FATELESS: A Boy’s Bonds

Frost

 

The journey through Blackwing Forest was torture.

Tia—our aeromancer—had been walking uncomfortably close to me for some time. She kept thanking me for saving her life, while practically begging for advice as if I was some experienced mage.

Each time I attempted to put distance between us, she’d follow like a lost kitten. I was becoming tempted to freeze her boots to the ground.

Not that I could.

Despite how the mercenaries were treating me, I’d pushed myself too hard. As I walked with the group, I could feel a web of thin cracks spreading throughout my body, and my blood felt so cold that it burned.

My limbs were heavy, lethargy doing its best job of slowing me down.

If it wasn’t for my contract with Zakarot, I probably wouldn’t have been able to remain conscious.

The spirit and I shared a connection, a life-line, and he could use his power to take the edge off. But it wasn’t a miracle cure; too much backlash or physical injury would leave lasting wounds.

I could only hope that nothing went wrong on the way to our destination, or this wonderful story of mine would be remarkably short-lived.

It had been roughly five months since I left home. Much of that time had been spent in isolation with no company save for my infuriating teacher.

Taking on simple jobs; slaying beasts, fighting bandits, recovering lost items. Nothing glamorous, but good enough practice for a fledgling magic-user.

I was able to form two bonds with the Frost Plane, and my Outflow Level was apparently higher than most of my age-group.

Furthermore, my connection to Zakarot allowed me to push myself further than others.

It still wasn’t enough.

I was an omnicaster, meaning that I should have been able to use all of the aspects. I’d been told that learning multiple disciplines at once was more difficult than mastering one, but I needed more.

We’d managed to avoid being caught thus far, but Zakarot was certain that the Apostles were watching.

Hunting us.

The thought of the flaming Apostle attacking me in my sleep haunted me whenever I closed my eyes, leaving me exhausted. My body was constantly sore, aching from pushing myself past my limits.

Skirting the border of backlash, risking my health for the sake of growing stronger.

Not enough.

Zakarot’s voice tore me from my ruminations. ‘She’s cute, stop being difficult. When I was your age–’

I stole a glance at Tia.

Pardon me if I don’t take relationship advice from a dead man.

‘You know what they say,’ Zakarot started. ‘Dead men are full of wisdom. You would do well to listen.’

Nobody says that.

Alright, so Zakarot wasn’t actually my sole companion anymore.

We’d run into the Four Fists during a routine job, and Ruse asked me to join them. I would have declined, of course, if Zakarot hadn’t insisted that it would be ‘good for my development’.

Though I suspected that he just wanted some less boring company.

Ruse–the leader of the mercenary band–was a tall man with a head of ginger hair and a smile I’d seen many times since leaving home.

The smile of a swindler and a cheat.

I was reminded of when I’d allowed myself to be ripped off within a week of leaving the village, wasting half of the crowns I'd ‘borrowed’ from Mother in the process.

Zakarot had merely snickered and told me that it would be a ‘learning experience’.

The other members of the group were tolerable, to an extent.

Ben was a quiet boy with moderate skill with a bow, apparently an orphan who was picked up by an opportunistic Ruse when they needed a ranged party member for a job. He was around my age, so the boy routinely tried to start conversations with me.

Unfortunately for Ben, I wasn’t a great conversation partner. Our talks usually consisted of small-talk that lasted only long enough for me to come up with an excuse to leave.

Nara—who was presently glaring at my back—happened to be a Venutian woman with an aversion toward magic. She was a principled warrior who detested my secretive nature, but I didn’t blame her.

If no-one in their group was the least bit suspicious of a mysterious hooded magic-user, I would have genuinely questioned their qualifications.

Other than that, my feelings toward the hammer-wielding woman were mixed.

The Venutian Alliance had a rather tenuous relationship with the empire, and I wasn’t quite sure what to think of her. Due to my own past, I generally wasn’t one to judge others.

However, all of my books described her people as savages who would attack us at the drop of a crown.

I realized that most of those books were likely written by Nortisian authors, so they weren’t exactly unbiased. One could say that the Venutians had every right to attack us, since the entire empire was formed upon land stolen from the Venutians and Nords, respectively.

I had a habit of over-thinking things, so I’d shoved down my concerns. Nara hadn’t done anything to earn my suspicion.

The final member of the band, Tia, reminded me of my sister. She and Lara both stood at roughly the same height, and both girls wore their brown hair in the same style. She was sort of like the group’s caretaker, and aside from her unfortunate tick, her magic wasn’t half bad either.

Tia was by-far the most nonabrasive of the group.

Was being the operative word.

“Where did you learn to use magic like that? Are your parents magic-users? Are you headed for Roa? Is that why you’re headed west? I used to dream of attending the Academy but I doubt they’d let a talentless commoner in..”

