┌────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┐
THE STORM BEGINS
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"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸'𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳"
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
━𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐄
"Wh-where are we going?" Alina stuttered as she tried keeping up with Marie and Nadia who were jogging towards the training field.
"If we get there now, we can still catch the end of it" Nadia huffed while Alina furrowed her eyebrows, completely confused.
As they finally reached the training field which was surrounded by Grisha's who were cheering and clapping as they surrounded someone.
Nadia and Marie simultaneously groaned, "We missed her fight."
Alina hesitated before asking, "Who's fight?"
They both ignored her and walked upfront. "Come on now" Marie called out to Alina as they made their way in the circle and saw Raina talking to a man.
"Alina" Raina grinned as she rushed towards her.
"What is this place?" Alina questioned as she looked around.
"Welcome to the first part of your new daily schedule" Raina smirks before continuing, "Combat Training."
"Alright alright," the man also known as Botkin called out as he walked towards the center.
"As Raina has won her third fight for the day," he said before pausing and looking over at Raina while adding in a serious tone, "Also her last one meaning if you see her anywhere near this ground tell me" he teased.
"We will have her choose one of the people who will be combatting right now. Right here."
Raina clicked her tongue as she walked upfront surveying the crowd before stopping at one person. Alina.
Raina walked up to Alina, "Sorry I chose you but after the events with the Fjerdans, I think you would want to learn how to fight," she apologized while Alina just nodded her head before smiling at her. Raina just wanted to make sure she's safe.
"Ah, the sun summoner" Botkin called out as everyone turned to look at Alina. "All of Ravka's foes want to kill you before you can destroy the Fold. You must learn to defend yourself fast."
He stopped before furrowing his brows, "Do you know how to fight?"
The Grisha's chuckled as Botkin approached and embarrassed Alina, fixing her fists.
"I've had some training."
Botkin hummed, "Show me. Pick an opponent."
Alina surveyed the crowd and stopped momentarily as she saw Raina giggling at someone's words.
"Her" Alina confidently called out as her eyes locked with the person speaking to Raina.
Botkin grinned, "Zoya Nazyalensky. I've been training her since she was ten."
Raina bit her lip nervously as she glanced at Alina who was glaring at a smirking Zoya.
Zoya leisurely walked upfront, raising her eyebrow at Alina, "Care to back down?"
"Not familiar with the concept" Alina scoffed.
Raina was fidgeting her fingers anxiously, she was regretting choosing Alina now. Zoya was not known to give mercy while combatting, either she wins or no one wins.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Botkin stood between Alina and Zoya, "Fighters ready? And...fight."
Alina brought her fists up and threw an unsuccessful punch at Zoya who dodged it and hooked her foot onto Alina's, making Alina fall to the ground groaning.
Alina glanced at the Grisha's looking at her while standing up and dusting her clothes, calling out to Zoya, "We go again."
Raina cracked her fingers; a habit she uses when she's anxious or nervous.
"Fight!"
Alina walked to Zoya and tried punching her which was blocked...again and again. Until Zoya took Alina's arm flipping her onto her back while threatening, "Your tracker friend also liked it when I put him on his back. I won't say it again. Stay away from Raina."
Alina looked around and stopped at Raina who was covering her mouth. Alina remembered Zoya's threat before standing up and stalking towards Zoya.
As Zoya walked back to her spot beside Raina, she heard Raina shout, "Alina"
Zoya looked back and was punched in the face by Alina who was fuming, the entire crowd gasped in shock.
Zoya paused before using her Squaller wind to knock Alina towards the other side of the room on a stack of hay.
Raina gasped as she made her way towards Alina who was standing up with the help of Marie and Nadia yet before she could she was stopped by Zoya.
"Rai-" Zoya started but was cut off as Raina held her hand up.
"Zoya, what were you thinking? It's just Alina's first day in combat training" Raina ranted before pausing and looking Zoya in the eye. "That too against the sun summoner. Do you realize what the General would do if you caused any harm towards her?"
"Shall we take you in to get checked?" Marie said although Alina's attention was caught by Raina who was furiously gesturing and talking to an ashamed Zoya who kept scowling at Alina.
Alina shook her head, gulping, "I can make my own way in. Thank you."
□ □ □
"Reading about me" a voice teased startling Alina causing her to drop the book on her hands.
Alina looked up to see Raina giggling as she took a chair and sat down, "Saints, I'm just joking Alina."
Alina blinked before sighing in relief as Raina said she was joking. She in fact was trying to find any information she could about Raina.
"Uh-weren't you with Zoya" Alina stuttered as she awkwardly glanced at Raina who chuckled, "Botkin took over before I could explode all over her."
Alina meekly nodded, causing Raina to sigh and look down at her hands, "Look, Alina, about Zoya, she isn't usually like that."
"Once you get to know her. She can be something..." Raina winced as she tried finding the right compliment, "Different."
