Soul of Shards

When they reached outside, they could hear the snorts from Vaganann. Perhaps it was because the monsters couldn't hear him, with all the racket made by the humans or perhaps it was fate. Either way, Cartern was glad.

But the same couldn't said about Brigandier. The blight fell through the roof of the stables and crushed him, and if that wasn't enough, those monsters tore through his neck. "Well," Birnbaurn said sorrowly. "Guess you're coming with us, merchant."

Cartern was perplexed at that thought. "Why? What did I do?"

Birnbaurn smiled, although smiling in such a location wasn't right. He moved away and Cartern walked with him. "Relax," he said. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just to reach the fortress, and you will be rewarded for it."

Vandervaar sat by his dead horse, with tears rolling down. Horses were rare, and it was hard to raise and feed one. It had literally drained Vandervaar's blood.

Pacificia didn't want to go to the fortress, she had said her farewells to that place a long time ago. But she wanted to know more about this new leader, and if he has made a good change to the place.

"I was useless this time again," Natalia thought. In the battle, she stood near Cartern, a man who struggled to look at the monsters. But without him, they wouldn't have met with Vandervaar, or they wouldn't have gotten any supplies. She was the most useless person in the group, and she blamed herself for it.

"I ran away from away from my mother when she was sick," the guilt bubbled inside her. "I wasn't able to save her from those monsters, and now, I don't even know why I am here."

Black didn't walk outside. He stood by the trail of corpses that he had left behind. "Do you know who I am?" he wanted to ask them, but they were dead and he was a mute.

This time, during the battle, the vision was stronger. He saw the black man again: the man that looked like his current state. But he was different, for he didn't have those red marks on him. That ominous shadow was in a place surrounded by white buildings. And why was everyone screaming in that dream?

Natalia looked around the group. Pacificia with her magic; Birnbauran, Vandervaar, and Deinn with their swords; and Cartern with his know-how. "Maybe I should run back," she looked down. "Just like Deinn said."

"You were brave when you walked up to me," Deinn said. "Even when a sword was pointed to your face."

Natalia couldn't believe it. Deinn was the most pragmatic of them all, and he was the one consoling her. "You don't believe that I meant it?" Deinn asked, seeing her surprised face.

"No, it's just," she said. "I didn't expect that."

Deinn nodded. "It's true that we all started on the wrong foot. But still, we've fought together and lived. That does mean something."

Natalia looked down. "But I didn't do anything."

Deinn twirled his mustache. "True, true. But it's also true that you have the blood of Flamebearer. You belong with the resistance."

Natalia had already heard that name, and after the fire erupted from her fingers, she knew what it meant. But she didn't know how to call them or control them, and with the fire eating away her memories, she was scared of using them.

Deinn looked at her, sternly. "Where did you live before all this, girl?"

And then she remembered. She doesn't even know the name kf the place where she lived, the place where her mother died. "I . . . I don't know," she muttered.

Deinn saw the fear in her eyes. It was not the typical type of fear, like the fear of death. This was like the fear of not knowing what the future has in hold for you, or forgetting the name of your loved one. He saw shame in her eyes, he saw anxiety in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, girl," he calmed her and turned.

Birnbaurn gathered them all around. There was no use in mourning for long, and that too for a horse. Vandervaar stood up and slapped himself. Pacificia walked to the others, still not wanting to go to the fortress.

"We will leave tonight," Birnbaurn announced.

"Tonight?" Cartern gasped. "Don't you know that those things roam the lands in the night?"

Birnbaurn pointed to the smithy. "What other option do we have?" Flies and maggots had started to crawl around the corpses in the smithy. "Sleep there?"

Cartern looked at the smithy, and one of the corpse's eyes met with him. It dangled outside its socket, and a worm crawled out from below it. Cartern didn't want to go back there.

Birnbaurn continued, "Our only other choice is to camp outside, and moving is better than that. We both have our horses, and Vandervaar should climb the cart with the other three. Now, gather your belongings. We should start soon."

And so, they went inside and gathered what was left. "I didn't get a helm for him, and the rest of the things that you wanted," Vandervaar said. He looked around for the helm that he had chosen and found, but for the rest, he would have to do later.

The helm was a loose fit. "Bear with it for the time being, big guy," It was weird that Vandervaar called him that.

He packed things that were not covered In blood and gunk. "The resistance should come back and scavenge this place," he shouted to Birnbaurn.

Cartern went and got his horse ready. Pacificia took her sack and staff, and they were now ready.

As the cart moved, Natalia saw that Pacificia had her grip tight around her staff. "Is that thing Important?" she asked.

Pacificia's eyes were fixed on the road ahead, and the girl couldn't tell what she was thinking. She glanced her back, "It keeps us alive," she said.

"It's just a long stick."

Pacificia turned. "A long stick," she was both angry and sad. "Oh girl, this is not mere staff. It's a branch of Evertree. A tree graced by the Soul of green."

"What the heck are those?" Natalia didn't like that Pacificia was dumping new words every time she asked a question.

"Do you still have that book with you, or did you leave it back at the smithy?" she probed.

Natalia didn't have anything to call anything as belongings, except the cloth above her skin. And so, that book was the only thing of value she had with her.

"Take it out," Pacificia said and held out her arm.

She handed out the book, and Pacificia checked the cover again. "The seven towers are curious structures," she didn't even look at the book. "No one knows who made them or how they came to be. And they housed the shards – oh, I wish you could've seen it."

"You're again straying away," Natalia said, annoyed.

"Oh, sorry about that. Anyways," she continued. "The towers have veins that spread down from them as if they were trees. And in some places, these veins are concentrated. These places are graced by the Soul of Shards.

"One of them is Smordon," she pointed to the volcano. "Graced by the Soul of red. These places are fertile, and the air surrounding them is pure."

"You didn't say what the Evertree is," Natalia asked.

"Marvels of nature that are found in the Souls of shards," she smiled. "Evertree is found in the Great Forest Amathera. Just like the Redstone of Smordon."

She might be In a land of black and white. She might be an orphan, and she might be useless for now. But her curiosity was that of a child. "So," she might be curious, but she didn't want to show it. "Why is the staff important."

Pacificia took the staff in her hand. "This staff that you called as a mere stick, helps me tap into the Self of the even. It helps me become a Wildcaller."

"So it helps you call the rats?" Natalia frowned.

Pacificia sighed. "Well, if you say it like that, it takes away the romance from it. But yes, that is the gist of it. And yes, ornaments made from the Redstone have the same effect on a Flamebearer."

"So that staff is special," Natalia muttered. "Can I have a hold on it?" she asked.

"But you are a Flamebearer. Nothing will happen."

But Natalia was intrigued by its charm. "It's just a one-time thing."

Pacificia looked and saw that the girl wouldn't stop bothering her. "There is no harm to it," she thought.

"Here," Pacificia extended her the staff and Natalia went to grab it, smiling.

But when her fingers curled around the staff, something strange happened – something that wasn't supposed to. Natalia was a Flamebearer, and the staff shouldn't react to her. But when Pacificia did see it in her eyes – they were like green dancing vines.

Pacificia pulled the staff back. "That's enough holding," she smiled, trying to hide her surprise and confusion. But Natalia wanted to check the staff longer.

"How did this happen?" Pacificia was indeed surprised when she saw Natalia in that village. But the seven states are far apart, and there was almost no chance that one person has both bloodlines. But what she saw in the girl's eyes wasn't a mistake – she was indeed a Wildcaller.

Pacificia scrambled for answers in her mind, and in the deep woods, she heard a howl from a pack of wolves.