I sighed, believing that this was fate’s way of getting back at me.

“You’re not talentless, Tia.”

Tia’s eyes widened, her jaw slackening slightly. “You think so? But compared to you, I really am so weak…”

Ah, good.

I was hoping that would take her attention away from my past. Compliments are the easiest way to distract others, particularly teenage girls.

“You were dealt a bad hand, that’s all. It takes talent to survive as a mercenary when your own power makes you blind.”

Which was true; I wasn’t lying. Tia’s tick made her blind whenever she used magic, but she’d managed to survive this long in spite of that. She’d even fought on her own for a time, before joining the Four Fists.

“I-I agree, Tia!”

I glanced over my shoulder to find Ben watching us. He’d evidently been trailing closely behind, listening to our conversation.

“You’re amazing. I would’ve died a long time ago without you…”

Tia glanced at Ben for a moment before her gaze resettled on my face, and I wondered if it would be rude to draw my hood.

Hadn’t I always wanted to be the center of attention? Yes. Did this make me a hypocrite? Yes. Did I particularly care? Not really.

When her cheeks began to flush, she quickly turned away to stare at the path ahead. “Frost, what did you mean back there? You told me to see with my magic?”

“I thought it was self-explanatory,” I told her. “If you can’t see with your eyes, use your magic in place of them. An aeromancer like yourself shouldn’t have a problem with that.”

“But I already do that,” Tia objected. “It’s more difficult than you think. Especially when I’m being attacked!”

I hummed noncommittally. “Magic requires multitasking. You’ve dipped your toes into the pond but you’ve yet to swim, so to speak. With more practice, you should be able to make up for that tick.”

Taking the part of the wise mage wasn’t something I was used to. All I did was parrot Zakarot’s teachings, but apparently the others took it as me having some great amount of magical know-how.

That was something I didn’t mind.

Where was the harm in letting them think that? I was still more knowledgeable than anyone else in the group.

“Easier said than done…” Tia muttered. She let out a deep sigh and began watching the snow fall.

Glad for the silence, I finally pulled up my hood and strode on, glancing upward. The darkened sky loomed overhead and promised worsening weather.

Geimhread’s climate had been irregular ever since the beginning of spring, when snow continued to fall well into summer. Now, five months later, autumn would soon giveaway to winter.

It was no secret that the northern region’s population was being pulled through the wringer. Many had been forced to flee west, where the largest population centers were located.

This was the reason these mercenaries were headed there. As Ruse liked to say, ‘where people go, profit follows.’

Another concern for the people of Geimhread was the wild-life, which I had been dealing with frequently throughout our journey. Wolves, panthers, bears, elk, and even rodents were falling prey to ‘the blight’.

Despite the attempts of the continent’s leading experts, none were able to ascertain the cause of this contagion.

Of course, the cause was quite clear to me.

The Demiurge was waking from its slumber, which was having dramatic effects on our world. According to Zakarot, its subtle movements were drastically altering the climate, while its breaths were corrupting vulnerable animals.

Primarily simple-minded beasts that were already ill or otherwise incapable of resistance.

Meanwhile, those gifted with the Demiurge’s ‘blessing’ were being sent after me, as I’d practically been placing a large target on my back.

This was primarily why I tried to keep to myself, but the spirit insisted that at my current level, it would be better to surround myself with allies in-case an Apostle appeared. I stood no chance against a full-fledged Apostle on my own.

Though I’d noticed that no other Disciples such as Anika Beckett had attacked me.

Since the difference between Disciples and Apostles was in the individual’s strength, maybe I’d simply grown too strong for the former to pose much of a threat.

As I walked in silence, ruminating over certain world-ending matters, it became clear that the blissful silence was not meant to last. A boisterous voice called out from the group’s rear.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Nara asked.

Ruse, who had been walking in-front this entire time, looked over his shoulder with a frown. “Hm? What was that, Nara? Do you mean to say that you’ve been following me this whole time?”

“You’re the one in front, fool.”

“Ah, well that is a problem. See, I have no idea where I’m going. I was just enjoying the pleasant atmosphere and company of my dear friends—”

The air whistled as a stone flew dangerously close to my head.

“Ow! I’ve been hit! Tia, heal me!” Ruse yelled, clutching his head dramatically.

Tia’s brown eyes went wide and she began waving her hands frantically. “Huh?! I can’t heal people, Ruse!”

“Huh?!” Ruse mimicked, staring back at her in horror.

