Young Flame

We left the cabin early the next morning.

They’d been fine to let me sleep under the verandah on a comfortable woven-thread couch. Grímr slept across the table from me on his own couch. I’m thankful they haven’t questioned my reluctance to enter any buildings. I can’t tell them I’m petrified of being trapped. It’s unreasonable to think I’d be trapped inside a building entirely made of burnable timber, I know that, but I can’t help how I feel. They will think I’m weak if they know. So for now, while I can’t lie to them, I’ll refrain from telling them.

Thankfully, we left without Doe. Although she’s apparently going to join us in a few weeks after we arrive at our destination, I’m glad I don’t have to see her. Maybe I’m being too quick with my judgement, but anyone who’s okay with what the people at the mill were doing is not someone I think I could ever like. It is especially bad that she wants me to never help anyone I might find in those circumstances.

I fly low over the heads of the others as they run through the vast plains toward the base of an enormous black trail that winds up the entirety of the Titan Alps.

“So, where are we going?” I’d been a bit too tired last night to listen as they talked about the plan going forward.

“We’re joining the garrison at the Breach. They’ve been experiencing an uptick in attack frequency for a few months now. We expected to be sent there as soon as we found our new team member,” Remus says.

“We’d have been there months ago if you accepted one of the mages the Order offered.” Despite the accusative words, Tetsu’s face remains indifferent.

“You know if I had, I wouldn’t have been willing to push our team into the riskier fights.”

Tetsu affirms his words with her silence.

“You said there were attacks? What’s attacking?” I ask.

“Well, until a few months back, it was just heat based or fire resistant creatures. Beings that could traverse the molten rock left by the Titan. Now, they are experiencing many known Lower Elevation creatures descending the mountains. Apparently they’ve even had a few from Mid Elevation descend.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but Doe said the brass was angry.” Grímr’s claws tear through the soil as he runs beneath me. “I somehow doubt we’ll be sitting on our laurels with the other Luis rank teams.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Remus cheers. “We’ll be sent right into the Titan’s nest.”

Tetsu cracks her fists. “Not much of a punishment, if you ask me. We haven’t had a good challenge in a long time.”

“Hmm? It was only six months ago we pushed to the Middle Elevation. Was that not enough for you? Even though it scared away poor Dyani?”

“Six months is a long time, old man. It was really unfortunate Dyani turned out to be such a coward. I’d hoped with her arrogance she might have enough thick skin to stick with us.”

“That’s a rather unfair statement, don’t you think? She stuck with us through all the lower elevation.”

“I agree with Bunny,” Jav says. “Dyani was fine to gloat while her spells were effective, but the moment she faced something too much for her, she broke down. Nothing wrong with that; everyone faces their inferiority eventually. But she quit. Didn’t even attempt to try anything new. She didn’t want to learn to work around the creatures her spells couldn’t hold.”

I’m assuming Dyani was the mage they had before I came along. No wonder Tetsu has been dying to fight; six months is an eternity to be doing nothing but training.

“Still, you shouldn’t badmouth the efforts she made.”

“Wasn’t that the main reason we went looking for a replacement rather than taking one from the Order? You didn’t trust their personality judgement,” Jav says.

Remus doesn’t respond. He looks away with a playfully guilty expression.

I ignore their bickering and turn my attention toward our destination. The Breach is somewhere at the base of that thick, black line that winds up to the top of the Titan Alps.

It is insane to think that the impossibly tall Titan I’d seen collapse an extensive range of cliffs with its sheer size could be considered tiny next to the Alps above.

Why did the Titan climb the Alps? It’s not going to come back over while we’re here, is it?

❖❖❖

The Breach is a horribly devastated area, but not an unfamiliar sight. The Titan’s once molten path left hard black rock in its place. It made a surprisingly convenient road for walking. Which is fortunate because none of the surrounding land remains stable after the creature’s passing.