Alina manages a smile before hesitantly asking, "Are you guys close?"
"Well in a way, yes. We've known each other for three years" Raina clarified.
She chuckles, "When I first came here. And do not tell this to anyone alright." Alina nods letting Raina continue, "I did not like her."
"You did not like her?" a shocked Alina asked. Raina shook her head, "Nope. She was really really annoying."
Alina laughed out loud causing Raina to grin, "But the point is that you need to be patient, cause you never know who you might or might not be friends with."
"Can you tell me more about you?" Alina blurted out, causing Raina to blink in shock while leaning back in her chair, "Why not."
Raina looks over the books on the table before picking one of them up, "You probably know what I am, right?"
"A storm summoner" Alina confirmed. "Exactly, but what most people do not know is that my only power is not to summon a storm," Raina scoffed.
Alina sucked the inside of her cheeks and looked down at her hands. Raina sat up in realization groaning, "Oh please tell me you do not think that my only power is to summon storms."
"We-well, I did before. But you healed me back at Kribirsk" Alina muttered, embarrassed.
"Took your pain" Raina corrected, "What I did back there was not healing you, because I cannot take away your scars or wounds. That's what Healers are for."
Alina furrowed her eyebrows causing Raina to sigh, "All I can do is momentarily transfer the pain you're currently feeling into myself."
"So what you did back there was taking my pain and transferring it to yourself," Alina gasped, "Why would you want to give yourself other's pain."
Raina bitterly chuckled, shaking her head, "I don't do it to give myself the pain. I do it so others have a chance of fighting the pain they are currently experiencing."
"Don't you have a family to go back to?"
Raina took a sharp intake of breath causing Alina to mentally bang her head while scolding herself, why would you ask something so personal...stupid stupid stupid
Closing her eyes, Raina's memory went straight to the time she ran away from her home causing her to wince, "My dad."
Alina's head snapped up as Raina started to fondly recall some happy parts of her childhood, "He was a musician, traveled all the way from Middle Asia to Ravka" she clarified.
"A Suli?" Alina asked before she could stop herself.
"Yes, he actually was the one who made me interested in singing," Raina chuckled.
Eyes widened at the fact that Raina could sing, all Alina did was nod and motion for her to continue.
"One night, he was shot..straight into the head" tears started to fill up her eyes. "Long story short, his wife turned into an alcoholic so I ran away."
Alina gently took Raina's hand and rubbed it, she clearly figured out the way Raina didn't refer to the woman as "mom" but as "his wife".
"You know what I dislike the most, I look nothing like my dad yet I look everything like that foul woman who I'm related to."
Raina quickly wiped away the tears that escaped her eyes, changing the topic completely before she could have a complete mental breakdown.
"There's a reason why my kefta is made like this."
She points at the black color, "The black represents the power I withhold; General Kirigan ordered me to wear it a few months after I came to the Little Palace."
Alina nodded her head in understanding as Raina continued, "The material used is chantilly lace. It's a mix of two colors; the white design tells us how expensive and important we are and dad also loved it, while the grey represents a storm brewing. The black silk thread...just matched the aesthetic."
Both Raina and Alina looked at each other before laughing, but as it died out, Alina pointed to the embroidery of different colors, "What about that?"
Raina swallowed deeply, averting her eyes away, she was hoping Alina didn't ask about that.
Alina, noticing her hesitant state, quickly told her, "You do not have to tell me you know."
Raina blew a deep breath before firmly shaking her head, "It's about time someone else knows what it's for.."
"Have you seen the embroidery in the keftas of other Etherealki?" She asked as Alina slowly shook her head to a no.
"Well, the pale blue one represents the Tidemakes. The red one is for the Inferis. While the silver one is for the Squallers."
Alina furrowed her eyebrow, "Why do you have those colors in your kefta then-?"
Raina interrupts her, "Do you know Baghra?"
"I had my first encounter with her today" Alina responds clearly confused on where this conversation was going.
"During one of my lessons with her..."
"What do you mean?" the exhausted voice of Raina cried out.
Sitting on a chair with a cane in her hand was Baghra who huffed, "I will not repeat it again, place your hands on the bowl."
Raina hesitantly placed her hands on either side of the cool, dark surface in the bowl "Now what?"
"Call out your power. Locate and connect with it. Test out your abilities and push them further."
Sighing, Raina waited for a while before pushing her hands off and turning to glance at Baghra, "It's not working" she exclaimed frustrated.
"Well obviously it isn't going to work, you need to be calm and patient" Baghra taunted.
Raina closed her eyes for a moment and focused on herself..no one else but herself. Suddenly the bowl trembled underneath her hands. A surge of energy flowed through her bones and veins, pulling out the powers deep within her.
She fluttered her eyes open and saw Baghra taking a few steps forward, her calm features twisted to confusion and a hint of awe as she peeked into the bowl.