I sighed exasperatedly, wondering if there was a cliff nearby.

~~~

Several hours passed before we managed to reach civilization.

Primarily because of Ruse’s antics, which led to the group stopping to argue for a considerable amount of time. Once the fearless leader grew bored of the situation, he helpfully informed us that he’d only been joking.

Which prompted Nara to nearly crush his skull with her bare hands, halted by the combined efforts of the youngest Fists.

Rather than engaging in their tomfoolery, I opted to meditate in silence. The snow made it an ideal environment to train my cryomancy, though I was rather limited in what I could do until the backlash healed.

Now, our strange party of five trudged through flats of hard-packed snow as we approached our original destination.

The sun had fallen beneath the horizon, and the ceiling of black storm clouds above masterfully hid the moon’s light. Meaning that we’d been forced to journey in pure darkness.

Wind-whipped snow burning our eyes, mist trailing off our exhausted bodies, and heavy white breaths dying the air in-front of us a transparent white, we passed a simple wooden border marking the town’s entrance.

Faint light, warm and inviting, emerged from sealed windows and illuminated the town enough for me to study our surroundings.

On the surface, the town was no different than any other settlement I had visited.

Unadorned houses built from logs surrounded us on both sides, and the dirt path was shoveled enough for us to catch our breaths. While the Four Fists’ members seemed relieved to have entered a town, my gaze flicked between the glowing windows.

Something’s wrong.

An uncomfortable feeling had weighed on me ever since the town entered my line of sight.

Though I couldn’t locate the source of my unease, all of the hairs on my body stood at attention. Back straight as a board and hands ready to fire off magical power at the next thing that moved, I edged away from the group and stared into the dark.

I half-expected a monster to leap out of the shadowy depths and devour me.

Another commonality between all of the settlements I'd visited during my journey was their people: simple, like-minded, and extremely wary of outsiders.

However, even as a procession of mercenaries stood in their midst, no-one came to investigate. They remained in their homes behind locked doors and windows. An eerie silence wrapped around us, making me feel isolated from the world beyond.

“See? I told you, who needs a map when you have a mind like mine? Yes, please shower me with praise. Go on,” Ruse said between heavy breaths. The wiry man leaned against a wooden signpost, glancing up at the attached sign with a smile. “Welcome to the town of Ormr. Jewel of Geimhread, or so they say.”

Ben leaned on his bow, using it as a cane. The boy looked ready to fall over, and he lifted a trembling hand to his sweat-slicked brow. “You’re thinking of Ymir; the capital’s called the Jewel of Geimhread.”

Ruse waved his hand dismissively. “Yes, Ormr is the second brightest of the north’s jewels. A little known fact, only recited by the most erudite of scholars.”

I glanced over at my companions, surprised to find Tia staring at me from close behind. Frowning, I quickly looked away, afraid that meeting her gaze would elicit another deluge of inquiries.

Nara stood at our group’s rear, and the large woman was clearly the only member of the band to share my concerns. Her narrow eyes appeared pitch black as she searched our surroundings.

Calloused fingers gripped the haft of her warhammer so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

“Where is everyone?” She asked, her question directed at Ruse.

Ruse looked up after hearing the question, his green eyes looking around with indifference.

“Sleeping, I’d imagine. Can you pass me that canteen, Benjamin?”

Ben, who had been drinking out of a leather canteen, sighed and tossed it over to the older man. Ruse gestured his thanks and took a long gulp before straightening.

“It’s late. There should be an inn around here somewhere, so let’s look around. Preferably before our charming archer keels over.”

“That was all the water I had...” Ben muttered, staring down at the canteen with dismay.

Brushing back his ginger hair, Ruse walked off. His quick gait left no opportunity for protest. The mercenaries sighed and trailed after their leader.

I hesitated, considering whether going deeper into the village was a good idea.

Flakes sparkled as they met the lights of the village, blowing in the wind and eventually settling within the town’s shadowy depths. I stared down at the packed snow beneath my feet, unease deepening.

An ominous presence filled the stagnant, frigid air of the town, scratching at my mind like an itch I couldn’t reach. Different than the fear I’d felt when faced by the Apostles–yet somewhat familiar.

It was a fear that existed on a more primal level.

‘Are you going to leave, Zavis? Good choice, this town’s pretty scary. While you’re at it, why don’t you just go back to Flykra? Give up on the whole thing...’

Zakarot was right.

Even if the Demiurge had dug its invisible claws into Ormr, I couldn’t just ignore it. Whether I faced Disciple, Apostle, or blighted beasts, it was too late to turn back. Quitting now would make everything pointless.

Every step, every battle, every sacrifice made since I’d left Flykra Village had to be for something. I was simply in too deep now, and was never one to abandon a story half-way through.

Noticing that I was lagging behind, Tia looked back with concern. “Frost? Are you okay?”

“Fine,” I replied, reluctantly walking to join them.

