Lost and Found
The mountains surrounded Haven and offered protection from the winds and onlookers. The hidden warriors and rangers took all day shifts to keep the cave a secret. However, the days were becoming more dangerous as Noszarel scouts covered more ground in their search for more Nalashi survivors. The nights were the worst for Arrazanal. She could sense from deep within the cave arrows released from bowstrings striking in the hearts of unsuspecting Noszarel scouts. Every night she would awake from those nightmares and tell herself that this was done to protect their people, but her hate only grew after each death.
When the sun was up, Arrazanal and other civilians could go out from the cave accompanied by one warrior that hid in the high trees, watching their backs. Kaitajinal often volunteered to be her bodyguard when she left the cave, even after he spent his night on vigil. She would argue that she didn’t need his or any other warrior’s protection because of her advanced psionics, but Kaitajinal countered that she might be ambushed by too many to fend off. Reluctantly, Arrazanal would agree, as long he was happy for the two of them to wipe any intruder’s memories instead of stopping their hearts with arrows.
“So, where are we off to today, Arr?” he asked after returning from his nightly vigil.
“To the first mountain pass. According to some of the refugees, Zjelazanal was among the first wave of people coming up to the mountains, but her travelling group never arrived to the first pass,” she said packing her satchel with a small pouch of water and sliding Yas’ pendant in her tunic.
“I know where that is, but the first pass is beyond the safe border. It’s too close to home,” he said moving aside her folded robes before sitting on a thick woven mat that she had used as a bed for the last couple of nights.
“Well, if you have a better idea then do share it,” Arr said placing her hands on her hips.
“I’m not saying you don’t look for her, but it’s my duty to keep our people safe. If we are caught, then it’s over,” Kai said as he rested his back against the emerald and violet tapestry. “Besides, I thought you would’ve seen something in your farsight sessions.”
Arrazanal sighed. “My farsight is still in its infancy, and every time I try to locate her, I keep getting mixed emotions, thoughts and lands,” she said.
“It almost sounds as if she doesn’t want to be found,” he said staring off into space.
“That’s ridiculous. Could she be anywhere safer than here?” Arr said tightening a strap on her tunic.
“Not a clue,” he said, he opened his mouth to say more, but his eyes deviated past her shoulder and narrowed angrily.
Arrazanal followed his gaze to see Dathazanal trotting over to them, carefully dodging others before coming to a stop. She smiled at her brother. His skin regained its violet glow, and his eyes had lightened to the boy she had remembered in her childhood.
“Spirits send their sun, friends,” Dath said.
Arrazanal smiled. “Isanel, Dathazanal,” she said. She then paused to hear if Kai would give his greeting; she turned around to see his eyes remained narrow.
“I thought you were on day vigil, Dath,” he said flatly.
“I was, but the Battlelord has requested your audience and sent me to protect my sister,” he replied, trying to keep his smile up as he patted his serrated whip.
“Very well,” Kai mumbled before rising to his feet, “we’ll talk later, Arrazanal.”
“Until then, Kai,” she said as she watched him leave the cave chamber. She looked to Dath who shuffled nervously. “Did something happen between the two of you? I thought you were friends?”
“Nothing happened. For a warrior, he has no stomach for war,” he said shaking his head before looking to her, “anyway, you look like you’re ready to leave.”
“Our sister isn’t going to find herself, so, we’re going to the first mountain pass,” Arr said.
Dath’s eyes widened. “Are you mad? That’s within a few miles of the village, the Noszarel know we’re still around, and then it’ll be ov-,”
“Yes, I know, it’ll be over for everyone – I get it. If you want redemption, then this is the first step.” She said before walking out of the chamber. She heard her brother sigh, and his feet shuffle in her direction.
They spoke for what felt like the first time. Dathazanal shared what happened after Arrazanal snuck away from the second invasion. He and a group of a dozen warriors managed to mow down the first wave of Noszarel warriors, but their numbers dropped when the second wave hit. The Battlelord had him search and collect any survivors in the village and leave to the mountains. Dathazanal snuck away to their family home for Zjelazanal, but she was already gone and on her way to the pass. He noted that she had forgotten to put out the fire in the home before her departure and he was left to extinguish the flames himself.
