Fell is going to Fukeru Ukuure.
Feres is going to Darkling Dawn
Vaesai is standing at Lantessama.
Selesst eyed the swirling populous with calm alertness, waiting for any of the myriad to attempt to pick his pocket. Being back in the City was like waking up after a long, heavy slumber.
It was good to be back.
“Father!” the bright cry in his native language jerked his eyes away from a group of young thieves-in-training, as what basically amounted to a human thunderbolt collided with him, wrapping thin arms around his waist in a tight hug.
Selesst laughed faintly, one hand reaching down to muss his son’s slightly sparkly hair, “It’s good to see you, little sprite.”
“Where’ve you been? Why haven’t you come home every winter like before? Did you bring me anything?” the chatter of questions seemed endless, almost too rapid for even Selesst to keep up with.
He shook his head slightly, lifting his son up as he did and continuing on his way, “I’ve been working, little sprite, which is why I haven’t come home every winter. And yes, yes I did.” A small smile flickered across his face, “But you’re going to have to wait until we get into my quarters, you know.”
His son pouted, sticking his lower lip out as his silvered emerald eyes widened immensely, until they looked like the soulful, pleading eyes of a puppy.
Selesst smiled, “And don’t try that, little sprite. I’ve become rather immune to it lately, you know.”
“My name’s Glitz now!” the boy proclaimed with a huff, “Not little sprite. And why have you become immune to it?”
“Why, from dealing with little kids every day! My new employer has many children, the youngest of which are identical twins. They’re about your age, actually, maybe a year or two younger.”
“Oh!” Glitz blinked, “What are their names? Will I ever get to meet them?”
A shrug, “Perhaps you will, someday… their names are Tirnavor and Sorthion, though how you can tell one from the other is hard to say.”
He reached out a hand, turning the handle on the wooden door and opening it with a gentle shove. As Glitz expertly wiggled free – proving once and for all that he had inherited his mother’s double-jointed bones – Selesst glanced about, looking to see if anything had been changed since he had last come home.
Yet… it did not feel like home. Everywhere he glanced, there were reminders of –her-… from the tiny knickknacks spread out over the mantle, to the picture that she had insisted upon having done of them together.
He stood still and mute in the entranceway, staring at the carefully framed picture. Both of them, together, decked out in full mercenary regalia, as if they were going to a banquet or something similarly impressive and high class. That picture had been painted years before Glitz had come into their lives, when they were only faintly considering having children together.
Elsewhere, too, her careful hand could be seen, or at least to his eyes it could. Chairs and tables arranged just so, an arrangement of vases and other various ‘pretties’ that they had found together… the collection of weapons hung all over one wall, turning the room into what looked like a miniature armory.
And it was all incredibly dead without her voice to lighten the air and her presence to brighten the place.
Like one half-dead, he slunk through the common room, skirting around the tables and chairs as if they could kill him if he went too near. He felt like nothing more than an intruder, but even when practicing his thieving skills he had never felt so out of place as he did now.
This wasn’t home. It couldn’t be. She wasn’t there.
“Selesst! You’ve returned!”
He winced at the voice, freezing in his steps and turning slightly to see who it was, “For a short time. My job is unfinished still, and will probably always be.”
The woman arched an eyebrow, “So, the untamable Selesst has become a bodyguard to a noble? Incredible!”
Selesst snorted, “Not incredible when you know Lord Rowlden. He couldn’t be better if he was born one of us. He’s one in a million, as are the rest of his close family.”
“Hm…” the woman shrugged, “Well, if you say so. In any case, if I may ask…”
“I… don’t think I’ll be returning after this.” He had to look away from her face, unwilling to see the accusation that was sure to burn within her at his words.
She merely sighed, “Oh, nephew… I had suspected as much. The gods alone know what I’ll do if Kerai were to die before me.”
Selesst felt his eyes pulled back to her face, seeing only understanding and compassion written on her features, “So you… don’t mind?”
“Of course not… it is hard on young Glitz though, but having known your wife, I can see where it might be hard to raise him,” the woman smiled faintly, “Kerai and I will raise him to the best of our abilities.”
“Thank you, aunt. And tell Kerai that I thank her as well.”
