Breaking
Arrazanal dreamt of her village. Her mind travelled to her family’s house by the meadow. It had stood the same as it was before she left, but something was different. The moss growing from the roof and walls shone under the sunlight. A sudden gust of wind blew over the wind chimes that hung outside her bedroom window and crashed against the stone ground. Arrazanal saw herself as she now slid open her room’s curtains. Her head popped out the window to investigate the sound. Her eyes rolled inside her sockets and she stepped inside to call out for someone. Her father appeared by the entrance of the front door. Arrazanal watched in bated breath as he strode across the house and lift the tangled chimes from the floor. He was older now, as he would’ve been had he lived.
Dathazanal rode over on his elk. His face was fleshy and colourful, and his lips appeared to have always had a permanent smile on him. His garbs were of a warrior neonate. He couldn’t have appeared happier until his mother and Zjelazanal greeted him from the house. Arrazanal watched as Dath slid off his elk and embraced every member of their family, including the other Arrazanal. What he could have been had they lived, Arrazanal thought.
Dathazanal turned his head up at Arrazanal as if he had heard her thoughts. She shivered as his eyes went cold. In a flash, Arrazanal was compelled to descend from the air by his side. He wrapped his toned arm around her shoulders and stared into her eyes.
“This is what could have been,” he said without moving his lips.
Arrazanal sensed that her brother was there, although she didn’t understand how. She looked to every one of her family’s faces; their blank expressions stared back at her.
“What’s going on?” she said, turning to Dath. She tried pulling from his grasp, but he was too strong, as usual.
“We have connected you and me, we are the last ones left!” he said as his glare bore into her eyes.
“We are not! Have you forgotten about our sister so quickly?” she said finally forcing his hold over her.
“No, I am doing this for us – for them,” he said glancing back at their parents.
“I’m looking for Zjel if you won’t, leave me be!” Arr said ascending to the sky, but he followed.
“Wait, Arrazanal,” Dath screamed, he dived for her arm and pulled her closer. The image of the meadow and their family had dispersed into another vision; it was the night of their father’s murder. The sky was black from the burning houses and huts of the village; people were dropping dead by Noszarel arrows, and their family home was left dark and empty.
Dathazanal pulled her closer to him; they were their younger selves now. She watched in horror as a Noszarel arrow pierced through her father’s thigh. Little Arrazanal screamed as her body bolted into the dark woods.
“You just left him…” Dath said as they watched the carnage.
“I-,” Arr stopped as her father called out her name, but she didn’t return.
He turned over to his eight-year-old son and pushed him to the forest. “Run, Dath!”
Young Dathazanal’s face dropped, his body frozen into the grass. Two Noszarel warriors charged into her father; one kicked him across the head. His teeth and blood sprayed across Dath’s clothes. Her father grabbed the warrior’s arm, unsheathed his dagger as he pulled the warrior close enough to push the blade into his neck. The warrior toppled over him as the second kicked their father in the groin before unsheathing his sword and pushing it through her father’s belly. As he lay there, he turned over to his son and before the light in his eyes died mouthed the last words ‘run’.
Young Dath glanced up at the Noszarel warrior and turned to run into the blackened forest in a heartbeat.
“You left him too,” Arr said looking to her brother’s wide, sad eyes. For so many years, he had blamed her for running at that moment, but no longer.
“I couldn’t help him,” he whimpered.
Arrazanal glanced back to see the Noszarel pull the sword from her father’s body. He was flickering the blade to rid the blood running down the metal. He ripped off his helmet; his sweaty face curved into a satisfied grin at his handiwork before rushing off to continue his attack. His pale blue eyes shone menacingly as he twitched his grin wider from a recently healed battle scar across his lip. As the image of the man’s face burned in her memory, her heart never filled with such rage and hate. She desired to tear him into pieces in that moment.
“Him,” Dath said glaring after the warrior had left, “find him.”
