Soulbonder

Chapter 60 - Broken Fragments

Later that night, they held the biggest remembrance ceremony yet. It was outside, to the south of the camp, held around a huge bonfire. Many who'd previously been too raw to attend earlier events showed up now to honour their lost loved ones.

Shale's prayers were mostly silent as she said one each for Yase, her uncle, and her parents.

When that was done, Alashar and Shale were invited to sup in the Jazarthan Cathedral. The building was another impressive creation of the Magizyra, shaped like a prism, made from purple and blue glass panels. The common folk had already taken to referring to it as the Heart of Starstone, as it was where the Council met up each day.

High Mastari Mazaric's nose and cheeks were already red from too much brandy. When he spotted Alashar, he lowered himself down next to him and grilled him on his intentions for the future. "All I'm saying lad-" He paused to hiccough. "-is that it'd be a shame to lose you. You were one of the good ones."

"Thank you, High Mastari, but I only ever wanted to help the Hekkari in their time of need. I have other plans for my future."

The High Mastari glanced at Shale and a drunk smirk spread over his face. It was funny how a man so uptight became so jovial and informal after a few drinks. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but there might be talk of reforming the Kersaja Code and doing away with some of the stricter ones. Might be able to find a lovely wife myself. If, hypothetically, that were to pass, would that sway you?"

"Suppose I'd be open to that, hypothetically of course, but it would all be rather boring now, right?"

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, once you fight Shaedri, where does one go from there?"

The High Mastari's brow furrowed as he gave that serious thought.

High Stargazer Karlar sat to the Haeryn's right. All night, the pair had been locked in a deep conversation about philosophy, law, and history. Even the snippets she picked up on were enough to make Shale's head spin, but she was glad he'd found a like-minded friend to discuss such things with.

Further down the table, the rest of the Mastari were locked in an argument as to what tactics should be deployed if they faced other fabled foes like the Kilag or the Vimastru.

"Well fire is obvious to use against the Kilag, they only respond to fear," Mastari Jegran said.

"If we wanted to scare them off, Jegran, we'd just display you on the front lines," Mastari Valera said.

The other Mastari exploded into laughter. Even Farin Dartor had to cover his mouth, trying to contain his smile.

Shale dipped her crust into her soup. She watched intently as the thick bread soaked up the green liquid.

Then someone tapped her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Alashar whispered.

"Of course. Why?"

Apparently something in her eyes gave a different answer though, causing him to frown. "Do you want to get some air?"

"Actually, that does sound quite good."

They excused themselves from the table and wandered off into the city. Eventually they strayed into the plains.

The constant barrage of attention Shale received was getting easier to deal with. But she was happy when they got outside of camp, into clearer ground, so she could stew on her thoughts.

It was difficult to get over everything.

Sometimes she could still hear the memory of Murgal's whispers and had to breathe through the panic.