“Will do, Selesst, will do.”
He nodded, then continued walking towards his son’s room, still unconsciously avoiding most of the things around the place. Too much of it reminded him of her, and too much of it sparked memories he would rather not recall now, for most led inevitably towards that day…
Glitz’s room was different, though only by dint of having more random things thrown into it than he had seen last time. It did appear that his aunt and her mate were out to spoil Glitz to the best of their abilities.
“Father! Look!” Glitz grinned brightly from his crouching position on the floor, indicating with a nod the huge spread that lay before him, terrain and soldiers and other things that would all be part of a war effort, “See what Aunt Shenna and Aunt Kerai gave me for my birthday?”
Selesst arched an eyebrow, “Well, that’s an impressive present indeed. Won any wars yet?”
Glitz snorted, “The two of them keep trouncing me at every turn! I can’t even defend the borders.”
“Is that true…” a small smile flickered over his face as he knelt down on the other side of the spread, “Then I think I’m going to have to teach you the best way to sweep everything up, aren’t I.”
“Will you? Please?”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the pleading look he was given, “Of course I will, now come, show me how you set everything up…”
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Feres paced back and forth in the room that Vaesai had insisted he take. He didn’t know why he had accepted it… after all, he could just as easily find shelter in any of thousands of places around the city, despite the fact that this was his first visit to it.
Fell had been surprised when he had announced that he was going to follow her out into the world when she left their country again, but not as surprised as he himself had been.
His gift was, in more ways than one, a curse that he could do without if he had the choice. But he didn’t, and so he was left at the mercy of an ability that few, if any, could really understand.
The Sight never left him, never faded or waned in strength… and the things it revealed to him, or nudged him into doing or saying…
Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to be born as a true human, instead of a descendant of sorcerer-created people. Would I still have these curses of mine? Neither are really under my control, and none of the elders could manage to teach me how to pull them under control. I have to fight with all my strength, sometimes, to keep the shadows from concealing me for almost everyone, and as for the Sight…
It reveals so much to me that sometimes my head aches with the knowledge. Everyone I look at has a swirl of possibilities around them, the possibilities so intertwined and woven about themselves that it’s impossible for me to decipher much of anything about anyone. And on top of that, even inanimate objects have swirls of thought and emotion about them on occasion, though those are much easier to decipher and understand than living creatures. And usually that is only because some people hold those objects dear, or associate some strong emotion with them.
This city is washed in sadness… a sadness so intense that it affects even the weather. But the basis for the sadness is something so old that it should no longer be so strong!
Oh, Fell, my little sister… why did my curse prompt me into coming with you? What is it that my curse seems to think needs to be done?
Feres sighed, shaking his head slowly as he halted in his pacing. He really should have gone with Fell when she went out to practice her craft, but yet… he simply couldn’t seem to find the desire to do anything. It was as if something was draining him of his energy, leaving him with nothing left to dredge up for any emotions.
With a grimace, he strode to the door and pulled it open, carefully winding his way through the corridors, retracing his path back to the common room.
Vaesai looked up from her reading when he entered, her soft words breaking the silence, “You seem disturbed, Feres.”
He frowned, “This place…”
She laughed softly, “So, you feel it too? This place used to be a shelter, a hiding place for a group of peace-loving men and women. This was their refuge from the world, this was where they went when they wanted calm serenity… I believe that some their essence has distilled itself into these walls.”
“I see…” Feres settled down into a chair across from her, resting an elbow on the armrest, and leaning his chin in his open palm, eyes focused on the floor, “And it doesn’t bother you that it… seems to suck the energy from you?”
“Ah… Feres. Look at me.” The command in her voice was clear for all to hear.
Startled, he glanced up, eyes going wide in surprise and puzzlement as he saw… nothing around her. It was if there was nothing in her future, nothing that she felt, no one that she cared for.
“What…”
She smiled, “I learned long ago how to shield myself. And, perhaps, that’s something that you should learn as well. I don’t know how much it will help you, but even a tiny measure might be a blessing, yes?”
Feres hesitated for a brief instant, before nodding slowly, “Yes. It would.”
“Good then, listen carefully and I’ll teach you…”