Bacorium Legacy (39 page)

“What do you mean?”

“It's nothing,” Selphie said. “I suppose you'll see for yourself when we finally arrive at T'Saw.”

“I actually lived in T'Saw for a while,” Emila said. “Two years.”

“Really?” Selphie said, a bit surprised. “I didn't know that. How did you end up involved in all this, then?”

“It's - kind of a long story.”

“You only lived in T'Saw for the past two years, you said? Where are you from originally?”

Emila hesitated a moment, then said, “A town called Sulin in Saeticia.” After a second, she smiled mirthlessly and added, “It's actually not very far from where we are now. A slight detour on our path to Serenite, and we could stop there - and see what's left of it.”

Selphie's eyes widened. “Oh. I'm sorry to hear to that. I take it you left because of the attack?”

Emila nodded.

“I remember hearing about that when it happened,” Selphie said. “It was the first strike of the resurrected Acaria. A war very nearly broke out right then and there over it, but somehow things quieted down for a while. The city still stands, from what I've heard, but a lot of lives were lost in that attack.”

“I know...” Emila muttered, her eyes lost in the pain of the past.

Hesitantly, Selphie asked, “Your family?”

“They didn't make it.”

“I'm very sorry to hear that.”

Silence settled over them, and the only sounds were the flickering of the fire between them, and the idle chatter of the others around the camp.

Finally, to change the subject, Selphie said, “Your hair is very dark for a Saetician.”

“Yeah,” Emila said, taking a black lock from her shoulder and twirling it between her fingers. “I got it from my mother. She wasn't born in Saeticia.”

“I see. Your hair is gorgeous. Your mother must have been very beautiful.”

“Really?” Emila said, her cheeks turning red. “I've always been a bit conscious of it, actually.”

“That's silly. I wish my own hair could be so smooth all the time.”

Emila smiled. “My mother used to fuss over it all the time. When I was very young, I would go out and play in the woods with my little sister, and I would come back absolutely filthy, and Mother would sit me in a chair and brush my hair until all the twigs and brambles were out. She would go on and on about how irresponsible I was. I used to hate it - but later she would sing to us before bed and it was like there was no sweeter sound in the world. She was such a kind person...” Her eyes glistened faintly, but she rubbed them and no tears were shed.

“She sounds like she really cared for you. And your sister, as well.”

“She did.”

After a long while, Selphie said, “I never knew my own mother.”

Before Emila could say anything, they heard the sound of footsteps drawing near. The two girls turned to see a third approaching them.

“It's chilly,” Wiosna said. “Mind if I join you?”

Emila moved over to the edge of the log she was sitting on. “Not at all.”

For the briefest of moments, Wiosna hesitated, as though she really wasn't that cold if it meant she had to sit beside Emila. But she said nothing, and took her seat at Emila's side.

“We haven't spoken much, but I'm glad you're with us,” Selphie said. “We feared you were gone in the aftermath of the attack.”

“Yeah, you wanted me to be part of your team,” the small blond girl said. “I would have liked to go with you and the others to Acaria. Unfortunately, Acaria ended up coming to us instead.”

“Indeed,” Selphie said. “It may still happen. It's hard to say - things are complex right now. We won't know what's going to happen until we get to T'Saw.”

“And before that, we have to stop at Serenite.” Wiosna sighed. “Serenite is still far away. And T'Saw is even farther. I'm not used to travelling. The only place I ever travelled to was the temple.”

“From your home, right?” Emila asked. “Where are you from?”

Wiosna looked away, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. “Um...”

“I'm sorry,” Emila said, immediately realising what was wrong. “I didn't mean to bring up anything painful-”

“Just Samgo,” Wiosna quickly said to them. “Nothing noteworthy.”

“Ah,” Selphie said. “I've never been there.”

“It's not part of the Alliance,” said Wiosna. “So it's not a nice place.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the three girls, and they found themselves staring into the fire. Emila glanced very briefly at Wiosna, who did not return the look. From the very quick, dismissive way Wiosna had answered her question, Emila felt like she had committed some sort of slight. Her previously cheerful and excited demeanour was gone, replaced with a sort of quietly restrained rage. Wiosna had spoken to Emila very little so far, and Emila couldn't help but feel that the girl had some sort of grudge against her.

