Chapter 1
Death by Fire
Chapter One
The fresh snow crunched under Mari’s boots as she ducked behind a boulder.
She could see her breath in wisps as she calmed her racing heart.
The trek up the mountain had been an arduous one, nearly causing her to turn around.
The snow always made it hard for her to hike, and her feet kept sliding along the soft ground.
Mari watched as the white fox lay down on the snow and turned its face to the bright sun.
She would have done the same thing were she not waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
As her family’s main huntress, it was her job to bring back any game she could find.
In Yu’güe, there were three moon cycles of the year that the mountains were impassable from the snow.
Mari and her mother would spend weeks collecting any meat they could to store for the harsh weather.
The snowy season was already beginning, but Mari needed one last trip to the mountain.
The Yanhua Mountains were the one place she could find solace and solitude.
The high snow capped peaks, when viewed from the ground, appeared to scratch the sky.
From where Mari crouched, she could just make out her village.
The homes of Yu’güe stood in the valley of the mountains, forming a circle of protection, keeping away intruders.
For thousands of years, no one had traveled off, or onto, the island.
The fox Mari watched stirred, standing up and shaking its pure white coat free of snow.
If Mari hadn’t seen it lay down, the fox would have blended in perfectly with the ground.
Just as the fox took its first steps away, Mari raised her left arm, palm facing the creature, and fingers bent slightly inward.
She took a deep breath and snapped her hand into a fist, yanking her arm backwards.
The fox collapsed to the ground in a heap as its soul flew from its body towards Mari.
The translucent soul looked exactly like the fox she had just killed, and it stood at her feet, wagging its tail.
“Thank you for giving your life for us.” Mari kneeled down and pressed her forehead on that of the fox’s soul, closing her eyes.
The tingling in her head sent electric sparks up and down her spine and when she opened her eyes, the soul had dissipated, but Mari felt it in her bones.
With every animal she killed, she gained a soul to her arsenal if she was ever in danger and needed a protector.
Mari stood and made her way to the fox. Kneeling beside the carcass, she rested her backpack on her knee to pull out the wooden sled.
She unfolded it from its small square into a large rectangle.
The light brown sled had wide carved holes on the sides to hold the animal down as she dragged it back to her home.
At the front end, a fraying rope was tied, the end of it knotted into a makeshift handle.
With little effort, Mari secured the fox onto the sled, strapping it into place.
She had to slide off her wool gloves, and in the brief minutes she needed to tie the ropes, her fingers stung from the cold air.
Once satisfied with her knots, she shoved her gloves back on and rubbed her hands together.
Sliding her backpack back over her shoulders, she grabbed the handle of the end rope, and began her trek down the mountain.
On more than one occasion down the slope, the sled started going too fast, overtaking her.
The one time she lost her grip, she dove forward, landing in the snow with a soft thud, just grasping the edge of the sled.
Mari breathed a sigh of relief as she got a better grip and took the rope handle back, tying it around her waist so the sled couldn’t run away.
Mari took out a dried piece of meat from her pocket and snacked on it as she walked. The dried meat her family kept in storage for the colder moon cycles and her hunting trips tasted better than cooked meat to her. While her mother detested it, Mari loved it.
As she ate her snack and trekked down the mountain, her eyes remained trained on her village, becoming larger with every step.
She could just make out people walking between houses, skinning animals, and cooking their evening meals.
Her small village of just one hundred people was close knit.
No one had a private life because when someone did something exciting, everyone knew about it.
This was Mari’s favorite thing about Yu’güe; she considered everyone a member of her family.
Ever since Mari was little, she’d known to go to Liana for clothing and that her favorite form of payment was a good story.
Eri would exchange pain medicine for a discussion on books he’d read.
She would talk to Elder Suzanne about her grandchildren when she needed a new pair of laces for her boots.
Elder Myron would watch any of the children for a hot drink and pleasant conversation.
Mari’s parents were the head of Yu’güe’s council, and the people came to them—and now Mari—with concerns and ideas for their clan.
Perán and Melinde had been chosen to lead the council nearly ten years ago and had accepted the role with honor.
Being a leader in Yu’güe was not without hardships, but Mari’s parents took them in stride and even asked Mari about her thoughts.
For the first ten years of her life, Mari had been training to become the next leader of Yu’güe’s council.
Her father would read to her the meeting notes the scribe had taken and reassure her she was going to be a great leader.
But all of that changed when her brother passed.
Just days after Mari’s tenth birthday, her older brother, Hanan, ran away from Yu’güe.
He had been engaged to the princess of Orcian, of the water mages, even though he had love for another.
When he told their father he did not wish to continue with this marriage, their resulting fight could have leveled houses.
The same night he ran away, he had died.
On the way down the mountain, Mari stopped at Hanan’s resting place.
His body lay at the base of a collection of boulders that Mari visited every time she went hunting.
She slid the sled to a stop and crouched down, placing her palm on the large gray stone.
Mari leaned forward and pressed her forehead to the rock.
“I miss you, Hanan.” Tears pricked at the edges of her eyes. Eleven years later and his death still hung heavy on her heart. “Father was wrong; you were not a disgrace.”