Arrazanal laughed. “She never really thinks things through,” she said as she slipped through the vine curtain.
“Nai, she doesn’t,” he said with a smile in his voice.
The air was sweetened by the blooming flowers in the forest; the trees clapped their leaves when the wind blew, and the sun warmed her skin the moment she stepped out into its light. Arrazanal took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing.
“You’ve changed, you know that?” Dath said with a grin stretched on his cheek.
“How so?” Arr asked looking over to him.
“You seem more at ease, not as high-strung as you used to be,” he said with an eyebrow raised.
“It’s healthy to take things as they come, living in the past makes you miss out on the present,” she said.
“Alright, where is Arrazanal and what have you done to her?” Dath said followed by a chuckle.
Arrazanal smiled. “Why? Miss her already?”
“You still haven’t told me what you did on Emasaran, what was the island like?” he said with a smile in his eyes.
Her smile wavered; she looked up to the pink, ribbon-like cloud in the sky. What could she tell him that wouldn’t be a lie? Arrazanal saved her thoughts on Yasenanos when she went to bed, she couldn’t sleep until she prayed to her spirit. Her heart ached every time she was reminded that she wouldn’t see her face in alchemy class or when they would meet in private for remote viewing tutoring. Even the ribbon cloud reminded her of Yasenanos. Was she happy now, was she reunited with her mother? She wondered.
“Arrazanal?” Dath said, sending her out of her thoughts.
“Sorry. It’s just Emasaran…” she trailed off.
“Challenges and changes people. I won’t lie, I’m slightly envious of you,” he said with a warm smile, “If you want to tell me one day, I’m here to listen.”
“Thank you, brother,” she said exchanging his smile, “now, let’s get to that mountain pass.”
“I’ll be following you up in the trees, I have my short bow with me and if I see anyone that even slightly has lavender skin…” he said walking to the nearest tree trunk.
Arrazanal opened her mouth at him in disbelief, but he chuckled as he shook his head.
“Just fooling,” he said before holstering himself up into the branches, “keep heading south and keep heading down when you see the second pass – you won’t miss it,” he said before his form disappeared in the tree.
She nodded and did what he had instructed her to do. The elevated terrain made Arrazanal’s knees buckle as she marched south and her legs grew sore trying to hold her weight up during her descent. She stepped over the high roots carefully not to get her foot caught in the gaps, otherwise she would find herself tumbling down. The mountain air was colder than the air near shores, even in the middle of summer. The wind would make the hairs on her skin stand on end. During her voyage, she hadn’t heard Dathazanal once in the trees although, she could sense his presence nearby. His trained agility made him silent as he travelled between the branches.
The mountain boulders came to a narrow gap, which was followed by naturally forming stone steps to the lower reaches of the mountain. She looked up to the trees, empathically asking Dathazanal if this was the second pass. Her consciousness received a spiked emotion, indicating that indeed it was. Arrazanal wedged her narrow body between the stones. Her hands were supporting her weight against the boulders as her feet grew cold from the wet and slippery stones. She noticed a strange black coloured dust on the stones. As her hands brushed against it, they emanated a familiar smell from which she and Yas used to make blasting powder She looked around to see nearly every stone on the mountain was coated in the exact same raw mineral.
Her ears picked up a faint voice from a thicket of slender trees. Her eyes homed in on a couple of figures huddled around a tree trunk. For a moment, her heart thumped, and her body went cold. She thought they were Noszarel scouts making their way through the mountains, but her fears were unfounded when one of the figures stepped from the shadows revealing his bald head and bushy beard.
“Isanel, Arrazanal,” Dosh said with a twinkle in his eye.
She awkwardly bowed, but her eye lost sight of the second figure. “Spirits send their morning sun, Dosh,” she said.
“Spirit’s send their sun,” Dosh said. His white teeth sparkled underneath his beard, “and what brings the daughter of the Nalashi out this far in the wilds?”
Arrazanal stared at healed scars across his broad chest. Her eyes flickered up to see his eyes had also been staring at the top of her tunic.
“Doing some exploration, I haven’t been this far out from home before. Well, apart from Emasaran,” she said, mustering up a childish grin.
Doshsinal chuckled as he inched closer. “I’m glad that I’ve found you. It’s very dangerous for an untrained warrior to be this far out alone.”
