The Starlit Wanderer Series – Chapter 2
Casting one’s soul to the winds of this world will always lead to change. Upon such a pathless journey, only the stars may bear witness to one’s final transformation.
Upon the eastern coast of Hophreda’an, a city known as Iggilith rested its homes upon multiple levels of stone plates jutting out from the face of a southern cliff, like books on a bookshelf. Amongst its various districts of commerce and homes wandered Inugela Nyrea, searching for something… anything. He did not understand what he sought, but felt it closing in on him, like the inevitable break of day.
A tiny bit of land lay flat before him, before falling to a cliffside overlooking a picturesque beach. Above the sand and ocean flew what appeared to be seagulls, but upon a longer look, they were people, riding on the winds with gliding machines. One such machine swooped down to a lower level of the city, making its landing. What would it be like to fly so freely? Was it something he could learn?
‘Oi!’ A rough voice called out to Inugela. ‘Ye gunna pay fer that?’
The wandering soul lifted up the item in his hand–a beautiful mirror with gold lacing and sapphire-studded trim. It captured the image of himself–a young elven man with deep blue skin sporting freckles that sparkled white like tiny stars. Silver hair framed his face, covering the beginnings of his long and pointed ears. Deep purple eyes looked back at him–confused–struggling to recognise his own face.
‘Did ye ‘ear me?’ A roughened gnome with big glasses scowled from over his small market table.
‘My apologies.’ Inugela returned the mirror to its rightful place on the bench. ‘To be rather frank, I was just using it to see if I looked different today.’
The gnome rolled his eyes and adjusted the mirror. ‘Ah, yer one o’ those fey elves, ain’t ya? The ones that change colours when they feel happy or sad or whatevah.’
‘Sure, something like that.’ Inugela politely bowed his head and left the gnome to his things. The fey elf did his best to disregard the vile mutterings behind him and found a stone staircase leading down to the next level of the city. Passing by buildings that jutted out from the cliff face, and slipping by folks of all different shapes and sizes, he made for where that glider from earlier landed.
Eventually, he arrived upon an open area–a semicircle that stuck out from the rest of the cliffside city. There sat a thin young woman, with mauve skin and large sideburns–a firbolg. She had her legs crossed, a rope in hand and a large folded wing of her glider in the other. She busied herself with tying the rope between the bar of that glider wing and that of the other wing.
How meticulous, thought the fey elf. He crouched in front of her and waited for her to notice, but she continued working away at the contraption. He waited just a little longer, until he became sure she was ignoring him intentionally.
‘Hello.’
‘Wah!’ She sprang to her feet, knocking the wing of the glider to Inugela’s feet. So much for intentionally ignoring him.
‘Sorry!’ He picked the wing up and handed it to her. ‘I thought you saw me. I’m very curious about what you’re doing.’
‘Ah.’ Snatching the wing back, the firbolg woman shakily crouched and fitted the wing back into the centre frame of the glider. ‘Ye sure are subtle.’ Was that sarcasm? She certainly proved difficult to read.
‘I saw you flying out near the water. I was curious if I could give it a try.’ He placed his hands together in a pleading fashion.
The firbolg woman gave him a deadpan look. She said, ‘yer not the type to worry about details, are you?’
‘I do, but I just have to experience this. You looked so free out there!’
‘Free,’ she muttered, rubbing her nose with a sniffle. ‘What’s yer name, blue boy?’ Blue boy!?
‘Ah.’ Where were his manners? ‘My name is Inugela Nyrea, but people just call me Inu.’ He placed a hand over his heart and bowed gracefully. Something large met his fingertips from underneath the breast of his clothing, which made his hand linger there just a little longer. His heart picked up its pace for a split moment—as it always did when he touched such an important gift.
The woman’s face lightened up for a split second. ‘Woof.’
‘What?’
‘Nothin’. The name’s Olive.’ She gave a quick salute, then struggled to pull the skin of a glider wing taut.
‘A pleasure,’ said Inugela with another bow, determined to make himself as pleasant as possible. He brushed his windswept hair aside. Putting on a big, friendly smile should do the trick.
‘Ye got gas, Inu?’
‘What?’
‘Nothin’.’ Olive finished putting her glider back together, resting it on its back. She wiped her brow with a trembling hand. ‘So you just think you can pick up a glider ‘n’ use it?’
‘Surely I can work it out, as they say.’ Inugela placed his hands on his hips and then gestured out to the open ocean.
