Luca

So earth and sky split and the voice of thunder resounded everywhere, and everyone scattered except for the four conquerors of fear: the conqueror of desire, the conqueror of doubt, the conqueror of lies, the conqueror of memory. With neither fear nor courage in their hearts, they stood impassive, and because of their impassiveness the thunder did not touch them. So they were able to hold open the doors or the refuge while monsters battled one another overhead, while the Desert raged over all and all died.

-The First Codex, Suri Bilhir 1073

245 YT. Late Spring. Sol’s Light.

Each morning Luca awoke to utter quiet. It was unlike Carakhte, where the bustle, the footsteps on the street under her window, lulled her out of her rest. Here, everything was calm and quiet for miles around. In the pale moments between sleeping and waking, it even fooled her into believing there was no fear in the world, no violence to her west. Each morning, Luca lay in her bed for hours while the sun slowly climbed outside her window, reading. Each morning, she crept through the halls to check on Stepan – still recovering from his injuries and the lingering sickness that came afterward, yes, but now he was in much better spirits and moving about the house freely.

Stepan didn’t dare step outside, even with his coat clasped tight and hot stones from the hearth set in his pockets to warm his hands against the frigid Taiga air. He was used to this kind of cold in the midst of winter, but – Stepan insisted grumpily as he and Luca and Kris puttered around the kitchen late that morning – it was too late in the year for that kind of freeze. Winter, he insisted, was long since over, and it had better start acting like it.

As the weeks passed in peace, Luca found herself growing more and more reckless. Eirchais still spoke scarcely a word to her – just enough to know that the being was still there with her. There was almost no snow on the ground anymore, but the air was still frigid, so that whenever she walked out to cross the valley and enter Earthscrawl, she was shivering by the time she got there. Then the villagers would usher her into the nearest house and feed her and give her some of the local brew to wake her up a little.

But still nothing changed – promises that soon there would be talk of rescue efforts in the west, just as soon as everything and everyone was ‘ready’.

On the morning of the third day of the eleventh week of the Spring, 245 from the Year of the Talisman, Luca was sitting at the table in Kris’s kitchen, with Stepan across from her munching on a crust of bread. Kris wandered circles around the kitchen, with too much nervous energy to stop and sit still for longer than a few seconds.

“I honestly don’t know where they’re planning to go next,” he said, “but I can’t imagine they’re eager to stay here long.”

“And you’re sure they aren’t a threat to Earthscrawl? Or Sol’s Light for that matter?” Stepan looked up from his crust.

“They’ve been disarmed, of course.” Kris threw up his hands. “I don’t think anybody is exactly eager to give the Invictan deserters their weapons back.”

Luca blinked and looked up at Kris, meeting his eyes in a moment of confusion as Kris turned back around to pace the other way. He stopped, staring back at Luca awkwardly.

After perhaps ten seconds of silence, Luca finally said aloud: “Invictan deserters?”

Stepan grunted. “New arrivals, and for some reason Earthscrawl was okay with taking care of them at their own place.”

“Well, we’re taking care of you here, and I suppose Oleks doesn’t really trust Sol’s Light to deny the Invictans their weapons… or a chance to cause any harm.” Kris muttered. “Both of you would definitely be considered enemies of the state if you were in Gaurlante, and the Invictans have significant bounties out on both of you.” He pointed toward Luca. “In fact, as it turns out, your entire family has a bounty out on it.”

Luca gasped. “Wait. My entire family?”

Kris nodded.

The world narrowed. For so many weeks Luca had been resting in a space of unnatural, unworldly calm, so far from the rush of politics and war, and the ever-present potential of sudden violence. But in all the years that had passed since she’d heard from her brother, Luca had come to assume that writing to him was a futile exercise – she was persona non grata in Gaurlante, was known to be hiding somewhere in the Vale, and no one would deliver her letters. It was an exercise for herself – sending words out into the universe entrusted to the hands of a passing traveler who might bring the letters to another village, which would then be brought to another village until eventually they found their way to a smuggler who would cross into Gaurlante. The system of mail delivery in the Vale might leave much to be desired but she could not fault its security.

“How do you know this?”

“One of the soldiers had a…” Kris hesitated, looking sheepishly away from Luca. “A bounty list. They were carrying a list of individuals wanted by the state. Your name was listed, and… your parents and your brother.”