Arrazanal felt her innards twist and she swallowed spit building in her mouth. “I’m not alone, Dathazanal is with me,” she said, her eyes darting to a random tree behind Dosh’s head.
He looked to the trees behind him before turning back to Arr. “Your brother is a natural warrior; shame he didn’t come to me sooner to hone his skills. You should be proud,” he said.
“Thank you. He always wanted to be one just like you,” Arr said.
“Your words are kind. Your father was one of the greatest fighters I had ever had the pleasure of knowing, he must’ve passed that to his children. You’ve got a bit of warrior in you, I sense it,” Dosh said, crossing his arms.
“I’m not a-,” Arr’s words were cut as Doshsinal suddenly slipped his fingers down her tunic and pulled out Yas’s necklace.
“Did you get this from the druid island?” he asked as he played with it in his palm.
Arrazanal’s heart thumped so hard that she could hear it in her ears. “Yes,” she said, trying to control her voice from breaking.
“I’ve seen some Noszarel wear jewellery like this, they’re usually of importance. It must not have been easy…” he said as his eyes carefully moved up to hers.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
Doshsinal chuckled, his grin revealed more teeth. It took Arrazanal but a moment to see that some of them were filled down into sharp points. She felt a shiver roll down her back.
“It must not have been easy to kill the one that you took this from, am I right?” he said, shoving the pendant to her chest. Its metal felt strangely cold after his touch.
Arrazanal’s jaw locked and she held her breath. She felt anger rising in her blood as she stared at Doshihnal’s face. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, Battlelord,” she said.
The twinkle in his eyes dimmed, and his grin faded as he inched closer.
“Don’t go too far out, Arrazanal,” his voice just over a whisper before stepping past her and disappearing up the pass.
She let out a sigh; she tried easing her breath as she looked to the branches for her brother. Concern grew in Arrazanal when she didn’t feel his emotions after speaking with the Battlelord. Would Dath stop him if he tried to do something? She wondered before pushing the thought from her mind. The sun rose to the centre of the sky. The first pass was still a decent trek away. She continued down the slippery slope feeling her feet finally going numb after walking for hours on stones.
Finally reaching a soft soil again, she could see another pass between the tree trunks, but her eye caught another form lingering around the first pass. Arrazanal stopped when her brother’s emotions spiked into anger. She could sense his hands wrapping around his short bow and pulling out an arrow from his quiver. She watched the figure’s colourful aura. It took her a moment to recall that it was identical to Larizinal’s.
Arrazanal threw her arms up in the air towards Dath, ceasing his movements as she transmitted that it was another Nalashi. She was relieved to see the old female was alive and well. As she scurried down the terrain, she mentally called to the druid. She watched Larizinal's head pop up. Her violet eyes smiled when she saw Arrazanal’s face. Her long white hair was in a messy braid, and she was wearing thick chest armour over her robes. She beckoned Arrazanal to come, but her eyes drifted up to the tree where Dathazanal was. Her eye’s narrowed and she slightly shook her head – telling him not to follow.
Arrazanal bolted over to the druid. She wanted to tackle into her for a panther-hug but then thought it wouldn’t be the best idea.
“Shh, don’t make so much noise,” Lari said pressing a finger to her lips.
“I missed you,” Arr whispered. Larizinal pulled her into a tight hug.
“I know dear,” she said before letting go. “Spirits be praised that you’re still with us. When I didn’t see you on the ships, I thought you were lost to us.”
“I found a canoe and paddled all the way back to Perishi,” Arr said, her lips quivered when she spoke.
“You’re truly blessed,” she said rubbing Arr’s hair. “Dare I ask, what happened after we left? I asked the spirits, but they have yet to respond.”
Arrazanal could feel tears stinging in her eyes. “So much has happened, Lari…none of our kin were alive before I left. I had to hide under their bodies so they wouldn’t find me and-.”
“You’re now here, that’s the most important thing. Have you seen Sheek’zeer yet? She would be pleased to see you,” she said.
“Not quite. She didn’t recognise me at first, I thought she was going to attack me,” Arr said.
“She must’ve sensed your aura; it has darkened since Emasaran. And what of your friend? Did she come back with you to the peninsula?” Lari said with her hand on Arr’s shoulder.