With each footstep, my eyes shifted between the surrounding windows in search of a single face. The villagers of Flykra Village would be crowding around their respective windows to spy on us by now.

Tia smiled as I approached, apparently glad to be walking beside me again. I sincerely hoped that this newfound fascination would be short-lived.

It wasn’t that I hated the young aeromancer–quite the opposite. Compared to the rest of the Four Fists, one could say that I had a soft spot for her. Primarily because of how much she reminded him of Lara.

And that was exactly why I needed to keep my distance.

The Demiurge was watching, plotting to destroy me and all traces of my existence. Regardless of what Zakarot claimed, I was certain that the mercenaries would be safer by keeping their distance.

My goal may have been to save Flykra Village, but I didn’t want others to die in the process.

I watched the girl’s smiling face from the corner of my eyes. She was doing her best to avoid my attention in a flawed attempt to hide her wide smile.

I also couldn’t help but notice Ben, practically dragging his feet across the snow-plastered path, watching me out of the corner of his own eyes.

Ben had always been somewhat desperate to gain my approval–likely because of our similar ages–but he now studied my every move. The boy periodically interjected himself into our conversations throughout the journey, often earning frustrated looks from Tia.

I wasn’t an idiot, and their attitudes were far from a mystery. Ben had nothing to worry about; I couldn’t risk getting close to a girl.

Besides, I was a pretty boring guy. Tia would surely lose interest soon enough.

“Aha! See here? Even the gods themselves couldn’t keep me from my destination,” Ruse called out, interrupting my contemplation.

The man stood with his arms sprawled to the side, presenting a modest building behind him. It was made of wooden logs like the rest of Ormr, but boasted multiple stories and a wide porch beyond its entrance.

Lanterns hung from wooden posts, revealing a sign displaying the crude etching of a bed.

“Is it open?” Ben asked, standing on his toes in an attempt to peer through the inn’s windows. “I think they’re sleeping.”

“That is what an inn is for, Benjamin.”

“We’re not in Centurios, fool.” Nara walked up to Ruse and crossed her arms. “They probably don’t have enough workers to stay open at all hours.”

Tia leaned forward and looked at their leader inquisitively. “What do we do? Wait here until dawn?”

“Nonsense, dear. How could they turn away such a beautiful group of patrons?” For some reason, Ruse turned around and winked at me.

As I stared at the inn, something akin to a chill ran down my spine. Most would have attributed it to the weather, but after spending many months on the road, my instincts were better than most.

I turned around and swept my gaze across the dark homes behind us. There, in a small house roughly the size of our own back in Flykra, someone watched me from a closed window.

Light leaked from the window and spilled across the path ahead, and I could only make out a small shape blocking the light. The stranger’s silhouette was faint, almost invisible.

Yet I could tell that their eyes were boring into me, as if searching for something. The way its shadow moved was strikingly familiar, but before I could investigate further…

“Fool! You’re trespassing!” Nara hissed from the front of the group, failing at subtlety. I glanced back at our ‘leader’ who had crept onto the inn’s porch.

The ginger man stared into a window like a creeper, assuredly frightening anyone who may have been inside.

“I don’t see anyone,” he said.

“They’re probably hiding from you!”

Ruse looked back at Nara with a lopsided grin, “Me? Surely you’re the one they’d be hiding from. ‘Hide children! The big scary Venutian is coming to eat us!’”

He wrapped his long arms around himself in mock terror, prompting Nara to release a threatening growl.

“Well, there’s no time like the present. You won’t find treasure if you’re afraid of drowning, as they say!”

Before anyone could respond, Ruse walked toward the inn’s door, gripped the handle, and pulled it open. The door’s hinges creaked from apparent neglect, and a nostalgic scent wafted from inside.

Whitebloom. My mother’s favorite herb.

Not an uncommon fragrance in Geimhread by any means, but it made me homesick nonetheless. I quickly shoved down the sentiments and strode toward the door, ignoring the shocked looks my companions were giving me.

The wooden steps shifted beneath my weight and the inn loomed like a gaping maw. Through the inn’s doorway, I could see nothing but darkness in all directions.

Either the inn was abandoned–which I found unlikely due to the lit lanterns outside–or everyone had gone asleep. None of that particularly mattered to me, as I just wanted to go inside and rest.

Ruse flashed a triumphant smile as I passed. “See? If you won’t trust me, won’t you trust the venerated White Frost?”

Nara grumbled something unintelligible at that, but nevertheless relented. As she stepped onto the porch and shook the entire structure with her heavy bootsteps, I questioned whether it would collapse.

The others followed soon after, likely afraid of being left alone in the dark without the most formidable members of their entourage.

“It’s dark…” Tia whispered.

“Do you think it’s haunted?” Ben asked warily, though his quick gait implied that he didn’t actually care.

The boy would probably fall asleep as soon as he crossed the threshold.

As the Four Fists crowded around the doorway, I stopped and turned back. Over a cloaked shoulder, I trained both eyes on the window across the path.

No shadows stared back.

Must’ve been overthinking things, I thought.

And with that, I took my first step into Ormr’s desolate inn.