“Wiosna,” Selphie said suddenly. “The reason you were picked to be in my group was because of your knowledge of Bacorian history and the world. You have a passion for literature, do you not?”

“I do,” she said.

“There's a large library in the Serenite palace,” Selphie said with a smile. “Twice as large as the one in Allma Temple, from what I've heard. If you wanted, once we get there, I could ask nicely and get you permission to access it.”

Wiosna's face lit up in excitement.

<> <> <>

Brand and Tranom had a number of stories that they would share with Luca, and whoever else was listening as they walked. Tranom had found Brand a few years ago in Sendora and saw potential in the boy, so he had taken him back to Allma Temple for the proper training. On the way there, they had run into a number of misadventures, some of which were amusing, and others were difficult to believe.

Tranom, while tired-looking and rare to smile, was a very approachable and friendly man. He fit naturally into the role of a mentor, which was something the Allman survivors very much needed. There was much doubt among them as to the future of the temple. While Tranom himself doubted that the temple would ever be restored, he would always reassure them the best he could. He told them that once they saw Selphie safely to Serenite, they were free to go if they wished. Some of the students wanted to return home, and others wanted to stay with Tranom. There were other temples that they could go to, and many wanted Tranom to take them there and continue their training under his guidance. Tranom was not certain yet what he would do.

One thing certain, though, was that Brand's training under Tranom was complete. While the temple was gone, Brand had still considered Tranom to be his master. At dusk on the first day of travel, Tranom formally declared Brand was graduated, and they were henceforth equals. To confirm this, they began addressing each other by their proper names.

Now that Tranom had resumed leadership over the survivors, that left Wiosna free from the duty. Luca's suspicions of her having an interest in him seemed to be accurate - he often found her at his side as they walked. They talked about any number of things, including things Luca normally didn't feel comfortable discussing, like his father.

He learnt that Wiosna had grown up in a town in Samgo, and a few years ago her parents had died. With no other way to feed herself, she had joined the local guild of hunters. Some time after that, a master of Allma Temple had passed through and noticed her talent, and had invited her to the temple to train. She had accepted, partly for access to the large library of the temple.

While they walked, Wiosna asked about Dreevius, and how he had captured them.

“He was a shapeseeker,” Luca told her. “I'm not entirely sure what that means, but he was able to alter his appearance. He impersonated Tranom, and that's how we were caught.”

“Ah,” Wiosna said, nodding. “A forgivable mistake. The remaining living shapeseekers in the world could likely be counted on one hand. His illusion powers were most likely the reason he was working for Zinoro in the first place. It certainly wasn't his combat expertise.”

“What happened to them?” Luca asked.

“People didn't trust them,” Wiosna explained. “The shapeseekers had a tendency to work as spies and assassins, due to their powers. People hated them for that, and killed them off whenever they were caught. Over time, they were unable to reproduce faster than they were being killed, and they started to vanish.”

“Some say there's a secret organisation of them down in the south, in Samgo or Mainyu,” Brand added in. “But I would just write that one off as a rumour. The shapeseekers avoided the southern lands especially, taking refuge in the north.”

“Why is that?” Luca asked him.

Brand frowned. “Well, a lot of people didn't consider them to even be human. And as they have the ability to regrow lost limbs and body parts - Well, I don't know how true they were, but there were stories of towns capturing shapeseekers and using them as a never-ending supply of meat.”

Luca felt like he was going to be sick. At his side, Wiosna had only a regretful frown on her face, indicating that she too had heard the stories.

“In any case, the shapeseekers first vanished from the southern lands. So I doubt they're hiding down there now - if they're in hiding at all. Most likely there's too few left in the world for that.”