Arrazanal looked down and shook her head, her tears streaming down her cheeks. “She’s…with the spirits now.”
“I’m sorry. I should have been there with you, maybe I could’ve done something,” Lari said.
Arrazanal glanced beyond the pass, and above the tree lines. She could see the high rooves and white towers from the Temple of Eternity. Noszarel maroon and red banners hung from the Temple’s edges, marking their unwanted presence in the Nalashi village.
“Nai, you couldn’t have. But you can help me now,” she said looking up at the druid, “I’m here to find my sister.”
Larizinal smiled and nodded her head. “That’s why I’m here. I’ve been searching for our missing kin day and night since I arrived home, but their energy seems to have disappeared from this point. It seems like they have been captured, but there would’ve been a struggle. Only the spirits would know.”
“Where are the spirits when you need them?” Arr said crossing her arms.
Larizinal chuckled. “The spirits are more like children, they won’t reveal the truth if they know it will hurt you.”
“We’ve been hurt enough. It’s time to take matters into our own hands, damn anyone who gets in our way,” Arr said stomping a pebble deeper into the ground.
“You’re starting to sound like your brother,” Lari said as her eyes drifted to the trees.
“Is that so wrong? His voice may be strong, but at least he’s trying to make a change – he’s trying to do something,” Arr said.
“Of course,” Lari said as her lips curled into a smile, “Now back to matters, I’ve tried sensing for their energy through the land, but perhaps now with two druids we can find those we seek.”
Arrazanal exchanged the smile. “Have you ever heard of farsight?” she said.
“I have, but that psychic art has been lost since the first tribe. None I know has ever mastered it,” she said.
“That’s not entirely accurate,” Arr said, her hand slipped into her satchel and pulled out the green journal. Her fingers flipped through the pages for remote viewing.
“Are those Noszarel markings?” Lari whispered, her eyes growing wide.
“Yes, some of their people have been trying to learn it, but I don’t know if any have succeeded,” Arr said holding the book up to Lari.
“Incredible,” she mumbled as she took the journal into her hands and scanned the pages, “it’s so detailed – so vivid. Their connection to these higher powers would be like the Nalashi’s. If only I had known that when I was younger…”
“Perhaps your assumptions on them were misguided,” Arr said.
“Indeed, these years have only proven how wrong I was. Now in my last years, I’m beginning to make up for so many of my poor decisions,” Lari said.
“With this, I believe we can find them together,” she said.
“Have you had any luck with farseeing Zjelazanal?” Lari said glancing up at Arr.
“I’ve tried, but every time I see her face, she’s always somewhere different. Kai says that sounds almost as if someone doesn’t want her found – as if she doesn’t want to be found,” Arr said.
The smile from Larizinal’s eyes faded. She shut the book and shoved it back into Arrazanal’s satchel. “I’m sorry, but I cannot help you,” she said before walking up the pass.
Confused, Arrazanal whipped around to see the druid skipping over the stone steps. “What are you talking about? What do you mean you can’t help me?”
“Don’t show that book to anyone, Arrazanal. I mean it. I’ll see you back at Haven,” Lari said, glancing to Dathazanal’s direction.
“I don’t understand, why can’t you find my sister? Have I done something wrong?” Arr said as her heart began hammer.
“Nai, you haven’t, but your sister is gone – like the rest of them,” she said, turning around and continuing up the pass.
“Don’t turn your back on me, Larizinal! This is my family-.” Arr said, but her words were cut short when Lari swooped down close enough to feel her breath on her face.
“Speak quieter, there are enemies everywhere.” she said.
Arrazanal opened her mouth, but Larizinal had already sprinted up the pass and disappeared into the forest.
~
“How did it go? Did you discover anything?” Dath asked when he hopped down from the branches half a field away from Haven. The sun had sunk to the horizon, the blue and purple skies turned navy, revealing tiny specks of the stars.
Arrazanal scoffed. “Oh yes, I discovered that a druid’s mind can be fried from talking to the spirits for long enough!” she said stomping up the terrain.
“Can’t say I understand any of that. So, am I right in assuming you two haven’t found anything new?” he said trying to keep up with his sister.
