Zamir glanced at Khoeli with a light smile on his face. "Watch out for what?"
Half frozen, she could only stare at the approaching beast as she repeated what she'd just said. "Watch out for the, the..."
The guards didn't notice the beast either, and continued to sneer in Zamir's direction. But when they noticed the shadows growing around them, and the sun disappearing under the inky darkness, worried frowns started to appear upon their faces.
Then, out of nowhere, her stomach gave a heaving lurch, and her recent supper spilled out onto the ground. She weakly held onto a nearby tree as her stomach emptied its contents onto the ground. As Zamir stepped forward and chanted under his breath, she felt another wave of pressure wash over her, and the guards collapsed to the ground soon after, although not with the same vomiting she was experiencing.
Another small mouthful of bile dribbled from her quivering lips onto her side, and she huddled down to the ground, wanting to ignore everything.
But to her surprise, the shadow beast remained a cautious distance away, but when it noticed the helpless guards, it leaped forward and nudged them around. Seemingly satisfied, it morphed into smoke and faded away.
"Zamir," she murmured. "I swear I saw the.. some sort of shadow beast, I'm not crazy. It was right there. It.. it had red eyes."
Zamir suddenly noticed her condition, and rushed to her side, worry in his face. "You should not have gotten that sick from that. You're from Aevirun..." he paused. "And how were you able to see the Ilsúrï beast?"
Why was he rushing to care for a stranger? And it hadn't been the forest doing the shadows, it was... something else?
He froze, and stepped back from her. "Someone has been masking your energy signature."
"My.. what?"
"What do you know of the Mo'ori?" He ignored her question, asking her another instead.
Now that her stomach had stopped lurching, she merely felt bruised inside. She didn't even have enough energy to feel anything besides gratitude for his concern.
"I don't understand your question. The Mo'ori are a myth..." she murmured. "What game are you playing at here?"
"There is no game," he smiled. "I am a wielder of Mo'ori powers, and these are our forests. However," he admitted. "I must admit I hadn't realized how much the shadows would have affected you as a Tu'uli."
"A what?" she asked incredulously, not even attempting to hide the amusement in her words. "I'm not one of them, and again, the Mo'ori don't exist, they're just a myth, an old wives' tale told to children to keep them away from these-" she hesitated. "These creepy woods. It's easy to get lost in here as a young child."
"Well," he paused. "Unfortunately, the Mo'ori exist. Apologies for 'bursting your bubble', as some might say. Regardless of what you might think, most stories told have some degree of truth to them. But even a non aura reader or Brother-young should be able to recognize the fact that my manipulation of the shadows reveals my Mo'ori affiliation.
"You're making this a-all up," she stammered. "You just put someone else up to thi-"
"Making this all up, you say?" he murmured. "Then tell me," he paused, letting a shadow dance over his palm and slide back down. "How am I able to bend these shadows to my will, forcing them to obey my movements over the physics of this world? Is that not what the Mo'ori in your myths are capable of?"
"I... I don't know," she stammered. "There has to be some other explanation, you just wanted to..." She stopped upon noticing the shadows grow more and more, only able to see the light from the torches illuminating their faces. "You can't possibly..."
If it hadn't been in the middle of daylight, she would've passed it off to it being a moonless night. But it had been daytime only a few minutes prior... and awfully similar to what had just happened with the guards.
Another lurch of her stomach and a fairly dramatic but real gag led to the sun's rays sparkling over the two of them once again.
"What... who are you?" she asked tepidly, both in awe and in fear. She'd heard terrible things about Mo'ori, but had not expected to receive this level of kindness from one. "And you look different, the monks told me Mo'ori had pointed ears and branch-like antlers protruding from their heads."
"Onto the sensible questions, are we now?" he smiled. "The Mo'ori look just like you."
"The Mo'ori?" she asked in curiosity. "You say that as if you weren't one of them."
"Perceptive," he noted. "I am not native to the Mo'ori, but I was adopted by the T'cavy, one of the smaller Houses."
"T'cavy-" she asked, her tongue stumbling over the foreign word. "House? But the Mo'ori don't have Houses, or much of any structure. You're not-"
Mo'ori were too dangerous to one another to live together. Living long lives and boasting tremendous powers, they were fond of death duels. Family was practically a non-existent concept to them.
He smiled ruefully. "The monks didn't teach you very well, did they?"
She shook her head abashedly. "I didn't know..."
"What do you know of Mo'ori?" He asked again.
