Chapter 5, part 1

Hlao is definitely not is Scotland anymore!

Chapter 5

             Becoming One of the People

                               

 

 

“Does she really come from the Sister Planet?”

“ Well, wake her up and ask her.”
”No, you,”

“Would you both shut up? She’s just been shot in the shoulder with an arrow.”

“Zenny, no leave her alone!”

 “Uh-oh, now we’ve gone and woken her up.”

Hlao awoke some time later to the sound of whispering voices, and something cold and wet nudging her ear. She batted a hand vaguely at whatever it was, opening her eyes blearily. The sight that met her eyes made her think that she was still dreaming.

A small grey and black fox was sitting on her pillow, tongue lolling out in a lopsided grin, bushy tail waving back and forth like a banner.

“Hi hi, I’m Zenny, who’re you?” he yipped, his words tumbling out in a rushed stream.

“Mmm, ‘lo Zenny. I’m Hlao,” Hlao mumbled drowsily, feeling like her head was stuffed with cotton. She tried to sit up but gasped sharply as a sharp throb of agony ran through her shoulder. Strong hands pushed her back down onto the soft pillow and Tristan’s face was hovering over her, green eyes filled with worry. He was no longer wearing his armor, but a clean tunic and breeches. Pippin was on his shoulder, her little face mirroring her companion’s expression.

“Don’t try to sit up. The healers removed the arrow, and did their best to close up the wound, but it’ll be sore for another day or two. How are you feeling” He began mopping her brow with a cool, damp towel.

“Gerroff, ye great mother hen, I’m fine,” Hlao grumbled, pushing his hand away.

“Tut tut, such an ungrateful patient. Tris has been here for three days watching over you, ever since they brought you in,” Pippin scolded.

“Were you really?” Hlao asked softly, surprisingly touched.

“Well, it was nothing; I was the one who brought you here, so I was assigned to keep a guard on you. Just in case,” Tristan replied gruffly. He couldn’t keep a note of concern out of his voice as he asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been kicked by a horse. Pretty good considering I was just shot with an arrow,” Hlao replied with a wry smile. “Where exactly am I?” She asked. The only thing she could see from her restricted position was the end of a large, comfortable bed, and an obscure view of white stone walls. Someone had given her a clean white gown while she had been unconscious.

 “In the infirmary. As soon as I brought you into the city, the healers took you to remove the arrow. You’re a very lucky little lady. Most shadow weapons are coated in poison,” Tristan replied.

Hlao shuddered, then reached out and took her friend’s hand, giving it light squeeze. “Thank you. You risked your life for me and Colin, not once but three times.”

“He he, it’s no wonder you’re so smitten with her Tris, she really is quite pretty,” another high voice tittered. Tristan looked down, blushing. It was only then that Hlao realized that Tristan, Pippin and the strange grey fox were not her only company. There were two girls, her own age, standing by her bedside.

The first girl was incredibly beautiful, with waist-long, honey gold hair bound in an elegant braid with golden ribbon wound through it, and sparkling grey eyes. She had a certain poise and refinement about her features.

The other girl had a cherubic, open face, ripples of auburn hair that fell to her shoulders, and deep brown eyes. Her skin was darker than most of the people Hlao had seen here.

“Hlao, these are my friends, and fellow students at the Whitschool. As soon as I told them about you, they insisted on coming here to pester you,” Tristan said with a teasing grin at his companions.

 “Hi there. I am princess Ahmen Ta’venren. On behalf of my father, High king Argen; allow me to welcome you to Wyrenguard.  I guess you’re the girl from the Sister planet. Tristan here told us about you,” the blond girl said genially, deciding to break the ice. She sauntered gracefully closer, eyeing Hlao curiously.

Hlao couldn’t help but admire this princess and wish, with a pang if jealousy, that she were half as beautiful. She’d never really thought of herself as pretty; none if the boys in her town had ever expressed any interest in her, so she figured she must not be too attractive. Not that she would have given them half a thought if they had been interested. She wasn’t about to go mooning after some half-brained boy.

But Ahmen had a way of walking, a sway in her hips, that made Hlao certain that she had broken quite a few hearts. And Hlao actually found herself envious. She couldn’t explain it.

 Ahmen touched her eyelids, and then stretched out her hands, palm up towards Hlao in a strange, yet polite gesture. Hlao awkwardly copied the gesture, not used to the greeting. She was more accustomed to bowing, or shaking hands. But she had to admit, it was a very dignified way of saying hello. 

“If you don’t mind my asking, highness, why are you here, visiting a common girl like me?”

“Well, you are far from common, Hlao. Since the original colonists came here from Terrador, we haven’t seen very many visitors from the sister planet.”

“Colonists? I don’t understand,” Hlao shook her head.