Olive stared into the abyss for a few moments. ‘That’s not a… where are you from?’
‘Oh, a mountain far to the north of here.’ Inugela said, doing his best not to linger on the images of his snowy home.
‘Hillbilly, gotcha.’ Olive snickered and drew her glider in closer, using it like a small crutch.
‘Well, you see…’
‘Oh boy, here’s the life story.’ Olive scowled at him like he was a cat about to spit up a hairball.
Such attitude was rude beyond measure. Inugela continued anyway. ‘I spent ninety years up that mountain alone, and now I’m out exploring Hophreda’an and getting to know it.’
‘Right.’
‘I think the more cultures and nature I see, the better idea I’ll have of my place in it all.’
‘Inu.’
‘I’ve already seen so many interesting technologies and sights, but it’s posed even more questions in my mind.’
‘Oi.’
‘How does Lacernus Island fly, and is the chain that binds it to the mainland really what’s holding it? What makes the train run, and who invented it?’
‘Inugela!’ Olive waved a hand in front of his face, which came very near to being a slap. ‘Calm down. If you want to learn so badly, I’ll give you one shot.’
‘Really?’ Inugela felt a rush fill him, and already imagined taking flight.
‘However, I’m gonna show you first. We’re going step-by-step,’ Olive said, making her fingers walk like a tiny person.
‘Ah, I don’t believe I have enough time for a step-by-step lesson.’ Inugela turned his clenched teeth into a strained smile.
‘What?’
‘I have about fifteen to twenty minutes until my train leaves.’
‘What?!’ Olive’s eyes grew so red she surely popped a blood vessel.
‘I’m sorry, I just haven’t much time to experience everything I want.’ Inugela felt a little guilty, but surely Olive would understand. Waiting was, of course, an option, but after that recent encounter on the ship, Inugela was keen to escape the ocean for a while.
‘Inu.’
‘Yes?’
‘This glider is everythin’ to me. I’ve spent years mastering this and becoming the best I can.’
Inugela kept a smile on the inside. Maybe trying to use a glider right now wasn’t the best idea. He could at least make a new friend. He allowed himself to read Olive’s face, her body language and then something else struck him as unusual.
‘Olive.’
‘Yes?’
‘Call me insensitive for asking, but are you cold out here? You’re shaking like a leaf.’
In an instant, Olive folded her arms and scowled at him. She scrutinised him with harsh eyes that looked unnatural on her. She shook even more than before. Curse his sieve of a brain for not catching that thought.
‘I was born with weak muscles.’ She paused, seeming to await some sort of remark from Inugela, but he remained silent and waited for more. ‘Back then, I couldn’t swim, run or even walk some days. When I got sick of bein’ left out of family stuff because of my illness, I decided to take up my own sport and make a glider. After that, I took to the skies and never looked back.’ Olive’s eyes ran along the floor, then pierced into Inugela with that fire from before. ‘There, we swapped sappy life stories–happy?’
‘Thank you.’
‘Whatever.’
If only we could swap places for a while. You could move freely, and I could fly away from my choices.
‘Well, show me how to glide,’ Inugela said. ‘I won’t fly today, but I’m sure you can give me just as much of a thrill!’
‘You’re a funny one.’ Olive shook her head, but pulled the frame of the glider over herself. She explained the basics of flight to Inugela, but he wasn’t listening even in the slightest. The care she showed for that flying machine, her smile as she described silly stories, and the way her eyes reflected the images of the ocean told her tale.
Then, she launched off the edge of the platform. The winds took her upwards. She soared on the updrafts, rising as high as the top of the cliff, then her glider tilted backwards. With finesse, she pin dropped back down before spiralling around and around like a wing-nut. With a simple twist of her body and a tug on the rope, she returned to being upright with ease. She rode the winds out from the cliff face, over the beach and across the surface of the ocean.
Part of Inugela tensed as Olive made risky turns and twirls, but he couldn’t turn away. The spectacle before him was masterful and delightful. Other gliders out there had nothing on Olive’s skill with the machine. They used their gliders like Inugela would a set of tools, but Olive didn’t use it at all–it was an extension of her very self, like Inugela’s sword in battle. While the others out there glided, Olive flew.
Olive dipped low to the ocean, teasing the rough waves with an outstretched hand. She smiled sadly at the water, and then squeaked as it sprayed her.