"I know that... there is the forest of the Mo'ori, and that it is dangerous to venture into any part of it alone. But we were also told that Mo'ori are naturally inclined towards evil and chaos, and after the war, the gods forbade them from leaving their forest ever again." She paused, feeling uncomfortable with the words that were pouring from her. "We were also told that the Mo'ori lived apart from one another, that they- sorry," she apologized. "Er, that you, liked to engage in death duels since you were so powerf-"
His eyes narrowed. "Stop."
She shut up.
"It seems I will have to take a trip to this monastery of yours. They've filled your head with worse nonsense than they teach the children of Aevirun."
She blinked. "But, you're not-"
"Our powers are linked to the forest," he interrupted. "And it can be very dangerous to enter the forest without an appropriate guide. But only because the Mo'ori are not the only intellectual beings that reside within its borders.
Mo'ori hold a very... narrow view upon outsiders. After all, it was your gods who decimated our populations, robbed us of our culture and banished us into an extremely hostile forest. But even so, we've managed to rebuild some semblance of what we lost. We have become designated caretakers of this forest, and we have our own Houses to manage conflict between Mo'ori."
She yawned, before hastily covering her yawn with her sleeve. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean-"
He smiled at her. "I must be boring you, aren't I?"
"No, no no," she repeated. "I didn't realize how tired I was. But I have one more question to ask, if it's alright with you?"
"Of course, but I can't promise I will be entirely willing to "
"If you weren't born to the T'cavy, how did you come to gain their powers?"
"I... was both lucky and unlucky. I came across an exile in progress."
She reached out and squeezed his shoulder in comfort.
Two memories flashed across her vision.
Young Zamir, screaming in terror as his father fought to keep a spiral of light from forcing itself into the room they were guarding.
The man he had found screaming, chained against rocks as the sun set. Howling in pain as his veins throbbed, until golden light streamed out of his mouth. The attempt to run away from the strange man, before the light found him and surrounded him with a warmth he hadn't felt in an eternity.
"Zamir... did something happen to your father?"
Zamir's eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask?"
"I—" she paused, unsure of what she had just seen. "I think I saw..." she murmured. "Something. Your father..."
He pushed her harshly, his face souring. "You had no right to know, that was a personal memory. I highly suggest you refrain from that kind of invasion in the future."
She fell silent. "It doesn't make sense... I've never been able to do that before."
But it was too late. The damage had been done. He turned his back to her.
"Get going," he muttered. "We have a long way to go before we reach the docks." He cut the twine from her hands, but any trace of warmth or comfort was gone from his face. "And I suggest you don't try running away.
"The docks?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "Where is it that you are taking me, exactly?"
He shot her a brief smile, before it collapsed into a scowl. "Somewhere you should be familiar with."
***
"This place does not look one bit familiar. Aevirun was the first town I'd ever visited, Zamir."
On the way there, he had slipped back into his half-easy grin and he appeared more relaxed, even letting her guide Daisy on her own. He had also explained some more of the specifics of the Mo'ori.
"I'm surprised this town doesn't feel familiar to you, at least. Most Tu'uli are born here."
She gaped, looking around her surroundings. The town seemed mostly composed of docks and boats, with few houses built into the hillside. And the stench of rotting fish assaulted her nose the deeper they went into the town.
"Here? Who would want to be born here?"
The people crossing looked at her with a dirty glance, before resuming their business.
Zamir glanced at her as well, but more with curiosity than disgust.
And she couldn't stand the stench of fish either. An even bigger surprise.
"It's a short distance over water. It'll be over before you know it."
Her stomach lurched at the thought of spending time over water. She didn't know why, but the glimmering sea in front of her only brought fear.
"Do we really have to?" she had asked. "I would much prefer using your Ilsúrï instead..."
"The Ilsúrï," he corrected. "It alone dictates who can call upon it, but is not owned by anything. But I digress. It is not... a fan of water."
"Neither am I," she groaned. "I'm still not feeling that great from the shadows, and something tells me that the ocean holds even more torture for me."
Fear of the ocean? Very unlike the Tu'uli.
Unless... could those silver traces be of something else? But what could it be?
Whatever he was, he hadn't seen it before in any energy signature.
"I'm sure it'll be fun!" he grinned, pushing his thoughts away and dropping an arm over her shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much, the ocean isn't that terrible. It's looking to be fairly smooth sailing all the way there."
"How did you find these news out?"
"Simple!" he grinned. "I studied weather patterns for a little bit at the Institute."
"The Institute?" she murmured. Her question unheard, she sighed as she looked up ahead at the large boat. "Here goes nothing."
***
Khoeli sat down uneasily on her small cot, feeling extremely fortunate in that this was her last night on sea. Every night on that blasted boat had been horrible, and she swore to never again willingly embark on this kind of a torture device.
