Chương 36: [The Angel in the Ink]

Torren was still laughing when the two groups drifted toward each other. Frank headed for Yara. She saw him coming and waited.

"You directed the guard long?" he asked.

"It's been my role for the past twenty years," she said.

"You?"

"Twenty-five. Army back on our world. Two tours in places I'd rather not name." Yara studied him a moment.

"With what I've heard of your world's weapons, that must have been difficult. You have my respect." Frank gave a single nod.

"Likewise." They stood together watching the others. Torren was deep in conversation with Terry, hands moving as he talked. Rika fired questions at Diane faster than Diane could answer them. Kai stood a little apart, eyes on the treeline. Frank nodded toward him.

"He hasn't stopped watching it."

"He won't," Yara said.

"Not until we're back inside it." Frank watched him another moment.

"Good man to have."

"Yes," she said.

"He is." Merin and Mike had found a quiet spot slightly apart from the others. Gary was beside them, asking about the treeline, the forest edge, what materials the village had access to. John had slotted into the conversation without fanfare. Torren had been speaking to Terry only a moment before the subject turned to food.

"How are the town's stores looking?" Torren asked.

"Enough for now," Terry said.

"Not for long though. A few months at most. Three thousand people get through it faster than you'd think." Torren nodded.

"What are you growing?"

"That's the problem. Not much yet. We're working on it, but we need to move faster than the season allows. We have access to seeds, fertiliser, that sort of thing but where to set up is part of the problem, the risk of what's outside of town is holding us back from planting."

"We have a workaround. It has its own problems though. Have you ever heard of a greenhouse?" Terry asked. Torren shook his head.

"It's a glass structure. You grow food inside it year-round. Weather doesn't matter. We know how to build them. Getting the materials together is the challenge." Torren went quiet.

"You can trick the seasons?"

"Essentially, yes. But even with that, getting things out of the ground fast enough is—""Show me where you're planning to grow," Torren said.

"I may be able to help with that part." Terry glanced at him.

"How so?"

"It's part of what I do. Encouraging things along." He paused.

"Some things grow faster with the right attention." Mags stepped in beside them.

"What about medicinal plants? Does the village have healers?" Torren turned to her with interest.

"Several. I grow some plants the healers use in their work in my garden." He paused.

"You have medical training?"

"Thirty years of it," Mags said.

"I think you and our head healer would have a great deal to discuss." Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"We might need a longer conversation about all of this," Terry said.

"Yes," Torren said.

"I think we might." Diane and Rika found each other and chaos ensued.

"Are those real wings? Can you actually fly?" Diane said.

"Yes and yes, but how does your magic screen work, is it like a muscle?" Rika said.

"Sort of, we're still figuring it out. Does it hurt when you fold them, the joint looks like it would—""Only if I do it wrong. What's a greenhouse, Terry just mentioned it and I didn't want to interrupt—""Glass building, grow food inside year round. How fast can you fly, like bird fast or faster—""Faster than most birds actually. Can everyone here use magic or just Brandon and the others—" They stood facing each other, neither really sure if they should slow down or not, both completely fine with that.

The boys drifted toward Shai. Ronan stood nearby, close enough that it wasn't long before Phil noticed the weapon strapped to his hip.

"That a scimitar?" Ronan glanced down at it.

"It's called a Talshir. Never heard of a scimitar."

"Can I have a look?" Shai glanced at Ronan. Ronan considered it for half a second.

"Sure." He drew it smoothly and offered it handle first. Phil took it and turned it in his hands. The balance was obvious.

"That's well made. It's a nice sword."

"Yes it is," Ronan agreed.

"You any good with it?" Ronan smiled.

"I get by." Shai tried to hide her laugh. Phil looked at her.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said. Ronan's smile widened slightly.

"What does get by mean exactly?" Phil asked.

"It means he never loses. He may not look it but this guy is one of the two best fighters in the village," Shai said. Ronan took the Talshir back and slid it home without looking.

"She flatters me."

"I really don't," Shai said. Phil looked at Ronan with fresh eyes. He looked back with the same grin on his face.

"Right," Phil said. Parmo had been watching the exchange.

"How long have you been with the village?"

"A few years at this point," Ronan said.

"Where were you before that?"

"My tribe." He didn't elaborate.

"Fair enough," Parmo said. Luka had been watching the treeline.

"Do you go into the forest much?"

"Yeah, from time to time. I help out Shai here when something troubles the guard," Ronan said.

"Is it as bad in there as Shai described?" Ronan thought about that for a second longer than expected.

"It's worse in some places. The deeper you go the harsher it becomes. I'd struggle alone if I went deep enough." Shai nodded.

"It's why the empire hasn't extended their borders in a long time. It's not worth the cost."

"Good to know. Thanks Ronan," Leo said. Ronan nodded, the grin still in place.

"You're welcome," he said. The conversations had been running for a while when the groups began to blur at the edges. People had moved without really meaning to, pulled by curiosity or the sound of something interesting nearby. The formal separation at the start had quietly dissolved. Torren looked around the group.

"I've already asked the boys about this, but I find myself wondering — do any of your other people carry ink with meaning?" A few people glanced at each other. Diane pushed her sleeve up without ceremony. On her forearm sat a winged figure in gold armour, wings spread wide, spear raised in one hand, sword held ready in the other. Rika appeared from nowhere.

"Wow, look at those wings!"

"Awesome right?" Diane said.

"Are they real?"

"He's a fictional hero, but yes they're his real wings." Rika stared at it.

"Who is he?"

"Right so," Diane said, warming up.

"This guy's called Sanguinius—" Torren stepped closer. Yara, who had been standing nearby talking to Frank, turned slightly without moving her feet.

"He's a primarch. Essentially a demigod. One of twenty brothers, each leading the greatest soldiers ever created—" Torren had gone very still.

"—and Sanguinius, his were the Blood Angels. Winged. Noble—" Sam had drifted over. He hadn't meant to.

"—he held off his brother Angron alone. Angron who was—" she paused, "—you don't want to meet Angron. Anyway—" Leo was nodding. Phil had his arms folded, listening.

"—then the Emperor walks in and finds him dead at his brother's feet—" Yara said nothing. She was very still.

"—and the worst part is every single one of his sons carries it. A psychic echo of his death. They relive it. Every one of them, forever." Diane paused.

"Essentially an entire bloodline with psychic PTSD."

"PTSD?" asked Rika.

"Ask Mads, She know's way more about it than me." said Diane. Rika nodded. Torren looked at the tattoo for a long moment.

"That," he said quietly, "is a great deal to carry."

"I agree. Quite the tale, I'd love to learn more about this nation of warriors," Yara said. A few of the others nearby glanced at her.

"While we're on the topic of magic," Merin said, wandering over, "do you think you could show us the UI your people use?" Diane pulled it up without thinking. Then looked at Rika's face.

"You can't see it can you?" Rika shook her head.

"Right. So imagine a screen, like a flat surface with information on it, that only I can see. It appeared for everyone in town when we arrived. It's how we found out about magic. It translates language, tracks abilities." She paused.

"We didn't ask for it. It just appeared."

"And you have no idea who gave it to you," Merin said.

"No," Diane said.

"We've been trying to work that out since day one." Merin nodded slowly. Before anyone could continue, Mike's voice carried across the grass.

"Right, I think it's time we got started properly."