I’d already seen how the Titan had flattened the cliffs down at the coast south of the wasteland, but to see the same happen with an entire mountain is something else. The ridgeline that stood in the path of the Titan, is now a valley. A three hundred metre depression in the mountains where the rock liquefied and flowed anywhere it could. If any trees or plant life had been in the area, it is impossible to tell now.

The garrison had been established half a league from the extensive black path, far from the unstable, fissure-ridden ground. It is a simple-looking place. Many large log cabins make up the living area. There are no stone walls or defences surrounding the camp. Is this really the central command for defence against an influx of creatures?

Considering all the talk I’ve heard of the danger this place poses for the nearest nations, there don’t seem to be all that many people here. Only a few hundred, if the number of buildings is any indication. Compared to the armies both New Vetus and Henosis fielded, this is nothing. I understand that those with enhancement can achieve so much more than regular soldiers, but it’s still odd to see a defensive position with such a minimal force. Said defensive position doesn’t even look like it’s meant to defend against anything, unlike Baansguard.

As we approach the outer ring of the encampment, I hear chatter from the centre. We walked the last five hundred metres to the garrison. Remus said it was good manners. I even changed back to my normal form while we took our time approaching. I figure it will be easier introducing myself and talking to the people in the camp with my normal face than that of a bird.

As we pass through the first row of buildings, a door slams open, making me jump and instinctively bring flames up around me.

“Remus, you old fuck. Good to see ya.” Some khirig with the thickest antlers I’ve seen wrapping his body storms out through the door.

A quick look around tells me I was the only one who apparently didn’t know he was going to jump out of nowhere. I calm myself and hide my flames away.

The khirig’s long arm antlers wrap around Remus, trapping the dohrni’s limbs under his spheric body. Remus’ head wobbles around as he tries in vain to free himself. I can’t help amusement at the sight. I know he can probably get out if he wants and none of the other team-members are hurrying to free him.

“Oho, who is this little one? A bit young to be out here aint ya?” The man sends a curious glance to Remus, who has finally wormed his way out of the man’s grasp.

“It’s good to see you too, Hirsh. Solvei here is our replacement for Dyani.”

Hirsh looks me up and down before frowning at Remus. “I’m disappointed Remus. When did you become a baby snatcher?”

Snorts erupt from Tetsu and Jav before he continues.

“We don’t have to worry about some furious parents laying siege, do we? We’ve already got enough to deal with from the mountain.”

I catch Remus’ eyes narrowing at Hirsh and the two that laughed before returning to his normal cheerful expression. “Nope, no parents to worry about. But Jav and Bunny did convince Jelena to stop by.”

That immediately snapped the smile off Hirsh’s face. “You didn’t. You’re kidding… right?”

“You’ll have to ask those two. They’re the ones who talked to her.” Remus turns to me. “Come, Solvei, Grímr. Let’s leave them to it.”

As I follow Remus deeper into the garrison, I turn to watch Jav backing away from a furious Hirsh. Tetsu stands there trying very hard to pretend like she can’t hear him.

“Who is Jelena?” I ask.

“His sister. They’re a loving family, but she can be quite… intense.”

As we follow the cacophony into the central section of the garrison, we come across a diverse congregation. On one side, there are many tables with people either talking and drinking or crowding around, cheering and shouting. The other side has a training area with a weapon shed that seems almost unused in comparison.

“I’m going to talk to the defence manager. You two get comfortable,” Remus says and walks toward a building with large open doors with many others frequently moving in and out.

I follow Grímr, feeling the eyes of some people watching us across the open area. I expect him to join the raucous crowd near the tables. Instead, he walks off to a secluded corner near the training field and lays down, content to relax and not interact with the other people around.

That’s not something I want, though. I’m curious as to what has everyone’s attention at the table. They sometimes quieten down, only to be followed by a chorus of cheers or derisive shouts.

I leave Grímr’s side and approach the table, feeling his eyes on my back the whole way.