“My parents are dead,” Luca said. “But my brother? I thought he was granted amnesty…”

“Actually, the price on his head is even higher than the price on yours.” Kris wouldn’t meet Luca’s eyes. “I’m sorry. But…” He started pacing again. “I mean, it’s probably a good sign if it’s higher, right? That means he’s probably still alive…?” His tone went up, clearly questioning, unsure of what he said even as he tried to reassure Luca.

“But he hasn’t done anything,” Luca muttered as the walls closed in around her. “He hasn’t… I mean…”

She was shaken out of her shock by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up from the table. Stepan just gave a long nod, and sat down next to Luca. “That panic?” he muttered. “’Oh, I thought they would be alright without me, or that there was nothing I could do, but now I don’t know if they’re alive?’ That’s… exactly what I’ve been feeling for a long time.” Stepan took the last piece of his crust of bread and ate it, then stood up. “So we’re going to find out the truth about both our families. And if your brother is still alive, we’re going to help him.”

At some point, Kris set a cup of tea in Luca’s hands. Holding onto it helped her focus – the warmth seeped into the pads of her fingers and through her arms, and she leaned in around the source of heat. The world expanded around her again, and the walls came into clear focus.

She took a breath.

“The only problem is convincing these soldiers to give up more information than they already have,” Kris said. “Assuming that they know anything. But I’m sure you can ask them what they know, when we go to Earthscrawl, which… may just be today. Oleks sent me a message earlier.” Kris sat down at the table opposite from Luca and Stepan. “He wants to talk about arranging transport of medical goods into the Vale.” Kris leaned forward. “I want to be very clear about this because I know the two of you are… dangerous sorts. And you don’t need to tell me any more than that, you can and should keep some things to yourself. I don’t need to know, I don’t want to know. But.” Kris shook his head. “We are not warriors, here. We are not going to fight on your behalf, and neither are any of the people of Earthscrawl. If we did fight, we’d be more likely to fight each other, and no one really wants to break that peace. We’ve managed to live with one another out here for long enough and breaking that now would be foolish. We’re going to help the people recover when the war is through. That’s it, that’s our goal. Oleks and I have talked about it a lot.”

Luca nodded. “I wouldn’t ask anything more. Sooner or later this fight in the Vale is going to end, and there’s honestly nothing that you, or I, can do to determine the outcome. But…” She took a sip of the tea, continuing to breathe slow to calm herself. Trying to quiet thoughts of her brother’s fate, of the questions she would ask those Invictan soldiers – she had to remind herself they were deserters and not prisoners of war – when she saw them. “I have to ask, Kris, you aren’t in charge of the whole village, are you? You’re too young for that.”

“It’s not a question of being ‘in charge’,” Kris said, chuckling slightly as he repeated the phrase. “I just happened to be the one who helped take care of you two for the past however many weeks it’s been. I can’t make anyone do anything, but you’ve been here this whole time, you’ve seen how many times Oleks has come by –“

“On that subject,” Stepan muttered, gesturing toward the door with a tilt of his head. “It seems that someone has arrived.”

Indeed, only moments after Stepan pointed, a knock at the door echoed throughout the room. Kris – though it was his own house – was the first to react with surprise, jumping up and taking three steps back from the door – before the knock repeated. Then Kris slowly approached, while Luca stood up and moved in a path branching diagonally from Kris’s, glancing out the door.

“It’s just Oleks,” Luca said just as Kris turned the doorknob and greeted the old man. His beard covered in frosty flecks of snow, his long coat brushing the ground. White powder decorated the coat’s hem, confectioner’s sugar along the rim of a cake – and it dusted off sweetly onto the wooden floor as Oleks stepped inside, where it promptly melted. Oleks did not waste any time greeting the three gathered there – they already knew one another, and he did not like to repeat himself. He sat down at the table without asking – for he had asked before, and been granted that privilege, and never had it revoked.

“I’ve finally spoken with all of them,” Oleks said, taking a breath. “The families of Earthscrawl. I would not dare make a decision without consulting everyone. Only a few have refused anything to do with this venture, but we are all agreed on one thing:”

Oleks held up a finger, though only for a second, hardly waiting for the others to gather around him. His voice was a little hoarse, his throat scratchy, but all could hear him easily enough. “I know you won’t say it outright, but Stepan Zelenko, I know the way of your mind. I was once a Sower, and I walked the earth till I found my way here, waiting forever for the Veil to fray apart so that I could repeat it. And it never did, but I kept waiting. Stayed loyal, if not to Mirshal then to the idea of it – the cause, I suppose.” Oleks sighed and breathed in slow.