Inugela gladly watched on, but something whistled in the distance–the train. That whistle meant it was time to go—otherwise, he wouldn’t make it. He turned to wave goodbye to Olive, but instead of smiling, he jumped with fright. As Olive flew across the ocean, something appeared in front of her. Out of thin air, some sort of green ring appeared. There was no spinning or popping or anything that forewarned its coming. It simply appeared. Olive whirled out of the way, but her glider’s frame caught the surface of the ocean too deeply, and she hurtled into the water.
‘No!’ Inugela gritted his teeth and searched for something. Then, his heart sank as he saw what needed to be done. A lone glider sat unattended on the edge of the platform, as if it were put there for him. Oh dear.
‘Excuse me,’ one man protested, but Inugela already had the flying contraption around him, copying Olive’s instructions.
‘Sorry, I’ll return it!’ Inugela launched himself into the open air. The wind battered against him, and the sound of the glider’s sail catching the updraft sent a shock through him. Terror gripped him tighter than the grasp of any beast ever could, knocking the wind from his lungs. The lower parts of the city swept by, threatening him with stony paths and pointed rooftops.
He did his best to keep his eyes on the water, but already, Olive had fallen beneath its depths. The point of a wing protruded from the waves. There. Inugela slowly pushed down on the rope in front of him. Twisting his body slightly allowed him to adjust the aim of the flying machine until it descended towards that patch of water.
Then, he dove, thrusting himself from the glider and into the first wave. He struck the water with arms outstretched, sinking below the surface. His clothing and the heavy chain shirt under it all suddenly reminded him that details really weren’t his strong suit. He opened his eyes slightly in the water, as icy cold shock rushed through him. A few meters below him, a body sank into the freezing depths. Ignoring the danger the weight of his equipment and clothing posed, Inugela pulled himself through the water.
Olive slowly reached an arm out to him. She hardly moved, the water about her clamping her down with its invisible shackles. Inugela grabbed hold of her and began to draw her towards the surface, but something made him stop. Below him, something floated downwards like a lead weight… something clear, pressed in glass—a flower. No, no, no! Inugela’s rushed with panic and urgency. He pulled Olive to the water’s surface, and they both gasped for air. He drew her over to her floating glider and let her grip it.
‘Are you okay? Can you hold on?’ he asked.
‘Yeah.’ Olive nodded, her teeth chattering like a sawmill.
Inugela dove back into the depths without another word, making for the small glass disc that spiralled into the depths. The disc struck against the dark sand, creating a plume of it like a small dust explosion. Inugela reached the bottom and snatched up the disc, then turned to the surface. So far away.
Kicking off the sand, his burning lungs made his limits clear. The surface seemed as if it only moved further and further away. Water pressed harder, and he pulled on it with bigger strokes, struggling for that beloved air. It didn’t come quickly enough.
His eyes closed, and darkness took him.
A ring of green opened before him, lighting the darkness of his mind with its eerie glow.
Gentle golden hands reached for him, pulling him from its grasp.
A foot struck his head, shaking him awake. With pain rattling his skull, he broke through the surface, gasping and heaving.
‘What the hells, Inu!’ Olive cried. She kicked him again, this time in the back of the leg.
‘Why’d you kick me?!’ Inugela grasped the frame of Olive’s glider, unable to comprehend this firbolg.
‘The first time was an accident, but that time was because you scared me.’ Olive’s eyes welled with tears driven by anger and fright, but the sea washed them away before they fell.
Inugela grasped the other glider and slowly dragged both machines and Olive back to shore. He helped her escape the wet sand and set her safely away from the threat of the dragging waters, then pulled both gliders to her side.
‘Are you alright? Anything hurt?’ Inugela checked her shaking frame for any bleeding or marks.
‘I’m fine. Thank you so much.’ Olive grabbed hold of his arm and forced him to sit down with one great heave. ‘I appreciate you stealing a glider to save me.’
‘And owning it on the first try!’ Inugela picked up a length of his drenched hair and wrung it.
‘Sure, if that’s what you wanna call it.’ Olive’s eyes lay on the little waves that struck the beach. ‘Where did that thing come from?’
‘The floating green ring thing?’ Inugela searched the rough white waves for that strange object, but nothing remained. It was as if it only appeared to endanger Olive, and now its job was done.
‘It was so… random.’
‘What did it look like up close?’
‘I didn’t get much of a chance to check it out, Inu.’ Olive frowned, rolling her eyes. She shrugged, placing her quivering chin on her knees. ‘It looked like a portal, though.’
‘A portal?’