A small bit of space is left for me to peer over the table. I get a few odd looks from those who notice me, but the majority leave their focus on the game before them.

There are six people holding cards with twice as many watching over their shoulders, trying their best to peek at the cards the players hold. In front of each player are three cards with numbers one through six and varying patterns drawn. Players keep their hands on three separate cards, some hiding them from the people around and others freely showing them off.

They sometimes remove a card from either the upturned or hidden ones and throw it in a pile while picking up another to replace it. Each time one of them does so, they place a coin on the table. The coins look like gid, but their design is different. Most likely, it’s another form of currency.

Once each player has finished replacing cards, the men and women standing behind them throw coins in front of a player of their choosing. I notice most of the money lands before the player with a four, five and six on the table before him.

The players each reveal the three hidden cards to everyone and resounding groans fill the silence. A woman at the other end of the table — and the only person who put a coin in front of her — cheer as the pile of money is pushed towards them.

I watch a few more rounds as money quickly changes hands until a player who loses each round since I started watching stands up for the next person to take his place. A dohrni moves to take his seat, but his eyes catch mine.

“Hey kid, do you want to play?”

“I don’t know how.”

“I’ll teach you.”

Someone in the crowd groans. “C’mon, don’t slow the game down.”

“I promise to keep her moving.”

I push around the crowd and sit in the chair, legs pulled up under me to get more height. The man places his tentacle on the back of my chair and leans forward to guide me.

He directs my cards for a few rounds, telling me which card combinations are better than others and betting in my stead. He introduces himself as Ligo; a member of team Fearn-Thirty-Two.

The game turns out to be rather fun. I even win the fourth round.

“So, who’s kid are you?” At my questioning look, Ligo rephrases. “Who are your parents? Did one of the team managers bring you?”

“I’m no one’s kid.” I stress the word. “I came here with my team.”

The table goes quiet. I guess more people have been paying attention to us than I thought.

“Right. And which team?” he asks with amused scepticism.

“Luis-Eight,” I answer and swap out one of my hidden cards. I just need a four and I’ll have a mid-set; five of a kind.

The card bends under my fingers as I take a peek at the one I just picked up. A grin threatens to overtake me, but I clamp down on it. Everyone is looking at me; I don’t want to let them know I have a winning hand.

“Uh huh, okay. And how did you get on Remus’ team?”

It hardly matters to me if he doesn’t believe my words. “He asked me to.”

That seemed to get a round of chuckles from the mercenaries around the table. It hardly matters what they think, because I win another round. I grin as the pile of coin is pushed toward me. Ligo and those who bet on my hand take their winnings.

Ligo places some coins in my hand. “Here. You’ve had a pretty lucky start. You should use your own to play.”

I play a couple more rounds until a familiar face lands on the table beside me.

“What ya doing, Solvei?” Jav asks.

“I’m playing, uh…” I turn to Ligo, who’s eyeing Jav. “What’s this game called?”

“Bleed.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

I turn back to Jav, who’s peeking at my hidden cards. “I’m playing Bleed. How’d you go with Hirsh?”

“Prick wouldn’t believe me when I said I didn’t tell his sister to come. Well, I see you’ve made yourself comfortable amongst this lot. How about I join ya?”

Jav walks across the table to the seat of the player to my right and takes the cards out of the tip of the dohrni’s limbs.

“The fuck! What do you think you’re doing?” he shouts, rising to his full height.

“Taking your place.” Jav sits with his tail hanging off the edge of the table, paying the man no mind.

The dohrni, enraged by Jav’s attitude, reaches forward to grab at the volan. Someone grasps his shoulder before he can and leans in to whisper. The bluish-grey colour of his skin turns clear grey at whatever he heard and takes a few steps to the back of the crowd.

“You weren’t lying, were you?” Ligo says behind me. “About being a part of Luis-Eight.”

I look curiously back at him. “No. Why would I?”

Jav laughs.