“I know that you desire violence – violence against the Invictans, to free your family from their dilemma. But even if I believed we had anything to contribute to your war effort, the peace in this place must be kept. There are those who, if they believed Earthscrawl’s people were going west to join the Valers or – worse – the Adma, well…” He scoffed. “They would become rather hostile, and then where would that leave us? With the homes of many hundreds of people becoming consumed in violence and conflict all because of a foolish attempt to fight a war that is not ours.”

Stepan leaned toward Oleks, eyes up even while his head tilted down. “You know that I, too, know the way of your mind.” Stepan sighed. “I sense that there is more you have to say – you’re not here to refuse us help.”

“I’m here to offer you help!” Oleks shouted. Then he quieted again, for his throat was still scratchy and hoarse. “But we are not going to risk the peace of these villages with violence. Earthscrawl and Sol’s Light’s families are agreed: it would anger neither if, when you return to the Vale, we send supplies along with you – and there are even a few healers among us who have offered to go along with you to help. It’s likely that, one way or another, this war will be over soon – and when that day comes what will be needed, far more than revenge?”

Stepan nodded. “So you won’t help us free the Vale from the Invictans who are currently burning and pillaging and killing their way north toward Kivv, but you will help us heal a little of the damage after the fact.”

Oleks spread his hands. “What more can we do? I have stated our position – we have no army. Surely you didn’t expect a little Sibiri village to turn cavalry toward the west and sweep through your enemies in a wave of furious fighting.”

Kris still stood closest to the door, his arms crossed. “I know that there are a few others in Sol’s Light who want to go to Kivv,” he said. “Doctors and travelers. And I’ll go with you as well.”

“So that’s it?” Luca raised an eyebrow. “We’re just… leaving?”

“You can stay as long as you like,” Oleks said. “But I know you’ve been getting impatient. No one is going to expel you from here unless you start trouble.”

“My mother might try,” Kris muttered. “She refuses to come here while you are staying, even though there’s plenty of room for her to stay too. But she’ll settle for having the house to herself after I go west with you all, no matter how much noise and grumbling she might make about it.”

“A caravan of a few healers isn’t going to make it into a heavily-barricaded city under siege,” Stepan said impatiently. “We are going to need military aid if we’re to get there –“

“Then turn to the noble horse-families of Steriat on their pleasure-caravans, and see if they will spare you a moment’s thought.” Oleks scoffed. “Or perhaps you will go even further east and ask the ice-folk for help? Your mindset is so very unrealistic. Be glad that anyone is coming to your aid.”

Stepan grunted, forcing down his frustration. “I am sorry,” he said with a forced neutral expression. “I do not mean to demand. It is only that we have to be realistic about what we can accomplish with so little –“

“Are you a Sower at the height of your power, or aren’t you?”

Stepan paused. “I have not been… active… in some time,” he said.

“And yet you bent the very earth to bring yourself across the land to here, saving you and your friend from the fires of Carakhte.” Oleks flashed a strange smile. “You are a nexus of power, acknowledge it or not.” And there, a pinprick of awareness at the edges of Stepan’s consciousness that made the eyes inside of his eyes flicker awake, the ears inside of his ears prick up at sub-audible vibrations traveling through the air – breakneck speed, soft as satin.

“I bent the land to my will?” Stepan tilted a head. “And what would you know of that?” And the edges of Oleks’ lips curled up for a moment, twisted up in Stepan Zelenko’s racing thoughts, though for the first time there was a flash of fear, which Oleks held down. “You said that the Veil never frayed itself in your presence, but if you were so unpracticed a Sower, what would you know about what I did? I don’t even know what I did!”

Oleks, silent, head half-bowed, walked until he was close to Stepan. Luca and Kris met each other’s eyes in a nervous glance, and Kris went to check that the door was latched. He leaned against the wall just to the door’s left, watching the two as they stared at one another. And Kris’s concern drifted across the wind blown on the gusts of Luca’s silent Devotee, then obscured from Stepan’s vision-that-was-not-vision by smoke rising from where mist should have been, shrouding Oleks in near-darkness. “I told you simply that I wandered the world until I found this place, and that here I waited – I did not lie.” But I did not tell the whole truth, and that is for me to know. You have no right to pry.

“But you didn’t tell me more because you knew I would disapprove.” And I wouldn’t have cared if it weren’t for the way you spoke about me, as if you know something about me I don’t –

“If you don’t know about yourself what I know about you, then you’re a bigger fool than I could have imagined, and I don’t believe you a fool at all.” But I do, I do now, because you’re trying to delve into my head over nothing.