It wasn't just the time she'd spent by the edge of the boat, puking her stomach out, humiliated by how normal the others had looked, walking around as if they were back on land. Nor was it the meals they'd been served, even managing to dig a dead rodent in her soup once.
No. It was the feeling of constant unsettlement. Like she was somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. Even Zamir, who she'd expected to be at least somewhat perturbed by his sudden lack of access to the forest, managed to enjoy himself on the ride, chatting up the sailors and cracking jokes.
And she couldn't shake off the feeling of anxiousness that crawled up her stomach when she would think of the dreaded Institute.
With a heavy sigh, Khoeli swung her legs over the cot and pinched the candle out. It might be dark out, but she hoped to assuage her fears with a glimpse of the coming shore. The Institute might be a huge unknown, but at least the shore would be a welcome relief from the intensity of the swell of the sea.
And she couldn't shake the feeling like something was wrong. But there was nothing like a quick stroll to calm any jitters, right?
The cool sea air hit her face like a blast as she ventured out of her cabin.
What am I even doing? This is ridiculous. I should just go to sleep and make the time pass by way faster.
But this.. she thought. The sickness in her stomach was starting to recede, and for once, she was able to appreciate the twin moons as they shone down brightly upon the dark sea. This might actually be somewhat nice.
Sighing, she let her arms relax against the wooden railing as she let her thoughts drift.
A cool voice interrupted her thoughts, and she became startled enough and grabbed her blade automatically.
"Whatever could you be doing out at this time of night?" Zamir asked. "I thought you hated the sea, despite my initial predictions."
Narrowing her eyes, she relaxed as she realized the owner of the voice. "I don't hate the sea," she scowled. "And I'm not that Tu'uli thing or whatever. I just hate being on this kind of a boat. But even the threat of vomiting isn't enough to keep my mind off the Institute. I can't help but worry—"
"You shouldn't worry so much about the Institute," he urged. "I managed to pass their entrance exams, and I'm sure you will too. You were born and raised at one of the finest academies in the world, besides, so they really should have no issue accepting you."
"How can you be so sure? I might have trained alongside other trainees at the monastery, but I was never one of them. You also seem to forget that the Institute is a magical academy, which relies on a connection to any deity, which I happen to lack. I am an... unclaimed child of Tu'uli, if what you said was true..." her voice trailed off, betraying her uncertainty.
He leant back. "It doesn't exactly make much sense, though. Even if Tu'uli failed to claim you, which is very unlike any of the deities, you can still tap into your De'xi power—" his jaw dropped. "Unless... How old was it you said you were?"
"I turned eighteen a month ago," she admitted. "So that disproves your theory about any magic I might have. If I truly was blessed by Tu'uli, I would have had some sign by—"
"Hold on just a minute. I may have just reali—" and with that, he had sprinted down the deck down to his own cabin.
"Now," she finished.
Did I manage to scare him off that easily? I don't look that old, right?
With silence once again settling over the boat in the night, she continued staring at the reflection of the moons. A familiar ache entered her heart, and she wordlessly prayed to Tu'uli.
Oh mother of all creation,
Restore my connection to you, mother Tu'uli.
Allow me to breathe and live,
To experience and to give,
The wonder that is your love.
All I ask of you, is that you may
Restore our sacred connection, mother Tu'uli.
She knew nothing would come of it... she had prayed endlessly to her time and time again with no result or sign in return. But she always managed to at least feel much calmer after praying, even if the mother Tu'uli wasn't listening back to her.
Fighting off an unexpected wave of sleepiness, she decided to head back to her room. She slipped past Zamir's room, but not before she managed to catch a few words through the thick door.
"Why... time running out? Can't be... impossible..."
Unable to contain her curiosity, she peeked through the keyhole to find him pacing in his tiny cabin, scanning the levitating book as it flipped its pages.
Since when was he able to make things float? She wondered. As a matter of fact, how was this ability even possible?
Most of the ones who were blessed enough to have the connection could only manage small, helpful tricks that made life easier but were too weak to do much else.
Then she scoffed.
Of course he'd be able to levitate things. Not only was he a student at the finest De'xi Institute in the world, but if he had managed to darken an entire clearing and fill it with shadows that blocked out the presence of the sun, she shouldn't be too surprised that he could levitate stuff.
Still though... the thought that he was hiding some of his abilities from her made her feel quite uneasy. She didn't like it when people hid things from her.
Deciding that that was enough eavesdropping for the day, she quickly got up her crouched position at the keyhole and bumped her head hard against some large object above her.
"You!" she breathed out, once she had gotten some sense of her bearings back.
"Me indeed," he smiled. "I've been searching for you on this blasted boat for an eternity. Looks like my lucky day after all, doesn't it?"