‘A portal, Inu. You got seaweed in yer ears?’
Inugela checked to be sure there wasn’t any, and only then realised she was joking.
‘I did see one thing, but I could be losing my mind,’ Olive began. ‘I saw something like a person with a black bird’s head.’
Inugela didn’t want to sound stupid again, so he nodded with a thoughtful hum. Although that description did bring a thought to mind, it didn’t make sense for them to be alive.
‘Whatever, it’s gone. Now you gotta tell me, what was so important that ye had to drown for it?’ Olive grabbed the wrist of Inugela’s hand, still clasping the glass disc.
Inugela held the disc up to the sky. The glasswork itself was a little uneven and messy, but it contained undefinable beauty. The flower was several shades of blue and purple, darker in the centre and lighter toward the edges. Its colours were hypnotic, in a way, and Inugela stared at it for some time.
‘It’s a galaxy orchid–a gift from someone very important to me. In my culture, a gift like this is considered a proposal to be wed.’
‘Cute! If it’s so important, why’d it fall out? Put it in a safer spot.’ Olive weakly slapped his shoulder.
‘It was in a safe spot.’ Inugela drew open the top of his raiment and revealed a large breast pocket to the left inside. A flap hung loose with a strand missing the button that held it closed.
‘You should fix that.’
‘I will.’ Inugela slid the disc away. He stood, patting himself down to be sure all of his other things still clung to him. ‘I need to get to that train still, but I guess it’s too late. I can’t climb those cliffs in just a few minutes.’
‘Or can you?’ Olive stood shakily, but with a sly grin and an eye on the gliders.
‘Oh no, we still would need to climb high enough to catch the right wind.’ Inugela ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Well, Iggilith wasn’t a bad place at all, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to stay for a little while longer.
A brand-new burst of energy sparked in Olive’s eyes, which spread through her, filling her body with strength. ‘Don’t think you know everythin’ about glidin’ all of a sudden, Inu. Follow me, or eat my wind!’
‘Yuck.’
Olive picked up her glider and placed its frame around herself. With Inugela following suit, she ran for the water, a little slowly at first, but then broke into a full sprint. With laughter on her tongue and shrieks escaping Inugela’s lungs, she leapt over the water and toward a wave about to break.
Inugela wanted to stop, to call it quits, but something about Olive pushed him forward–something about that attitude passed into him. He leapt after her. A gale battered against the wings of his glider, sending him soaring over the breaking waves. With a simple pull on the rope, the glider fired upwards with incredible speed. Together, they flew skyward, winding and rattling into the open air. The laughter in Olivia’s voice returned as she guided Inugela’s clumsy and shaky flight with the best instructions she could give. She sounded so free, and not just because she could practically fly.
Taking the winds up ever higher, they finally reached the level of the Iggilith cliff that held the train station. Ready to leave and a whistle escaping its smokeless spout, the great golden train’s many doors began to close. Only a few remained open near the front carriages.
Inugela brought his glider down and tumbled out of it, just in time to see the train roll forward. He dashed for the final open door, leaping into it just as the train rolled forward. Heaving several breaths, the excitement slowly faded as the sun did in the evening. Inugela hardly had the time to comprehend the last twenty minutes of his life before the loud whistle of the train overtook his thoughts.
‘Inu!’ Olive, still riding her glider, flew alongside the train, waving goodbye. ‘I’m gonna travel too! I’m gonna go to Fr’ri for a glider racing competition on the first of Hareduke!’
‘Well, I’ll see you then!’ There, in that moment, all the happiness in the world couldn’t describe what Inugela saw in Olive. Like his, her world had grown a little, and all because of one lost soul who decided to try something new. Moments like these made all the confusion about his decisions worth it. Surely, he’d made the right decision coming here. Now he understood that though his journey alone would shape him anew, a journey with others meant so much more.
‘Excuse me.’ A gloved hand grasped Inugela’s shoulder, spinning him around on the spot. This figure wore a dark navy-blue uniform with magenta trim, and a cap atop his head that held the symbol of the Hophreda’an Rail upon it–a small map of the country. Pale skin and long elvish ears framed light blue eyes, but that fairness didn’t mar the suspicion in his raised eyebrow. The man slammed the door shut and placed a thumb in his belt. A golden gun with intricate floral patterns on it hung in a holster. The man inspected Inugela like suspicious cargo before speaking again.
‘Do we have a ticket today, my friend, or are we freeloadin’?’