Don’t worry, you’ll learn about all that soon enough. By the way, this great fur ball here is Marwyn.” Ahmen gestured to a large ginger-furred cat curled up on a nearby chair. This was the first time Hlao had noticed him. His paws were tucked under his cream colored chest, and he watched Hlao lazily out of half closed green eyes, bushy tail swishing back and forth.

“I’m Kira,” the other girl replied shyly, repeating the greeting gesture and then scooping the grey fox into her arms. “I guess you’ve already met Zenny here.”

“Hi hi! Nice to meetcha,” Zenny yipped.

“I’m Hlao MacKellan,” Hlao replied

Now don’t be rude, come and say hello to Hlao,” Ahmen said to her companion. Marwyn unfolded himself and flowed down from the bed. Hlao had to stifle a gasp when, instead if landing on all fours, the strange cat stood up on his hind legs, coming to about three feet tall at the tips of his ears. Compared to Earth cats, he had a slightly longer, broader muzzle, and floppier ears. Looking at his face, Hlao thought his expressions were so human, he could have been some sort of strange furry child.

“I take it you don’t have Cattwyn on Terrador,” Ahmen laughed, noting Hlao’s dumbfounded expression.

“No, definitely not,” Hlao replied offhandedly, reaching out and tickling Marwyn under the chin, just to show she wasn’t afraid. She had loved the barn cats back home, but her father had told her about giant cats in Africa and India that could eat a man for lunch. Flattening his ears with a look of disgust at being treated like some kind of tame pet, Marwyn snatched her hand between his oddly hand-like furry pads and started sniffing at her palm inquisitively.

“Sorry, he does that a lot,” Ahmen told Hlao, grinning apologetically.

“You smell funny,” Marwyn concluded, still sniffing her hand.

“Oh, thanks ever so much,” Hlao replied dryly, beginning to get more than a little tired of this. She didn’t really appreciate being insulted by a talking cat. “All right, you can stop that now. Seriously cut it out, that tickles!” Marwyn pointedly ignored her and continued to let his long whiskers scritch across her skin. He parted his jaws to let the scent flow across the roof of his mouth, revealing thorn-sharp teeth. Finally satisfied that he had gotten enough of her scent, Marwyn looked up at Hlao, green eyes approving.

“You smell of another world, but it still can’t cover up the leafy scent of Elf. Welcome back, daughter of the wood.”

Ahmen came and sat on the edge of Hlao’s bed, nodding in agreement.

“We all grew up hoping you would return to us. The legends all said that you held the power to bring light back to Syldraga.”

Hlao said nothing, fisting her hands in the sheets in discomfort. She did not like where this conversation was going. She wasn’t about to be someone’s hero.

“Why is the sky so dark? It’s very odd.” Hlao asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Black magic of the strongest kind,” Kira replied grimly.

“You see, when Rosairus had established his power on Magica, darkness started to spread all over the territory. He made three shadow seals, made of pure black magic, to keep the darkness in place. No one, not even the head of the Wizarding council Brimblewind, knows where they are. If we did, we could put an end to this dreadful war now. We did the same thing here in Wyrenguard. There are three seals up in the Wizarding tower, creating a shield around the city, except our seals are made of pure light magic.”

“I still can’t quite believe that magic really exists here. I mean, there are some superstitious folks back on Earth who believe in witches and black magic, but I always believed it was all a load of nonsense,” Hlao said in wonder.

“Syldraga has its own magical field, like a magnetic field. Some, but not all, people can tap into this field and bend it to their will. The strongest magic wielders are dragons. Syldraga’s magical field just seems to converge around them,” Tristan explained. “Children on Syldraga are tested frequently to see if they possess the seeds of magic. If control of their power is not mastered early on, it could spell disaster.”

“I can well imagine,” Hlao agreed quietly. She remembered several incidents where things seemed to break when she got very angry, not the least of which was that incredible shock wave. But she said nothing about any of that.

“Ahem. Which is why I must interrupt you all, and beg a moment with Hlao alone,” A voice said from the doorway. Hlao looked up to see a man, wiry and tall, with flowing white hair and beard. Though he was very old, he stood proud and straight and walked with an easy swinging stride as he came and shooed Tristan, Ahmen, Kira, and their animal companions out of the room. He carried an ornate staff in one hand, but he did not appear to need its support, loosely carrying it in one hand. He was dressed in a flowing midnight blue robe studded with silver swirls, a matching tasseled cap atop his head. A magnificent red and gold bird, with a long tail and beautiful crest, perched on his shoulder.  

With a mischievous smile, he suddenly whirled around and pointed, sending a bolt of blue sparks shooting towards the doorframe. There was a startled yelp, as Tristan withdrew his hand before the sparks burned him.

