Chương 55: 54 – The Rift

Getting used to sleeping primarily through the day was pressing on me, not to mention the constant exercise. Telling stories, the way I did it anyway, was a surprisingly active job. I was achy, sore, and I didn't sleep very well on the bedroll last night. I felt fantastic.

"Elmerina! Great story last night!" I heard the moment I opened the flap of my tent and poked my head out into the light of the fading sun.

"Thank you!" I called exuberantly. The man didn't even have a need bubble. I'd never learned his name, but he knew me.

"Hey, what's your name?" He paused. He was carrying a wooden crate, and he wasn't alone. There were a lot of people carrying things from tents to wagons. In a break from tradition it seemed there wasn't any training, and the hopscotch course had been packed away.

"Oh! Uh, I'm Mularet Fish–err…Soldier." We both blinked. Then laughed at the cut off.

"Hard to get used to, huh?" I asked, as I watched his need bubble form. He nodded.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Well, believe it or not, you're the second Mularet I know! If you like, I'll think of you as Mularet Fisher, if you prefer?" He grinned.

"Think I'd like that. This soldier stuff isn't for me. I plan to leave the day the war ends."

"You and me both," I told him.

"Hey, what's with the rush? Are we packing up?"

"You didn't hear? Word went out this morning. We've done all we can here, and we're making for the rift."

"Oh? Uhm… shit, I didn't hear any orders about that. Have you seen Sergeant Seyar?" I asked, worried.

"They went out after the sun came up. Don't worry, you're probably fine. Orders were to strike tents at dusk and get ready to march straight south toward the rift, but we don't leave for another hour," he said. I smiled at him.

"Thanks! You're the best!" He flushed, and I beamed, before turning and rushing back to my tent. Setting the damn thing up had been a pain, but I suspected it would be a lot easier to take down than it had been to pitch. I was a long way from being able to make Mularet-the-younger's need, but not nearly as far as I probably had been before my story last night. As I glanced around at my fellow squadmates, I saw that most of their needs' requirements had dropped considerably as well.

There were no more dirty looks or irritated glances. Instead, people waved when I met their eyes, and I felt a little more lighthearted.

"Reid, what in the hells would I do without you?" I murmured as Uleno waved at me while frantically attempting to pack her tent. I finished mine in record time, slinging the whole pack over my back before I approached her.

"You need some help with that?"

"Oh gods, yes please. I am awful with these things. I convinced Vendretep to help me put it up when we got here. I'm a weaver! I hate going outside and camping!" she said irritably.

"Really? My best friend is a weaver!" I exclaimed. She smirked.

"I know, Ilhadira, right? Everyone's heard of her. Rumors spread that the Duchess personally snapped her up before the draft could claim her. Last night, the privates were all talking about how she was your friend." I blinked. Was Haddy famous?

"I didn't realize she was famous," I said with a laugh. The girl flushed.

"Well. Not famous. But a weaver with an Elite talent is pretty big news, at least to weavers like me. When I heard you were friends with her, and also had an elite talent, I wondered if maybe she'd told you a secret of some sort. After your story last night, I can't help but think maybe it was the other way around. Gods, I can't get it out of my head!" I beamed.

"If there's one thing I'm good at, it's telling stories. I used to tell them all the time in the bar at Pemolar. I guess… now I'll be telling them around campfires at the rift." She gave a small smile as we pulled out the stakes and began to pack up the materials together.

"You know. Perhaps this isn't going to be so bad after all. I'd thought my life was over when the Army came and forced us to enlist. My father got his nose broken protesting, but… well, here I am." I winced. Yet another example of this army's attitude towards the citizens it supposedly protects. The veil had truly been lifted by this point, but it seemed the central war camp was barely even trying to hide it.

"Wait, you were drafted? You have your talent?" I asked, surprised.

"I get that alot. I turned eighteen a few months ago," she said.

"Had an engagement and everything." Huh. I'd thought she was too young for her talent and had assumed she'd volunteered, because she was so small. Showed me to judge a book by its cover. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"One minute you're looking at getting married, starting a family. The next you're doing hopscotch to train your footwork, and your husband-to-be is nowhere to be found," she said bitterly. I winced again. This girl had been kicked twice as hard as I had.

"The army needs clothes and bandages, the same as any town," I said, trying to think of something to lift her spirits.

"Just because we're in the military now doesn't necessarily mean our lives change completely."

"I suppose. Seems like you still get to tell stories, right?" She asked.

"Exactly!" I said.

"And… No offense, if you're still missing him, but it sounds like you might've dodged an arrow with the engagement there." She snickered.

"Yeah… maybe." I glanced at her need, watching the requirements tick slowly downward. She needed something to prevent her from being confused. I frowned. That was four people now. For High Bannerman Presken, the ingredients felt like a wizard's potion list. Frog legs, willow bark, tree sap, boiling water, charcoal, lemons, and fish eggs. Not quite as strange as Normuran's, but it was up there. My uncle's supplies felt much more familiar. A large chunk of metal and wood, along with paper.

The man typically carried a gigantic axe, and this felt like a weapon. Completely different supplies, but similar need. He needed to avoid being confused. How a giant axe would do that, I had no idea, but I assumed this particular one would have some sort of special ability or effect that would come into play. Maulander needed an absolute ton of cloth, ether dust, and willow bark. Perhaps a cloak? Maybe a facemask? No idea, but he, too, needed to avoid being confused.