Before Arrazanal could respond, she and Dath were pulled through a vortex of energy, sending them through space before arriving at a semi-ruined village, their village in present time. The two siblings were at the outskirts of the village. The sun was just raising above the horizon. Its light struck the shimmery silver armour of a guard resting against a tree marking the edge of the forest. The guard pulled off his helmet to reveal an older face of the man who had butchered their father. His magenta hair had streaks of white, wrinkles formed in the corner of his blue eyes and his thin mouth was crossed by a long and aged battle scar that stretched above his stubbled chin. He yawned and rubbed his face before pushing the helmet back onto his scalp.
“Thank you, sister,” Dath whispered. She felt herself getting heavier as her eyes slowly opened to the dorm room on Emasaran.
Arrazanal shot up in her hammock so quickly that she had almost fallen out. Her satchel dropped to the floor, almost waking the other women resting in the room. The emerald notebook slipped out of the cloth. Its pages exposed the Noszarel runes inked on the parchment. She quickly hopped out of the hammock, hoping none of the others opened their eyes to the enemy text. As she lifted the book, her eye caught two words on the page ‘bursting powder.’ Before she could scan the text any further, one of the women rose from her sleep and demanded why Arrazanal was making so much noise.
She tiptoed around the sleeping women and out the door; she needed to see Yasenanos about her dream – or her vision. Her mind buzzed about her nightly experience. Did she witness the truth about that night? She couldn’t believe she had connected with her brother if it was really him.
As she skittered past the hall, she saw the girl from Roshahnal’s gang beside the hearth’s door. Her eyes were red and blotchy from tears. Arrazanal wanted to approach to comfort her, but the girl had noticed her and shot her a menacing glare. She looked to the floor as she reached the door, but the girl tried placing her foot out to trip her into it. Arrazanal felt rage fill her heart again. She turned to her, feeling her eyes getting hot as green energy balled in her hands. The girl’s eyes widened in shock and she stepped back. But Arrazanal had no time for another confrontation – even though her heart screamed for it.
She pushed herself out the great doors and breathed in deep the warm beach air. Her eyes drifted to the Noszarel inn, and with her inner eye tried locking on to Yasenanos’s aura. Sure enough, she was resting inside. Arrazanal tapped into her psionics and called to Yas, requesting to meet in the alchemy lab. Once she agreed, Arrazanal sped off down the path to the laboratory.
When she pushed open the doors, Master Naz’s eyes narrowed in the displeasure of her presence. His tall and lanky form straightened from his table, but his eyes drifted down to her robe. He scowled before returning to his chair.
“Think that robe makes you my student, does it?” he called from his table.
Arrazanal opened her mouth, ready to unleash a torrent of verbal assault, but was interrupted by the door opening from behind her. Yasenanos appeared at the entrance. Her eyes were puffy and red, having spent a sleepless night.
“Isanel-,” Arr looked down to see stained bandages across Yas’ hand and forearm. She gently guided her friend to their alchemy station and sat her on the stool.
“What in the spirits happened to you?” Arr said sitting on another stool opposite her.
“Looks like I did need your help back into town last night,” she said with a smile as she touched her wounds.
“Were you attacked?” Arr whispered as she lifted her friend’s arm.
“But I got them back, at least one of them. The girl was awfully sensitive…” she said wincing as Arr carefully unwrapped the bandages.
Arrazanal’s eyes narrowed. Her rage started to build within her again but kept it at bay as she recalled catching the girl crying at the inn. She grabbed a potion with green liquid from her table; carefully making sure it was for regeneration.
“I have something for this,” she said ripping the last of the bandages off and popping open the vial. She said, tipping it over the wounds, “this is going to sting a little.”
Yasenanos winced again, her white eyes rolled around in her head as she held onto her sore arm to keep it steady. The liquid sizzled and dispersed in the gashes. Her skin was already began closing over the wounds.
“You weren’t lying,” she said as she rubbed her healed arm.
“Those vile little mongrels, doing that to you…” Arr spat as she tossed the empty bottle in her bag.
“It’s fine, really,” Yas said tugging at her silver pendant.
“Nai, it’s not fine!” Arr said. Her voice lowered as more students entered the laboratory, “nothing is fine about people like them.”
Yas cleared her throat and dropped her hand from her necklace. “Why did you call me so early, Arr?”