“It isn’t nothing when you’re acting like this.” Give me an excuse to say it. We both know it. Give me an excuse. Stop playing this game. I will not. Stop. No. Give me an excuse.

“You have nothing to say.” Oleks reached up and placed a hand on Stepan’s shoulder, stepping forward, hip to hip, shoulder to opposite shoulder. Hand slipping around the back of Stepan’s neck. Cease this game. My memories are none of your concern. I have to know the truth and you won’t tell me. I think I remember you now, but I have to be sure…. And what right do you have to intrude? Oleks kicked out with a leg and placed it back against Stepan’s right leg. Calf to calf. He shoved, knocking Stepan from his balance. Oleks guided Stepan gently to the floor and stepped away, not letting him hit his head against the wood. But your focus is disrupted. Now do not try to touch my memories.

Stepan reached out and clapped a hand against the floor, breaking his fall and rolling away. “You abandoned Mirshal because you were terrified of what you’d become!” Stepan spat. “You were so disgusted by yourself, so dismissive of the truth and value of everything you’d learned, that you fled and hid yourself away here.”

“You know nothing about me,” Oleks said. Do not touch my memories. I will fill your lungs with smoke and choke you until you wish you had stayed in Etyslund –

WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF ETYSLUND?

“I know enough.” Oleks reached onto the counter and wrapped his hand around the handle of the knife, still wet red with the juice of beets, and took a step forward. “And I know you are too much of a coward to help anyone, too worthless and feeble to stand up for what’s right,” even more cowardly and feeble than me, who at least knew what I was and what I wanted and who brought a little peace to such a feud-pocked place in the cursed taiga where no other Sower in his right mind would have dared to winter -

You made yourself nothing more than a hedge witch because you succumbed to your own hatred – you believed the mission a vanity. Stepan rose to his feet, one hand against the floor, and the wood began to warm and quake. Oleks stumbled, but kept his momentum, charging toward Stepan with the knife raised. Stepan raised an arm and struck out with his mind to Cultivate the wood, but smoke that was not there filled up his lungs and the wood would not respond to his command. Oleks raised the knife to strike. “I told you to get out of my head!” Oleks shouted, sweeping in with the blade before Kris grabbed his arm from behind, locking it up with his right hand wrapped tight on Oleks’ shoulder, his left hip against Oleks’ spin, his knee and then foreleg swiping out to push Oleks over.

When the knife was taken away from him and Oleks was dragged to the other side of the room from Stepan, he shook his head to clear it and held a hand up to his forehead. “I will make the arrangements,” Oleks said, standing up slowly, breathing quickly, his hand still flexed, fingers curled as though he were holding the knife. “But Stepan – I do not wish to see you again. Make sure that you are gone soon.”

He did not wait for Kris or Luca to usher him out, and neither of the bystanders to the strange exchange – the battle, they were forced to conclude silently, between themselves, as they tried and failed to understand what they’d just been through – made a move to stop him from leaving. “Oleks has always been true to his word as long as I’ve known him,” Kris said, “although he so rarely gives it. This is… strange behavior from him.” Kris sighed, pressing his fingers into his forehead. “You really must have riled him up somehow, Stepan.”

Stepan leaned against the counter, staring down at the knife, red with beet juice, and considered how close he’d just come to covering that knife in his own blood. “I shouldn’t have pressed the matter. But it seems like no matter where I go, no one has answers that satisfy – and even those who offer you a helping hand are full of hostility when they do it.”

Luca grunted. “That’s life,” she muttered. “Can’t expect everyone who comes your way to help you out with nothing but a smile on their face. I hope you didn’t just cost us important resources, Stepan. It’s like you said, there’s a limit to what we can accomplish with such a small party. However you got us here – if it was really your doing – the people here have brought us in out of the goodness of their hearts. Best not to push our luck by alienating them when we’re asking them for more help.”

Stepan picked the knife up and carried it to the sink, and as he washed it off, he laughed. “Didn’t you hear, though? I’m a ‘nexus of power’. I’m sure we’ll manage something. We’re taking what we can get, and we’re going straight to Kivv, and when we get there – diplomatic mission of healers or not – we’re going to save my family from this goddamned war.”

Then he glanced at Kris, who perked up immediately. “One more thing actually. You don’t happen to have a computer and a radio transmitter, do you?”