The only thing I could think of that would confuse so many people was some sort of drug. Most people had the usual need of killing – or avoiding being killed by – war trolls, goblins, or various other rift monsters. I now had two high bannermen, a general, and a private, all of whom needed to avoid being confused. That was enough to make me concerned. This was another premonition. I had to tell someone, and my Uncle was the obvious choice.

I didn't know Presken well enough to even make his need, and I was still furious with the general. Still, he hadn't retaliated for any slight my mom might've done to him yet… I was beginning to think both Mom and Uncle Markus had formed hasty opinions of the man. He'd punched Dobretin and earned my enmity, but thus far, he hadn't done anything evil. If he were truly dangerous, I didn't think my Mom would've let me go with the Army, come hell or high treason.

I'd grown up learning country loyalty to Tacuria, but April's memories had disabused me of that blind trust its citizens placed in its rulers. I did care about the people who'd joined, though, and I definitely cared about preventing Pemolar's Hill from becoming another Mitoras. I'd been bitter about the draft until this moment, but as I watched the requirements for my crafts lowering, I began to wonder if maybe this would be worthwhile. I could advance so quickly around all these people. And of course…

I would prefer to prevent the war from ever getting close to Pemolar.

"So, is there a secret?" Uleno asked when we finally finished and moved toward where the recruits were gathering. Even as we did, I noticed there were still soldiers, only just now waking up. The whole army felt so… inefficient sometimes, and I wondered if I could develop a better system of delivering orders. At the very least, there should've been someone official to let me know that we were expected to pack up.

"Hmm?" I asked, playing dumb while inwardly panicking.

"What do you mean?"

"You know… to getting elite? Was there some trick or something?" I sighed. Yes. There was a trick. Either nigh on obsession, as in Hadra's case or having someone else's life shoved into my dreams as I grew up. Neither of which would help her, especially not if she already had her talent. I shook my head.

"I don't think our talents were actually related. Haddy is absolutely obsessed with weaving. She lives and breathes it, sun up to sun down. Not trying to say that you don't enjoy your craft or anything, but my friend spent her entire life trying to craft the finest clothes ever made. It's been a dream of hers since we were little. As for me…" I trailed off, unsure what to say. I didn't feel like I had anywhere near Hadra's drive, or ambition.

"I think I just got lucky," I said with a shrug.

"I figured," she replied with a sigh.

"No shortcuts, eh? Still, I bet if I work hard, I can upgrade my talent before this war ends."

"What is your talent?" I asked. She beamed, happy to talk about her skill as the army began to trickle out of Mitoras. More people approached me as the long trek south began. The sun fell behind the horizon as we walked, and before long, the sky was totally black. Even so, we never walked in darkness.

Talents, household magic, illuminator lights, and plain old lanterns were held by every third person, lighting the way, along with a surprising number of fire mages holding dancing balls of light above the entire procession. Average citizens didn't know much in the way of magic, but the army was one method of learning magic legally. Certain types, like Mom's fire magic, would absolutely be illegal.

While it wouldn't result in imprisonment or execution or anything so drastic, it would certainly be a large fine if she were discovered to be an unregistered mage. She could, of course, register herself as a mage, but for some reason, had refused to do so. Edra, for example, had registered years ago as soon as she realized her water magic had become something more than the regular household kind. She'd faced no repercussions.

Mom had been a mage of some sort all my life and had taken great pains to hide that, even from me. I, personally, should probably register as a fire mage myself, even though my level in the skill was still only at one. Like my mother, though, I hesitated. The last thing I wanted to do was trust these people with more of my secrets. While we walked, I told people about my talent and what they could get me so I could use it for them. The atmosphere was almost happy.

Reid and I walked together a lot, and Dad would hover nearby with an approving grin. I found my Uncle, who, despite his high rank, was not exempt from walking like the rest of the army, and I let him know to be extra sharp about the food he and the high rankers ate. There was no way to privately inform him of how powerful my 'hunch' actually was, though, and so the only thing I could do was leave the information as a very strong warning.

I also let him know what I needed to make him what I thought was a new axe, and he seemed especially excited about that. Oxana and Teskin were happy to show off their new dagger and knee guards, respectively, each of which added to the popularity of my talent, and they prompted a surge of visits to the leatherworkers and smiths. It wasn't home, but perhaps Uleno was right. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. The lights prevented me from seeing it at first.

This was the furthest south I'd ever been, and I'd only ever heard about it. Gradually, though, the lights began to twinkle out. White light, the kind of which April knew from halogen bulbs, began to permeate the path. It was still distant, but over the tree tops, I began to see… High, high above anything April or I had ever seen save mountains, was a light. It was… soft. If not for the horrific monsters that came from within, I'd almost think it was gentle. White, with the slightest tinge of purple.

We were still a long way away but that light stretched east and west for miles, almost like a moon had been lodged into the earth. We wouldn't be able to see it all for miles yet, but I begged Reid to carry me on his shoulders, and he obligingly let me jump up on his broad arms like we were playing water polo in the lake. It was… unbelievable. Five thousand feet high, curving up out of the ground, more like a white and purple marble than a mountain. A distortion that blocked all view.

A pearl the size of a mountain that rippled like the surface of a pond and disgorged monsters on all sides. For the first time, I laid eyes on it. The Rift.