Arrazanal stared at her for a moment, trying to recall her vision. Yasenanos tapped and rubbed her chin as she recounted the previous night. She avoided mentioning her encounter with Roshahnal and Larizinal, fearing it was going to add to Yas’ stress.
“Interesting. From what you told me about him, I would expect he was the last one you wanted to see,” she said.
“Imagine my surprise. Have you had anything like that before?” Arr said.
“Afraid not. What does the notebook say?” Yas said, tapping her hand on the workbench, “there might be something we’re overlooking.”
Arrazanal pulled out the green journal; it had grown thicker in the last few weeks from all the notes she had added to the pages. She opened to the chapter about farsight, quickly scanning the pages for anything relating to her experience.
“I don’t see anything…” she said, glancing up at Yas.
“Like I would have a better chance finding anything!” she said, her mouth cracking into a smile.
Arrazanal laughed. Though the joke was simple, she felt like she hadn’t laughed in decades. It was then she realised, Yas was one of the few lights in her life.
“I’m afraid for Dath. I’m afraid of him and for him. I know he can change; I know he will see,” she said.
“That’s wise of you, but I would also call you foolish,” Yas said as she flicked her pendant.
Arrazanal shot her brows up, shocked to hear her friend’s words. “What makes you say that? I thought you were all for compassion and looking beyond one's shortcomings!”
“You underestimate Dathazanal’s strength, something he has shown you many times before. How do you know he will change or even wants to?” Yas said.
“Because he is vulnerable. Yes, he can be a fool, but I must at least try to help him,” she said.
Yas shook her head as she gripped her pendant. “I understand you completely, but people like him drag everyone else down. You’ve come too far to drop it all for his need for vengeance. I guess that’s why you saw him, maybe because you two have gone down the same road.”
“He is my brother, Yas,” Arr said, before she could continue her thoughts, Master Naz called the class in session. The remaining students filled the room and took their place at their workbenches.
“Dath needs to be taught a lesson,” Yas said.
Arrazanal’s eyes drifted to the window. She watched Roshahnal confidently stroll outside along the path followed by his cronies. He shouldered a hurried Noszarel student, making her drop her belongings. He and his group laughed as they watched her scramble for her things before they continued their pathetic reign over the campus.
Fury built inside Arrazanal’s heart. “Dath isn’t the only one that needs to be taught a lesson,” she hissed.
Yasenanos shivered; she sensed the gang as she rubbed her recently healed arm. “What are you going to do?” she said.
Arrazanal bit her lip as she glanced down at the open book. “What do you know about ‘bursting powder’?”
A devious smile stretched across Yasenanos’s face.
~
“Are you sure this is going to work? How do you know they’ll be here?” Arr whispered on a branch of a densely leafed tree beside the herb garden.
“Oh, they will. Relax, I’ve done this before,” Yas replied. Her lips curved into a smile.
Arrazanal’s head snapped to her friend’s head, her eyes widened with surprise. “You’ve thrown bursting powder at people before?”
“Oh nai, I’ve made it before, it’s harmless in small amounts. I can sense they’re coming,” she whispered as her lavender knuckles whitened from her grip around the branch.
They spent many days in alchemy class carefully constructing the two main ingredients of powder, all the while not to the knowledge of their professor. Finally, Arrazanal had stuffed the freshly made powder in a tiny velvet pouch. Fear gripped her as Yasenanos told her that it could explode if mishandled. She had to be very careful with that powder. For days, they studied the movements of Roshahnal’s group where they would settle in the herb garden before their nightly ‘protection’ of the island. These subversive activities mostly consisted of harassing the younger Noszarel students away from the prying adult and island keeper eyes. The day for action has finally arrived.
Now on the branch, Arrazanal gently slipped out the pouch and pried it open.
“How much did you say?” she asked, staring down at the grey dust.
“Just sprinkle it on them when they get close enough,” Yas said.
“Won’t they see us when we do?” Arr said with her brow raised.
“I’ve got us masked; they won’t be able to sense our presence even when they are looking directly at us. Don’t bother dementing them, the healers will know of empathic meddling,” she said. Arr sensed a shiver running down Yas’ back.
“They’ll think the Wild Ones attacked them,” Arr whispered as she pinched a tiny amount of the powder.
