12. The Tear
THE TEAR
Aaryn didn't know why she was embarrassed to see Runa. Every time she opened her door to see the guard, she was reminded of sparring with the prince, and something similar to shame assaulted her.
It wasn't that she was ashamed to be learning. She wasn't ashamed to wield a sword.
She supposed she was embarrassed to be caught in such a suggestive position with the prince.
Because Aaryn did not feel for him in any way that would require them to be in those positions.
How did the knights go about it? Surely they did not all feel so… awkward when they pinned one another during sparring?
Granted, the awkward position had not occurred again in the following days. In fact, Aaryn was learning to hold her own against the prince. She suspected she was a bit stronger than he had anticipated, and it filled her with pride every time she made his eyes widen.
Tired of her own thoughts, Aaryn decided to face the shame and finally pulled her door open.
"Runa, can I speak with you? Inside?"
Runa looked surprised, but stepped easily across the hallway and into Aaryn's quarters.
"What's wrong?" she asked, studying Aaryn's features.
"It's driving me mad, and I just have to say it aloud. There's nothing going on with the prince and I, despite what an image we made during training."
She blinked. And possibly, her cheeks flushed, unless Aaryn was imagining it.
"One thing about the First Guard, Tethered Aaryn, is that we excel at being just as perceptive as we are at not seeing anything at all."
Aaryn waved her hand. "No, but see, you saying that implies that there was something to see, which there wasn't. I do not feel…" She waved a hand. "Anything for the prince. Much to my mother's dismay," she said, muttering the last part.
A strand of Runa’s usually tight bun was slipping out of place and the sight of it managed to calm the rumble of chaotic energy within Aaryn.
She pointed to it, and then smoothed her own hand over her hair.
Runa mimicked her as she said, "If there was anything to see, which there wasn't, I find that it does not concern me.
No rumors will leave my lips, I swear this to you.
" The pale green hair was tucked back into place, out of sight, and so was the memory, Aaryn hoped.
She nodded as relief in relief. "Thank you. I only hope the prince understands as well."
Her smile dipped, but Aaryn didn't give her a chance to correct her. Aaryn wasn't ready to face what it might mean.
"Do you fancy a walk?" she asked.
"I will go where you go, Tethered Aaryn."
She thought it kind that Runa continued to use her title when her title no longer applied. "Alright, then. Can you walk beside me, and not behind me, this time?"
The sun was bright, but the wind was sharp, and Aaryn looked to the sky. Thick clouds were dispersed amongst its blue expanse, and she hoped they wouldn’t bring forth a storm.
The cobbled pave of the castle's courtyard led them toward the town center. Once the university came into view, Aaryn sighed, her steps speeding up.
"What do you need to visit the university for?" Runa asked a rare question, wincing against the sunlight. It made the wisps of her dark verdant hair glow where they escaped her severe bun.
"I want to do some research at their library, get some fresh air," Aaryn answered. The fact that she could do her research without the unsuspecting prince was even better.
Of course, the library the prince had shown her likely held the answers she sought, but she doubted the prince would allow her unfettered access to it.
The brick building loomed overhead, with stone dragons perched atop the steps to watch over them as they entered. She wanted to give their heads a pat, but she could never reach the top.
Inside the large building that was almost as grand as the castle itself, Aaryn followed the signs for the stacks. Their steps echoed off the marble floor, and they passed several scholars on their way in.
She felt less out of place once she entered the library's large doors, rows and rows of books stretching high overhead. Aaryn craned her neck back and then sighed.
Where in the world do I start?
Turning to Runa, Aaryn said, "This will take me a while. Why don't you find a table, and I'll start working on finding books."
"Alright, alright. Explore to your heart's content, but stay within my line of sight, please."
"Of course," Aaryn agreed. She walked down the first aisle she came to, and then another, and another, until she found what she was searching for.
History.
On Evergale, on the current royal line, on the Great Dragon himself, and more.
She had an entire stack by the time she returned to the table Runa had chosen.
"Great flight. What exactly are you looking into?"
Aaryn paused, sliding into her seat slowly.
Did Aaryn trust Runa? The woman was supposed to guard Aaryn with her life. But could she trust her with her thoughts, or would she run to the prince with every word?
"Well, we're told the story of the Great Dragon as we grow up," Aaryn began, buying herself just a few extra seconds. "Whispered rumors, over fires built to keep us warm. But sometimes I just like to remind myself."
Runa's gaze softened. "I forget you didn't grow up in the castle; you fit so well within its walls."
Aaryn smiled kindly at her across the table. "Where are you from, Runa?" she asked while pulling a book closer.
"Skymore, west of the continent. Very west."
Skymore? Thea's home.
"Over by the Party Peninsula?" she asked.
Runa winced. "Yeah. Near there."
"How was it, growing up there?" Aaryn hadn’t been able to pry much from Thea about her home life.
Mainly, she'd heard tales of the Lost Gold Isles, a set of archipelagos off the coast. It was said that each island used to hold great magic, and entirely different environments could be found on each one, despite their proximity to one another.
Now though, they remained empty, since magic had been gone from the lands for so long.
Each full moon they were swallowed entirely by the tide, which is when the Great Dragon supposedly counted them amongst his hoard.
She wondered if the Great Dragon even bothered to count them anymore, or if they'd lost their shine now that the magic had disappeared from them.
If the Dragon even could count them, wherever he lay to rest now.
He must be. If there was magic for the druids to wield, it had to come from the Great Dragon, right?
Maybe the books on the table would tell her.
"It was just about as fun as one could imagine," Runa said, leaning back and crossing her arms.
Aaryn studied her, the severe posture, the attention she always gave to her station. "Why do I get the feeling you hated it?" What had Thea thought of it? Why did Aaryn care?
