After months of traveling, we are now just a few days away from the capital city, and I can also say with certainty that I officially hate this form of travel: it's long, painful, uncomfortable, and so very slow.
The worst part of it all was the ferry. To think that I was excited at first, how foolish, how naïve was I. Now I understand why people really stopped using them back in the empire, it was a device for torture, and a wicked one at that. I will never climb on a boat in my life, never. I had rather die.
"Are you alright?"
"Mmmhmm…"
"You sure?"
"Yes, Kayin, I am sure…" I sigh, "Are you okay? You have been kind of… jumpy these past few days."
"Am I that obvious? I… I just hope everything will go smoothly once we reach the capital, all this stress, I have not properly slept for a while now."
I nod empathetically because neither have I, I'm just better at hiding it.
Kayin have been keeping contact with his uncle during our whole travel through scrying, he knows everything that Kayin knows. That made me sceptical, but he assured me that his uncle is trustworthy.
I never met the man so I can't be sure—that and the fact that his uncle did not make an Oath like the others— but I have no choice but to take his words for it... For the time being.
That is why due to our imminent arrival, he invented me to his tent to discuss with me about my next plan of action.
"The most important thing we must do once there will be to get you identification papers, from there everything will go more smoothly. It will be easier for you to have the Certification."
I tilt my head, "The Certification?"
"Ah! I didn't tell you about it, did I? Simply put it is an examination taken by sorcerers, when you pass the exam, you are given a token testifying of your proficiency in the art you wield."
I doubt that every sorcerer takes that test in this age, Yango and her mentor are proof of that. But in established kingdoms like Bamen and Akua, it is imperative to maintain some semblance of order by keeping track on the population of sorcerers.
He puts down a small tablet—the size of the palm of my hand—on the table, it is made of wood with the edges casted in gold. A strange, eerie face is etched, it looks somewhat like a human face except that it has three eyes. On Kayin's two of the eyes are open while the last one resting on the forehead is closed.
"I see, but I don't intend to take that exam."
"But… it could be helpful for you—for example historians and archaeologist are given access to places normally barred to others."
"Kayin, I told you from the very beginning that I do not want to attract attention, I was very clear on that. Taking that exam will bring upon me a scrutiny that I do not wish for, not yet."
My words seem to calm him down because he takes a deep breath, then exhale.
"You're right, sorry, I got carried away. But you can't leave out the fact that there are sorcerers capable of sensing people's Spiritual energy—yours is way too abundant and powerful for you to go unnoticed, at the very least you will be asked to perform an essence evaluation to ascertain your level of raw power. And any unidentified sorcerer found in any city are imprisoned until further assessment."
"It won't be a problem; I can control the amount of essence I emit to that of an average person—"
"—Wait you can do that? Can you teach me how to do that too?"
"Sure, I can try." I shrug.
"—Anyway, what about your eyes… you have golden pupils, it gives away that you are not an ordinary individual."
"I'll use a glamour to mask my eyes then, I will embed a sigil into an item that I will carry at all times. Like that I will not even need expend my essence on constantly maintaining a spell."
"Okay… Okay," he leans forward, resting is arms on the table to cradle his head, "I guess you're prepared enough."
"What about the warriors? There are some who saw me do sorcery, will they talk?"
Kayin thinks about it for a while then shakes his head.
"You're far from being the strangest practitioner they've met, I don't believe they took any special notice of you to the point of spreading rumours about you and to be honest, warriors do not care much about the sorcerer's business, as do sorcerers. Plus, you have not been showcasing your abilities that much, the only art you performed was that Spiritual essence manipulation of yours. Only those who went below ground with me saw you manipulate multiple elements, and they already gave their word to keep it to themselves."
I also believe that Lateef and Abayomi will keep their word. As for the warriors work for Kayin so it should be alright. Still, the knot in my stomach does not go away, I just know that something will go wrong but it's not like a can control every outcome.
All I can do is adapt as best as I can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A week went by quickly, and the way to the city went out smoothly, that is partly due to the how well protected the roads are. Since Asso is a major town, most of the roads to it are closely guarded, leading to an almost inexistent presence of beast and Junjus. Which is why there was a lot more of traffic once travelled through the main road, not that many people, but still enough to see that it is a commonly used lane.
I felt my heart drop into my stomach the moment I laid eyes on the city in the horizon.
I don't know what I was expecting to feel when I would see Asso for the first time. I certainly did not expect to recognize it at first glance.
The city is ancient—every building having been made from stone directly carved out from the earth—but the long passage of time has not succeeded to impede its beauty in the least, this is all thanks to the combination of centuries of architectural knowledge and the complex warding Arrays which preserve them.
I wonder if the current inhabitants are aware of that.
And even though it is quite late at night, the city is all but asleep. Lanterns are shining out in the streets and houses, people can also be seen moving about from this distance, and there is the sound of laughter and music which can be heard.
This city… It was once called Jin'raeh, I had spent my childhood there. I halt my mount's march, my eyes glued to the sight of the bright city ahead.
Ah! So that is how it is?
I knew that my homeland was no more, the facts are there… then why am I feeling like this? Like… I'm dying inside. The finality of my situation is like a slap in the face. I can no longer close my eyes and pretend—lie to myself—that there might be a way to save Nchāre.
My home… it is gone, it's really gone… and it's never coming back.
"…Vyswe'eyaga?"