“You would be right in that guess. I just don’t understand, one-minute Larizinal tells me that she is willing to help, but the next minute when I actually ask for her help…” Arr stopped, her attention focused on a dark grey pebble sticking out from the ground.
She pulled her foot back and kicked the stone hard enough to send it flying and into a trunk of the nearest tree. To her surprise, Arrazanal saw a warrior materialised from the same tree with a bow in her hands. She scanned the area and locked eyes with her.
“It’s alright,” Dath said waving to the warrior. She placed the bowstring around her chest and climbed back into the higher branches.
“You’ve got to be careful doing that. There might’ve been a band of Noszarel scouts who could’ve heard that” he whispered.
“I don’t care. If they take me then maybe I can reunite with Zjel,” she said.
“Don’t say that, not ever!” he said as he pulled Arr into an embrace, “we will find her, together. I promise.”
Arrazanal gripped onto Dath’s tunic. “Together,” she said before pulling away.
“Your face goes red when you cry, you know that? It looks terrible,” he said wiping away her tears.
She didn’t even realise she was crying, but she felt her lips curve into a grin.
“Nowhere near as ugly as yours,” she said.
Dathazanal leaned his head back and laughed.
“You’re not wrong. Come, the sun’s gone down, and I’ll need to see Doshsinal,” he said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as they walked to the vine curtains.
“What for?” Arr asked.
Dathazanal moved his arm from her shoulder and shrugged. “He asked to see me when I was done guarding you, probably needs help with upcoming battle plans or another shift watch, I guess.”
“He’s really taken favour to you,” she said.
“Yeah well, not many warriors are left. I’ll do whatever he asks of me,” he said.
Arrazanal bit her lip. There was something behind the Battlelord’s eyes that made her shiver every time she saw him, even when he wore a smile. As one of the few members of the Conclave, as the Battlelord, he had a lot of power and he knew that.
“Just be careful, don’t let him or anyone else drag you down,” She said.
Dathazanal said nothing; his eyes darted away from her stare and forced a half-made smile. With a small nod, he pushed himself through the vine curtain and vanished behind the leaves.
Arrazanal looked up to the heavens. The light from the sky had gone and was replaced with gorgeous specks of stars blinking against the navy. She wanted to stay out here all night; watching the stars and thinking about the peace they must exist in. She wondered if Ezoni truly cared for nature’s harmony, then why not for each other. Arrazanal’s brooding was disturbed when she heard a shuffling among the trees. Her eyes darted to the female warrior waving her hand, ushering her to enter the cave before curfew set in.
Slightly irritated, Arrazanal pushed herself through the vines and was again greeted with warm air and a lingering smell of food. After her sour encounter with Doshsinal, Larizinal’s unusually strange behaviour and the realisation that she wasted a day, her stomach was too shaken to eat. She wandered through the inner chamber. When her eyes spotted Doshsinal and Kaitajinal speaking quietly, their eyes deviated to her. Arrazanal’s face stretched into an awkward smile as she wandered through towards the tunnel where her sleeping mat was. Better than an itchy hammock, she told herself.
“Not hungry?” Kai said as he jogged up from behind her.
“Nai, I’m going to bed,” she said, looking to the lines of people waiting in front of the black cauldrons.
“Sorry I couldn’t come with you, the other warriors and I were in a meeting, and then I thought to have a nap before my next shift,” he said as he rubbed his face, “did you and Dath find anything?”
“Nothing, but I did see Larizinal around the pass. She was acting strangely, even tried to convince me to stop looking for Zjelazanal,” she said.
“Many have questioned her behaviour in recent times, she would disappear for a whole day and night,” he said tapping his chin, “you know her better than I do.”
“Seems like I don’t. At least I have you and Dath on my side,” Arr said.
“I’m surprised to hear you say that, honestly,” he said crossing his arms.
“What do you mean?” she said.
Kaitajinal cocked his head and his brows crossed. “Dath didn’t tell you? Hm, typical,”
“What’s going on between you two? You’ve both been odd since I arrived!” she said as anger bubbled inside her.
“He’s not what you think he is,” he whispered.
“At least he’s trying to do better, tell me what I don’t already know.” she said, careful to keep her voice steady.
“I can do one better – I can show you.”
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