Runa snorted. "Is it that obvious? I crave structure, rules. That area is sorely lacking in both fields. It's mostly trade and jobs along the port there."
"Is that why you came to Evergale?"
Runa nodded. "I wanted to join the army. It was just about my only option, unless I wanted to go into the family business."
"What was your family business?" The books on the table might as well have been forgotten. She was given a chance to learn about Skymore, where Thea was from. Did she have a similar story to Runa?
"Fishing," Runa said with a curled lip. "I admire my parents for having the strength to do it.
I always hated it. The smell, the long days on the boat, touching the slimy things.
" She brushed her fingers together as if even now she could feel their scaly texture and wanted to rid herself of it.
"The market was the best part, but that's because I was a kid, and I had friends to play with.
You know, it's kind of funny—I grew up with a Thea.
" Runa blinked softly. "I think I'd forgotten, until just now.
I wonder what happened to her? Maybe she got out of there.
I hope one day to find a station great enough that my parents can give it up, too, if they want. "
Aaryn's smile felt strained now, and she was unsure how impolite it would be to follow up about this other Thea she'd known. "I hope you can find that too."
"Alright, enough chatting," Runa said, waving her hand absentmindedly. "Get to your reading."
Aaryn chuckled and did just that, turning her eyes to the page and flipping through, looking for the information she sought.
But after a few hours, she began to lose hope that she would learn anything new at all. Most of it was all the same.
The Great Dragon was said to keep an eye on the lands, his wings spanning the continent itself. His breath once razed it, but instead of burning it away, it flourished beneath him. New growth, the birth of civilization.
Magic. Used by all, shared by many, taught without consequence.
Until the Tear.
Two hundred years ago, the moon and sun became one in the sky, and the barriers between the planes weakened.
A hole was torn in the rift between planes, and chaos and anguish spilled in, delivered at the hands and weapons of the invaders.
Aaryn had heard them referred to as the Terrors, though one of the Tethered from Neverdrift called them the Rippers, from the rip in the sky.
All of the territories came together to face this new and sudden enemy: Windhelm, Neverdrift, Timberscale, Skymore, and Evergale. But even united and with the Great Dragon at their back, they were destined to fall to the wrath of the Terrors.
Ultimately, the Great Dragon had to sacrifice himself in order to protect the land he had created.
Thank the Great Dragon.
It was only with his grace that Aaryn lived.
The entire continent rallied behind the Great Dragon, using the magic of the land to seal the rift, to lock the Terrors away. Even today, the seal was charged with magic to keep them at bay.
Any use of the Great Dragon's magic would weaken the seal, and Rishika would be overrun with Terrors once again.
The sky above the Monastery of Scale was forever a reminder. Some described it as if a blade had split the sky, spilling out colors of green and purple and pink, a mottled glimpse of the world beyond it. Of what awaited them if the seal ever broke. A threat.
That's why using magic was forbidden. Why the lands had been thrust into a depression. As the people recovered from the brutal attack, they also had to adjust to a life without magic.
The fear of destruction at the hands of the Terrors was enough for the population to fall in line.
Those that did not follow the law were punished accordingly.
Even the Monastery of the Scale, home to the most loyal worshipers of the Great Dragon, allowed itself to become desolate without magic. The land around it withered, and even that wasn't enough for them to break their vow, to pick up magic again.
Aaryn knew all of this lore, though perhaps not worded as succinctly. It had been passed down to her in bedtime stories, by word of mouth.
Do not fear. The Great Dragon protects us everyday.
She read the words greedily, as if she would find answers between the text.
She did not find anything she didn't already know.
Her gaze fell to a book she had not the bravery to open, not in front of Runa.
It was about druids.
Maybe she was also afraid to open it because of the answers it might hold.
"Learning anything new?" Runa asked, slumped in the chair across from Aaryn. It was only then that Aaryn noticed the cast of the sun's rays through the windows. It was practically dark.
She stood in a hurry. "My scales, we're going to miss dinner! I'm so sorry, Runa, I lost track of time. Let me return these to their shelves quickly."
Runa shook her head. "Worry not, the change of scenery was quite nice. I can help— split the stack with me."
She stood and stretched, her light armor clinking as she moved, and Aaryn handed her half the stack of books.
"Let's race," Runa said.
Aaryn chuckled as she raced from shelf to shelf to put the books in the correct places.
Except one.
That one she stuffed beneath her corset—which did make it more difficult to breathe—and she adjusted her skirts until she looked presentable and not suspicious at all.
"Ready?"
Aaryn turned to Runa with a bright smile, and showed her empty hands. "Did we tie?" she asked.
Runa waved her on. "Seems so. Maybe I'll get you next time," she said.
Aaryn laughed, and she hoped it didn't sound as strained as she feared.
"I hope there's potted pie tonight," Runa sighed dreamily.
"Is that your favorite?" Aaryn asked.
The guard nodded, and both of their steps quickened as they raced for Evergale Castle once more.
Aaryn tried to keep up, but the book crushing her ribs made it difficult to pull in a deep breath. Her pacing suffered, but Runa slowed to a more comfortable step.
"Sorry. I guess I'm going soft without Starspark to keep me on my toes."
Runa shot her a sympathetic glance. "I'm sorry he was taken from you. I always thought he was the prettiest, if I'll be honest."
Aaryn beamed at that. "He is, isn't he?" she asked proudly. "Thank you for saying so. When I see him again, I'll be sure to pass the compliment along."
Runa offered her a smile, though it lacked its genuine tilt. Maybe Runa didn't believe she would see Starspark again, but Aaryn still held out hope.
"You're welcome to join me for dinner in my rooms," she said.
"If that is the case, I can think of worse ways to spend the evening."
Aaryn chuckled and imagined she could smell the steamed vegetables and buttery crust from the streets of Evergale.