The fear of being seen was the only thing that pulled Mari back to her feet to complete her journey.
She risked a glance over her shoulder as the boulder fell out of view.
Suddenly, she was five years old again. Hanan had taken her on a walk to the water so she could see it for the first time.
He’d brought a few smooth rocks to skip on the clear blue sea, even though all she could do was make a satisfying plop as the stone plunged to the bottom.
Mari had been completely awed by the snowy shore and the bright blue water lapping against the snow.
Her eyes had nearly bugged out of her head as she’d stared at the still expanse in front of her.
She’d immediately thrown a rock into the water, but instead of making a splash, it had hit a water bird directly on her head.
The animal had squawked loudly and sped up the shore towards Mari, chasing her angrily.
Hanan had tried to help but was laughing too hard to shoo the large black bird away.
Mari had spent hours crying, but Hanan had got her to stop by offering her the last of his dried meat.
Mari’s heart felt like it was covered in stone as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
The last thing she wanted was for her parents to see her crying.
Now, as the future princess of Brahn, she had to be strong all the time.
Once Hanan had passed, Mari’s father had secured a marriage between her and Prince Zahir, the next ruler of the fire mages.
Where Hanan’s marriage to Orcian’s princess was questionable at best, Mari’s betrothal was met with outrage.
Thousands of years ago, the four mage clans lived together.
The death mages were hunters and protectors, keeping dangers outside their world.
The water mages were builders, constructing homes and businesses for everyone.
The life mages took care of medicinal needs, healing those who were injured or sick.
The fire mages cooked and supplied food sources for the mages.
All four clans had lived in the city, Brahn, that was now reserved only for the fire mages.
They had married and interacted with each other, with some people able to use two types of magic; these people were called dual mages.
Dual mages had unimaginable power. Death/water mages could create full tidal waves filled with the souls of those they had killed.
Fire/life mages could create living beings from flame that could hunt for the mages and were used in life threatening situations.
Dual mages had been extremely common before the clans split, at least as far as Mari knew.
One woman, Morana, had been a life and death mage.
She’d begun to use her magic in ways that went against everything the clans stood for.
Instead of using her death magic to hunt animals, she murdered the other mages, intending to rule over the four clans.
With every human soul she took, she extended her life by one year.
The life mages already had double the life span of the other mages, so it did not take long for her to become almost immortal.
Her army of human souls was used to intimidate and control others.
Morana was eventually taken down by the death mages.
Only using their magic for killing animals, Morana went against their very core beliefs.
She was slaughtered by one of Mari’s ancestors.
The death and life mages were so ashamed of what Morana had become that they isolated themselves, so as to never let anything like that happen again.
Slowly, the four clans became independent, and all dual mages were wiped from existence as time passed.
Now that Mari was in a betrothal where she could give birth to a dual mage, her clan, as well as Brahn, were terrified.
Mari, too, did not love this plan. She feared giving birth to another Morana. Her father did everything to convince her she would not raise a murdering mage, but she was doubtful. What was to say she would not create the next Morana if no one was sure how she became so delusional?
By the time Mari arrived back at her home, her mother was already waiting to take the fox out back to bleed it. She stood outside, arms crossed, and her lips pursed. Her long, dark brown hair was bundled up into the hood of her jacket and her long fingers were hidden inside a pair of black gloves.
“Where have you been?” she asked, watching Mari untie the fox from the sled. Her voice was as cold as ice.
“Hunting,” Mari said. Her fingers undid the knots efficiently and she began to drag the fox behind the house.
“Leave it. Your father wants to speak with you.”
Mari nodded and handed her kill over to her mother without another word.
Her heart thrummed in her chest at what her father would speak with her about.
As soon as Mari was inside the warm house, she shed her thick layers and undid the laces of her boots.
She found her father sitting cross-legged on the floor by the roaring fire.
In the shadow of the flame, Mari realized for the first time that the wrinkles in his forehead had gotten deeper, his bald head nearly reflective in the firelight.
His snow-white complexion and small circular nose mirrored her own.
“Mother said you needed to speak with me,” Mari said as she sat across from her father, legs tucked beneath her. She pulled her shoulders back and looked him in the face, hiding the fear rising in her chest.
“We leave for Brahn in three days’ time. You will be packed and ready to go at dawn.” Peran’s voice was hard as stone.
“Three days?” Mari couldn’t help the outburst from her mouth. “Why have I been given very little warning?”
“What should you need warning for? Everything you need is in Brahn. You are to bring only personal items you wish to have.” He turned his gaze back to the fire and poked at the burning wood with a long metal stick.
“How can you expect me to get ready to leave my home in just three days? I want to say goodbye to our people. I cannot do everything by then.”
“You will do as you’re told.” Peran narrowed his eyes. “Unless you want to end up like your brother.” He nearly spat the last word.
Mari flinched and prayed to the Gods her father didn’t notice. While Peran had never said it directly, he had hinted to Mari that he was Hanan’s killer. “Yes, Father. I will begin to get my things together.”
Mari trudged to her bedroom, the weight of what was to come heavy on her heart.