have to if you want me to keep traveling with you.” Raven said, gritting his teeth against the pain. It was beginning to fade, but his arm still burned. “Do you know how much that *hurts*?”

“I’m really sorry...”

Ilia had stopped casting her spell as she looked over to Raven, curiosity shining in her indigo eyes.

Skylar seized the moment and took advantage of the distraction. “Spread!”

Ilia was taken by surprise as the column of water suddenly shot up beneath her and threw her in the air. She landed on the dirt path with a dull thud that knocked the breath from her lungs and left her winded.

“That was a cheap shot!” she gasped once she had taken a few deep breaths. “I didn’t-“

“You weren’t paying attention,” Skylar said, cutting her off. “The key is to keep your head in the battle. Don’t let something like Raven’s loud mouth distract you.”

Ilia pushed herself to her feet shakily and picked up her baton. “We’ll finish this later. I’ve got some stuff to take care of,” she said, brushing the dirt from her cloak and skirt. “Next time when we meet, I’m not going to be hit so easily.”

Skylar forced a smile. “We’ll see about that, kid.”

Felix frowned as Ilia ran back down the path in the direction of Arcion. “We’re just going to let her go?” he asked.

“She said she was coming back, don’t worry,” Skylar said. He took a deep breath and sighed quietly. “I haven’t had to use magic like that in a long time...I’ve been relying on archery for a few decades now.”

“I didn’t know you could use magic at all,” Raven said as Felix helped him up off the ground. He still kept his hand over the spot where Elsynne had touched him.

“Everyone with elven blood can use magic,” Skylar said, “I just haven’t had a need to use my skill for a while.”

“We should probably get going.” Elsynne sighed, watching Raven with wary eyes. “Maybe we can still get to Brancove soon. We’ve still got a fairly long walk.”

“Are you sure you’re not tired yet? We can stop for a while,” Felix offered.

“No, I’m feeling fine,” Elsynne said quickly. She turned to Raven again, her gaze questioning.

“I’m all right,” He said grudgingly, taking his hand from his arm. “I’m sorry if I startled you.”

Raven followed behind the others as they continued to travel up the road to Brancove, where they would form their first pact with a Spirit. He was beginning to wonder what they would end up finding; he still had very little belief in Elsynne’s stories, the Spirits included.

*‘It’s no big deal,’* he thought smugly, putting a hand to the rattling gald pouch at his waist. *‘I’m being paid to listen to her stupid stories, after all.’*