Roshahnal was the first to enter her field of vision. As usual, he and his gang were laughing, probably at their latest victim. He plonked down on the grassy mound beneath the tree; the girl sat a little closer than his other friends. Arrazanal studied their auras shimmering in the sunlight. They had grown darker since their last encounter. They were no better than the Noszarel savages. With a quick glance to Yasenanos, whose aura shone like a sunset, Arrazanal held out her arm and sprinkled the powder over their heads.
She watched in anticipation as the glittering particles drifted slowly through the air before finally reaching the crown of their skulls. In a blink of an eye, the dust burst into tiny flashes of white, gold and orange. Loud popping sounds made them all squeal; a few of them had shot up from the grass and took off running in different directions. The girl screamed as her arms closed around her head and shoulders; Roshahnal leapt up trying to swipe away at the exploding powder, but his slaps only made them worse.
The girl crawled away from the mound, but Roshahnal had his foot stuck under her ribs and toppled over, falling directly onto a flat stone. Arrazanal smirked as she heard a satisfying crunch of his nose before he and the girl managed to scramble away from the garden. A bubble of laughter escaped out of Arrazanal’s belly; she hadn’t ever seen something so entertaining in her life. She glanced over to see if Yasenanos was sharing her joy, but her friend’s face remained flat and still.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t see that!” Arr said tapping Yas’ knee.
Yasenanos smirked, but it was empty, her blank eyes turned up to the tree canopy. “I saw it all,” she said flatly.
“I thought you’d be pleased,” Arr said, her smile quickly diminishing.
“I thought so too, but it wasn’t…what I expected,” Yas said turning to Arr, “don’t misunderstand, they had it coming. But in my people’s teachings, the line between justice and revenge is thin.”
“They hurt you, me and who knows how many others. The keepers know of their antics but are stretched too thin trying to control the students and refugees. It doesn’t matter if they’re Nalashi or Noszarel, they’re rotten. Rosh wasn’t exactly beloved in my village,” Arr said sliding the pouch shut and rolling it into her satchel.
“I just don’t want to turn out that way, feeling the need to exact vengeance on anyone that’s hurt me. What kind of a life would that be?” Yas said gripping her pendant.
“A sad one,” Arr quietly said, “but I think a life not knowing your place in the world and feeling like a failure is even sadder.”
“Both are terrible, but it’s our duty to learn from others’ mistakes and become better from them,” Yas said.
“You’ve made me better,” Arr said shifting herself to face Yas, “when we leave Emasaran, I wish I could take you back to my home…whatever’s left of home.”
Yasenanos smiled, her white eyes turned pink as tears welled in her lids. “Then take a part of me,” she said as she lifted the necklace over her head.
Arrazanal felt her face turning rose red as Yasenanos placed the necklace around her neck. She placed her soft hands on Arrazanal’s cheek and grinned while her tears slowly receded in her eyes.
“Your face is hot,” she whispered as she caressed Arrazanal’s cheek.
Arrazanal remained silent; she didn’t want Yas to pull away. She placed her hand over Yas’; Arrazanal leaned in, closed her eyes and gently pulled her in, pressing her nose and forehead onto hers. Was this love? She wondered. For a moment, the world fell away. For a moment, she wanted to stay in the tree with Yasenanos for eternity. For a moment, everything was perfect.
She sensed Yas pulling away from her. She shot her eyes open to see her face twisted in horror.
“I’m sorry, I-,” Arr said looking at her in disbelief.
“Not you, there’s something not right!” Yas said pressing her temples with her fingers. Her jaw tightened as a low moan escaped her mouth.
“What’s going on, Yas? Are you sick?” Arr said holding out her arms, trying to comfort her.
“Nai, nai… death has come!” she yelled, holding herself up on the branch.
Before Arrazanal could form a thought, she felt a powerful dread overcome her mind. A distant shout came from beyond the garden. She leapt down from the branch to see a few people running and disappearing into the forest. A group of armoured island keepers rode along the cobbled path on their lavender horses in the direction of the shore. She looked up to see Yasenanos, quivering high in the branch with her fingers still pressed tightly at her temples.
“Stay up there, I’m going to have a look,” Arr said.