I turn to look at Ewa, her faced is creased with worry… and the realization comes to me…
"You knew…"
My head swing at Kayin so fast that I get dizzy. I meant it as a question, but it came out eerily flat.
Kayin walks to her side, lay a hand on her shoulder, and shakes his head. She hesitates for a moment, looks at me again—like she is trying to apologize. Then she leaves to follow the rest of the caravan for the city.
Kayin and I are now left alone.
"Why did you do that?"
My voice breaks a bit as I whisper the words, my eyes sting too.
Kayin steps back as if he received a blow. Then he slowly raises his hands, like an adult trying to sooth a scared child, to show that there is no danger around.
"I… I did not know how to tell you. When we first met, the news of your home's demise was already too much for you, and when you accepted to come to Asso with us I—I couldn't find the strength to tell you that our kingdom's cities and towns are built on the grave of yours. I did not know how you would react, and I didn't want you to act rashly—"
"—So, you are saying that you thought best to make the decision for me!? You thought it was better to leave out that little detail because I might have thrown a tantrum? Do I look like a child to you? Am I not capable to know what is good for me? To make decisions of my own?" He winces more and more at each word spilling out of my mouth.
My sorrow melts away, leaving place to anger.
How dare him?
What else did he think I shouldn't know?
"Look… I know that I shouldn't have done that, it was stupid—"
"—Selfish is what it is. Do not think for a second that I'm unaware of the value I represent for you. You are scared, scared that I might runoff somewhere you can't reach, and with the knowledge I have with me, and especially because I'm a practitioner of the Arts. You wouldn't want all that knowledge on sorcery to disappear, would you? What a waste, what tragedy for it all to be lost, right?." His expression goes from worry to shame, and finally to fear.
Good, let him realize that I should not be taken for granted.
"Never ever do that again. I am a human being as you are, I have emotions as you do! Nchāren are not some kind of parahuman or extraterrestrial beings! I am not an object. You do not get to choose for me."
I stare hard at him, but he avoids my gaze, finding his feet a lot more interesting than before. The idea of blasting him to oblivion slowly becomes very appealing.
I count to five, then take a deep breath and exhale as I pull on the reins of my mount, not caring if he stays frozen there for eternity.
I stay slightly behind when I rejoin the caravan, not yet wanting to mingle. A sigh escapes my lips as I think back about my earlier confrontation with Kayin. I should have seen it coming, Kayin is not a bad person but that doesn't mean he does not have an agenda of his own.
I got too comfortable with these people.
"Halt!"
We are stopped at the gates by guards. I spot Mr Lateef handing one of the guards a piece of paper, he reads it then hands it back to him.
"You may enter, welcome back."
I quickly place a glamour over my face as we pass through the guards. I'm stricken with nostalgia… and a bit of relief as I finally enter the city.
They hadn't change too much at least.
As expected, not many people are out this late. All the houses and shops are closed, except for the taverns and inns—they are breaming with customers.
I decide to step down the Grae and walk like everybody else. When Ewa sees me do that, she slows down to walk at my pace. If she is curious about what happened between me and Kayin, I cannot tell.
"I'll be sleeping in a rented inn with the other mercs… I guess you will stay with Kayin for a while," she says casually.
I try to keep the irritation out of my words, I really do not want to be around him for now.
She nudges me with her elbow, "I don't know what he did, he can be a bit… clumsy at times but I promise you, he isn't a bad guy. So don't hate him too much, okay?"
We lock eyes but I do not say anything.
"It's just… I really like you Eyaga and I like him too. I don't want the two people I care for to be at odds—of course I would understand if you do not want to talk to him", she hesitates before adding, "Sorry, I shouldn't meddle, I just—"
"—It's all right, I'm just mad at what he did. That does not mean that I hate him for it," I give her a small smile, "you can rest assured."
She very audibly sighs to my words, "Thank God! Cause I didn't know how I would need to act if this went on."
This girl…
"Come see me when you have free time okay? We can have our ladies time while I show you around town."
"Good night, Ewa."
She gives me a sunny smile, takes the Grae's rein out of my hand and disappears in the group.
Not long after I hear Kayin clearing his throat, he is a respectful distance away from me.
"If you still agree, a room has been prepared for you at my uncle's place, I'll be there too… or I can arrange for a room at an inn if you prefer."
I pay no mind to the unusual formality of his tone.
"I will stay at your uncle's, thank you for your hospitality."
Before leaving, Kayin talk some more with the members of his research team—Ike and Ewa, and the other mercenaries, have already retired—so I bid farewell to Kayin's team instead. Once we're done, he proceeds to show me the way to his home. We navigate through many streets and neighbourhoods, ending up in the nicer ones.
His family must be quite well-off to afford living here.
Houses here are, not only, much bigger and with larger compounds than the rest, but also coloured differently, they are of a pure alabaster colour. That was how one could identify the degree of wealthiness of a citizen. The lighter coloured a person's household was the wealthier he was since it takes much more resources to keep it spotless.
Back in Nchāre, a neighbourhood like this one was only inhabited by Magisters and high-ranked officials.
We stop in front of a large two-storey house.
The moment Kayin announces himself we are crowded by a staff of servants who show us inside the house.
"Wait!" I say to Kayin before two young women guide me to my room. He sceptically turns in my direction. "Should I not first greet your uncle?"
"It's alright, my uncle doesn't expect us to meet him immediately after coming back. Take it easy tonight and rest."
With that said he walks to his chambers.