Raina glanced down to the bowl and gasped, a miniature forest rested in but what shook her the most was what was happening to it.
..until it stopped.
She ripped her hands away from the bowl, stumbling back in exhaustion.
Raina opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Baghra who grabbed her arm and pulled her to sit in a chair.
"What was that?" Baghra exclaimed as she gave Raina a glass of water which she chugged down immediately.
"I-I-I don't know. That was the first time whatever that was happened" Raina stuttered as she licked her lips nervously.
"Well, now we know that you have the ability to summon the wind, fire, and water."
Raina fidgeted in her seat, "We can't be sure though, can we?"
Baghra sighed as she stopped pacing and sat down taking Raina's hands into hers, "Raina, I have trained many Grisha's throughout the years but none of them ever had many different powers. The bowl showed us four different elements all at once; fire, wind, water, and storm. All of the Ravkans, Fjerdas, and Shu Hans know that you're a storm summoner...imagine what would happen if they knew about your unique abilities."
Raina tilted her head back trying to control her unshed tears from falling, "Are you saying I'm not safe unless I master my powers and keep them hidden?"
Baghra tutted, "I'm saying that you need to train properly with me and not tell a single soul that you possess each power of the Etherealki."
"...and maybe more"
Alina wrapped her arms around Raina who hesitantly hugged her back, whispering, "Why are we hugging?"
"I can't believe you had to keep your powers hidden away" Alina muttered as she removed her arms and kept her gaze on her fingers.
Raina chuckled, "I didn't have to keep my powers hi-," she stopped talking as Alina gave her a pointed stare, "...Okay, I did have to hide my powers, but it's for my own good."
"Doesn't it ever feel overwhelming?"
"Oh, all the time. Keeping your powers at bay in front of everyone isn't easy. At times I feel like I might actually explode" Raina responded, chuckling, before letting out a relieved sigh, "Although, after years of practice, it feels as if I can control and feel each aspect of my powers."
Alina hummed in agreement before remembering something, "During my meeting with Baghra, she said something about you and General Kirigan being human amplifiers?"
Raina froze, "S-she told you about that", she mumbled to herself.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Alina asks, "So it's true?"
Ignoring the question, Raina stood up and walked towards a bookshelf letting her finger glide across the spine of the books before stopping on a particular one.
Carefully removing it, she sauntered over back to Alina who glanced at the book in confusion. "The Lives of the Saints?"
"Come here" Raina called as she opened the book at a certain page.
She pointed on a picture of a man, "One of the first Grisha in recorded history. The Bonesmith. He knew the Grisha would always be persecuted and so he worked on a plan to magnify their power."
Alina hesitated, "Um, I'm sorry, did you say he was called the Bonesmith?"
Nodding her head, Raina continued, "He made creatures from his own finger bones. Mythical animals brimming with power. Attuned only to Grisha. They learned that killing one and melding a piece of it into their body would amplify their abilities. Only the Grisha who takes that life can take that creature's power."
Swallowing Alina turned to Raina, "Do-do you have an amplifier?"
"Being a human amplifier myself, I have the ability to detect and magnify a Grisha power through a touch," Raina paused, "And yes I do have another amplifier."
'But why do you need it!?"
"Having four powers to look after isn't an easy task Alina," Raina exclaimed as she set the book aside.
Alina furrowed her eyebrows, "So you're a human amplifier but you train yourself with four different powers each day which is why you needed another amplifier to help you out?"
Raina enthusiastically nodded as she grinned, "Precisely! Besides, Baghra told me to get one otherwise the General would start getting suspicious as to why my energy drains quickly."
"Well can I see it?" Alina asks as she reaches out for Raina's right arm trying to find something.
"See what..and what are you doing?" Raina asks as she swats Alina's hand away from her.
"You're amplifier!"
Sweeping her hair to the left, Raina turns around and lets Alina look at the feather piercing the lower area in the back of her neck.
Alina stood there, mouth agape as she reached out and softly let her finger glide the feather.
"It's a Crow's feather" Raina let out as she peaked at Alina over her shoulder.
"How did you know this crow is the one that helps amplify your powers?" Alina asked as she took a step back letting Raina turn around.
Grinning from ear to ear, Raina picked the book up, scrolling through the pages before landing on one and thrusting it into Alina's arms.
Different animals which can be used as amplifiers were shown and Raina pointed to one; a huge crow that had something written right underneath.
Gde nachinayetsya burya
Raina traced the words as she muttered the translation, "Where the-"
"-storm begins" Alina completed as she looked up at Raina in absolute shock and wonder.
𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞!
alina and zoya combatting. storm summoner. raina's family. more powers. memory. crow amplifier (...does it have smth to do with kaz?)
this entire chapter is entirely about raina...i hope you like the plot twist
let me know your thoughts
xoxo NS