“You may come back later, master Layolen. I assure you that your charming friend will come to no harm in your absence.”

Tristan poked his head back around the door frame with a sheepish grin.

“Yes sir, Brimblewind. I’ll check back in a few hours, Hlao, give you a chance to rest.”

“Tristan, I’ve been out for three days, how much more rest could I possibly need?” Hlao laughed cavalierly, though she was starting to feel a bit fatigued. When Tristan was finally gone, Brimblewind came and sat in the chair Marwyn had occupied, brushing off a few shed ginger hairs before he arranged himself comfortably. His beautiful scarlet bird (Hlao later learned he was a Phoenix) perched on the high back, preening its lush plumage. Brimblewind sat in silence for a long moment. He held her gaze steadily, an ageless wisdom in his violet eyes.

“You know, you really do look exactly like your mother.”

“Yes, so the Traveler told me.”

“If it’s not too much, would you mind telling me about your encounter with the Traveler? Silvestern had the honor of meeting her once, when she warned him to send you away. It may help clear up some of the mystery of why and why you’ve been returned to us.”

Hlao willingly obliged, doing her best not to leave anything out and answer Brimblewind’s questions. She was surprised at how easy it was; the words seemed to flow right off her tongue. By the time she was finished, she felt thoroughly exhausted, and her wound throbbed. But Brimblewind wouldn’t let her rest quite yet.

“Before I go, I need a sample of your blood. You have already demonstrated the signs of magic, but I want to run a simple test, the same we run on all initiates to our magic academy.”

Seeing Hlao’s surprised look, he chuckled. “Oh yes, all of the masters of the Wizarding Tower felt your little stunt the other day. Quite impressive, for someone so young. You have obviously discovered some sort of control on your own, otherwise you wouldn’t even be here right now”

“Well, all right,” Hlao said, reluctantly holding out her arm.

Brimblewind reached into robe and pulled out a strange gray device, made of some strange smooth material, about the size of a chicken egg, and shaped like half a circle. The rounded side had a glass vial screwed into it, the other was completely flat.

Hlao closed her eyes tightly as Brimblewind gently took her arm and rolled up the sleeve just past the wrist. He pressed the blood-taker against Hlao’s pulse point. Hlao kept expecting at any moment to feel the sharp sting of a needle. She wished the old man would bloody well get on with it already.

“You can open your eyes now,” Brimblewind said mildly a few seconds later. Opening her eyes, Hlao looked down at her wrist. Was it really over, or was he just trying to trick her? She hadn’t felt a thing! She saw only a tiny red speck on her skin that could have been where the needle had gone in. Taking a look at the blood-taker, Hlao saw that the glass vial was filled with bright red blood. Her blood. She shivered, her stomach doing a somersault. She’d never had that strong a stomach and seeing her blood like that was unnerving.

“It didn’t hurt,” she said lamely.

“Of course not. We’ve specifically designed it to be painless. See, there are lots of tiny blunt points on this flat side. Only one of them actually breaks the skin. The rest spread out the pressure so that you don’t feel one individual needle. You just press down on the vial, the needle breaks the skin and the suction draws the blood into the vial,”

“Fascinating,” Hlao said, her stomach doing another flip. Sensing her discomfort, Brimblewind stowed the vial in his sleeve.

“Well, I should let you get your rest, or the healers will be after my head.”

Hlao giggled, finding it hard to imagine the meek healers doing anything to a wise and powerful figure like Brimblewind. But she was getting rather drowsy.

 Stifling a yawn, she asked one final question.

“So, what happens to me now, sir?”

“What do you want to happen?”

“I- I think I’d like to stay here. Not that I have much choice but… this is my home.”

Brimblewind smiled in approval of her statement.

“Then as soon as you are well, you will be fully welcomed as one of the people. But first, you must rest.” His words seemed to hang on the air carrying a strange weight that settled over Hlao like a blanket, and her eyelids immediately began to droop, much as she fought to keep them open. The old wizard’s words still sank in, despite her growing fatigue, and a glow of happiness settled in her breast. After spending all her life searching for a place to belong, she had found her home.

“Are you using magic on me?” she mumbled sleepily, snuggling deeper into the pillow. Within moments, she was deeply asleep, a contented smile on her face.

Still smiling, Brimblewind drew the blankets up to her chin. Then his gaze turned thoughtful one more as he drew the vial of blood back out of his sleeve, holding it up to the light. His phoenix companion craned his graceful neck with a chirp.

“What are you thinking old friend?”

“I don’t even need to run the test to see that she radiates magic, Fiero,” Brimblewind replied quietly, stuffing the vial back into his robes. “I’ve never felt a convergence so strong before, not even from a dragon. If my suspicions are confirmed, I am thinking that I will take the girl on as my apprentice.