As they continued on their way, Ash mostly kept to himself, as he always did. There was initially some tension between him and the other survivors, but any potential arguments quickly died when Luca appeared. The students had the same level of respect for Luca as they did for Tranom, Brand, Wiosna, and Selphie - though it was different in his case. The first three they admired due to their accomplishments in the temple, and Selphie because she was royalty. The reverence they had for Luca was the result of the stories they passed around. The group of survivors was small - the head count totalling fifty-three, not including Brand, Ash, or Wiosna - so word spread quickly among them.

Back when he had first arrived at the temple, he was the mysterious son of Lodin who appeared to take the role Ash had failed to fill. His surviving of Dreevius' fatal blow had only reignited the discussion and reverence, and confirmed the suspicions that he was a great figure.

A few of the Allmans had still believed the story Allma had told at the steps of the centre sanctum - that Ash had betrayed the temple to the Acarians. When he had first come to them for help in saving Selphie, they had accused him of selling out the princess, and trying to lure them into a trap. Thankfully, Tranom had told Wiosna about Allma's treachery, and she had convinced them to save Selphie. A few of these doubters still persisted, in spite of Ash's actions proving them wrong.

But Ash seemed to be used to people hating and not trusting him, so it didn't seem to bother him. He just kept walking, ignoring them as they spoke behind his back.

Convincing the Allmans that Allma himself had sold them out was difficult, and none of them seemed to want to believe it. Selphie told them about what had happened, and how he had tried to kill her. Jared, in a rare moment of speaking up, told them of how Allma had killed the other escorts. Still, they had their doubts. But Tranom, Brand, and Luca all stepped in to confirm this, and they had no choice but to accept it.

Selphie also told stories as they travelled. She told them about T'Saw, and what they should expect when they got there, about her father, Zaow, and her brother, Trist. And she also told them what little she could remember about Serenite from when she last been there, at the age of eight.

“I remember it was a very beautiful city,” she told Luca and the others. “So beautiful, it put T'Saw to shame. King Marcus was a kind man, and I remember his sons being very friendly.”

Selphie was rather impressive, now that Luca thought about it. With her braided hair, her leather travel armour, and the little bit of dirt caked on her face, she looked nothing like what he had always imagined a princess would. She treated everyone equally, rather than being haughty and condescending. She was a skilled fighter and had no problem drawing her blades to protect herself, rather than relying on others to protect her.

There was only one person who he did not spend much time speaking to.

Emila was very quiet and distant. Whenever he looked to her, she wore a melancholy expression. Several times, he asked her what was troubling her, but she would always dismiss his concern and tell him she was fine, though she clearly was not. At first he suspected that she was upset by him spending time with Wiosna, but whenever he brought that up, she would encourage him to talk to the other girl. He didn't understand why, but Emila seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him. He asked the others if they knew what was wrong, but they all told him that Emila was avoiding them as well.

That is, all except Brand.

He often saw them talking, usually quietly, and when they thought he wasn't looking. Emila would often go to Brand, and they would spend long periods of time talking to each other. When the group made camp, Emila and Brand were usually close.

Luca couldn't help but feel jealous. He knew why he felt jealous, and he hated that he did, but he couldn't just make the feeling go away. He couldn't ask them to stop talking - that would be petty and cruel and unreasonable of him to do. So he just bit his tongue and kept his silence.

But of course, Wiosna was always there for him to talk to.

<> <> <>

It was a full two weeks after they had set out that they finally arrived.

Serenite, the capital of Saeticia, was a city of ivory white walls and towers nestled between two mountains. It stood a proud, untouched beacon of the Saetician nation's pride - known across Bacoria for its magick college and a massive library that was said to contain a copy of every published book.

The strange party was stopped at the gates, but as word of the attack on Allma Temple had spread quickly, the guards allowed them in. Selphie, the proof of command, walked at the front, with Jared and Tranom at her sides. The rest of the group followed behind her. The Allman survivors were staying at the inn.

As they passed through the streets of Serenite, Luca saw that Selphie's words about the  city's beauty were not an exaggeration. The streets were paved cobblestone, the buildings tall and white and shining. The trees were the most impressive of it all, though, as they had golden leaves.