“No, don’t go,” Yas called out.
“I’ll come back for you!” Arr shouted before she bolted down the garden and onto the path. As she ran, her empathic senses crept into her mind with images of suffering. Flashes of rocks being bashed against hands and heads swirled in her thoughts. The screaming got louder as a horde of refugees, students, druids and keepers fought in the massive crowds. Flashes of green energy burst from the hands of keepers and druids, aiming directly at the two main crowds of battling Noszarel and Nalashi.
Arrazanal glanced across to the Noszarel inn that was now an inferno. The ground and stairs that separated both hearths were filled with people slashing, cutting and bashing each other with wooden stakes and stones. Even the keepers had no chance of containing the battle as they were ripped from their horse’s backs and overwhelmed by the angry mobs. Pain engulfed her as Arrazanal watched bodies hit the floor. Their faces and shoulders were covered in blood.
A loud roar came from the entrance of the Nalashi inn. Arrazanal’s locked onto Sheek’zeer slashing away at some Noszarel with Larizinal standing by unleashing a wild torrent of green energy and striking the aggressors of the horde. Arrazanal tried calling out to her, but her voice was drowned by the crowds. She rushed up to the steps, careful to avoid getting struck or attacked by someone. Sheek’zeer’s eyes glowed a menacing orange, ready to tackle her, but her face softened when she recognised Arrazanal.
“Larizinal, what in the spirits is going on?” Arr shouted to the old female.
Larizinal spun around; her eyes were like two emeralds in her sockets. “They’ve gone mad!” she replied, releasing another bolt of green light from her hands.
“What? Who?” Arr said, edging behind Sheek’zeer and Larizinal for protection.
“Hawks came in and Noszarel executed all the sick, injured and Nalashi healers from the Temple of Eternity. Before I knew it, our kin started their rampage, slaying all Noszarel in sight!” Lari shouted.
“I need to get Yas,” Arr said, turning back to the cobbled path.
“Nai, ships are leaving, get on them now!” Lari said, she lifted her leather robe and hopped onto Sheek'zeer's muscled back. Larizinal made a grab for Arrazanal’s hand, but their fingers slipped as more bodies separated them. The great tiger leapt over the stairs, crashing into some would-be attackers and knocking them back. She sprinted down the stairs, pushing them off the cliff edge.
“Arrazanal!” Yas’ voice prickled in her ears. She spun around to see Yasenanos gripping the trunk of a tree on the edge of the mass brawl.
Arrazanal sprinted through the crowd, narrowly missing a giant club swinging past her head and crashing into another poor person behind her. Arrazanal’s heart now wild with rage turned to her potential killer, a Noszarel female, twice her size and weight clocking her fist back for a punch. Arrazanal dodged another strike and quickly placed her hand on the female's face and unleashed her energy into her skull. The female screamed as a green light burst from Arrazanal’s palm and burnt through her flesh. She dropped to the ground, but others invested in continuing their fights trampled over her body.
Arrazanal turned back to see Yasenanos. She reached out her arm and gripped onto Arr’s forearm. “We have to go!” she screamed.
Yasenanos pulled away from the tree. Both of her hands clung to Arrazanal’s arm as she pushed around the crowd to the staircase.
“I can’t see anyone; their energy is all mixed together!” Yas called from behind her.
“Don’t let go, we’re going to the docks,” Arr said.
“I can’t do anything, they’re overwhelming me.” Yas said as her fingernails cut into Arr’s skin.
“Don’t let me go, I’ll protect you.” Arr said pulling Yas to the edge of the stairs. Intending to carefully guide her down the steps, Arrazanal turned around to see a small black pebble fly across the air and strike Yasenanos in the head. Time froze as she watched Yas’ eyes roll into the back of her head. She released the grip of her arm and toppled limply over the staircase.
Arrazanal’s mouth hung open. She couldn’t scream; she couldn’t move. A thin stream of blood trickled down Yasenanos’ forehead. Her golden aura was gone. Arrazanal stared down at her lifeless body; she wanted to tear the island apart. As the seconds washed past, Arrazanal felt a hard knock at the back of her skull, sending her into a world of darkness.
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