Mortal Magic: Broken
Whitespire

The hours flew by slowly as I was anxiously waiting for our arrival at Whitespire. Night was almost upon us we saw the huge white castle in the distance like a true marvel of polished marble. Standing tall and proud in the distance behind the houses and the docks the castle was capturing the last light of the sun to make itself look even grander in magnificence.

We docked at the city two hours after sundown and by then I was more than eager to stretch my legs and I wasn’t alone. Yuto had been bored almost the whole time and Maia was just eager to see the city and the continent. I couldn’t make promises about the city just yet but I did promise her that until we reach Blackspire she could see anything that drew her eyes. After that it was natural that she would look like a kid waiting for its new toy.

We got off the ship and said our goodbyes to the crew silently as to not draw much attention to us after the people on the docks let the crew to its business. The captain said that he will be waiting for instructions to pick us up or changes in the plans and we left in silence. The docks were mostly empty. There were very few ships waiting there and none of them seemed to have any people inside. Most likely their crews would be further in the city, sleeping or enjoying the breather they were given with entertainment.

The first houses we saw were exclusively made out of would like the docks. They were small in size and among them there were many stalls for a fish market possibly everything empty. We made our way to the innermost parts of the city where the houses changed from wooden to stone and wooden boards above the water were replaced by soil. The difference in the status of the city was evident. The pier districts were considered the lower part of the society here but they were still decent. On the other hand the stone houses looked fancier and more expensive than anything you could replace at the pier.

It was quite late but still people were out and about, wandering the streets, laughing and joking around or going somewhere to entertain themselves, and it wasn’t just the men that were outside. The few taverns we came across were seemingly full of people laughing and drinking until they fell on their faces while every other shop was closed. In the darkness only the lights coming from the candles inside the houses lit the streets so we were like shadows wearing our cloaks and marching for the other end of the city and the city limits. The fact that the city wasn’t surrounded by big walls was made known to us by the captain of the Stargazer. He said that they didn’t need walls since no one dared start a war. It made me wonder why the other cities I’ve been to had these walls. Was it for protection or was it maybe for control?

We reached the other end of Whitespire an hour after we left the ship and the distance was great. It would have taken us more if there weren’t many streets that lined up with the center of the city and even the one from the docks was a straight line to our destination. We even passed by the castle that true to its fame was made from the purest marble there was, and the color was as white as snow. I wondered if this white castle was so magnificent then its dark counterpart had to be even more stunning.

However it was too late to travel right now. Even if we did leave we wouldn’t get much further until we had to make camp. Sure we were on a ship and did nothing but this didn’t mean we weren’t tired. We still had four days excluding this one until the blood eclipse, we could afford one night to rest since we would not be making progress. The trip to Blackspire would last three days after all. I stopped in my tracks and when they turned around I told them what I was thinking. “There is no point in traveling tonight. It’s too late and we are already tired from the ship. We should replace a place to stay the night here”.

They agreed with a smile and I was surprised by it. Were they thinking that I was so lost in my revenge that I would push them or myself over the edge and travel day and night? Of course I was just kidding myself by thinking this. They most likely were happy that I was the one who proposed this turn of events. We looked around for the nearest inn and found one not even five blocks away. The building wasn’t as big as the last inn we were in but it still had two floors. It also had a fenced area on the west wall that had grass and a well inside a built hut like structure. It was more likely for bathing if the large round wooden trough was of any clue.

We got inside and moved directly for the big desk at the wall in front of us. There was no one there so I rang the small bell that was left on it and waited examining the space around us. The room was big and clearly took the whole space of the ground floor. There were tables on the left side with chairs and many people eating or mostly drinking together at this time of hour. On the other side where less tables but the rest of the space was taken by another room, most likely the kitchen. All the walls had a wooden decoration from the ground and two feet up and then they continued with stone until the next floor. The floors were connected since the ceiling was at the second floor and there were wooden balconies to walk at the second floor which was connected to this one from a stairway next to the kitchen. I could see many rooms from here, and there were many more I couldn’t so this was a fairly big place. There was also a door at the wall near the tables on the left probably leading to the back.

Barely half a minute later a man came from the tables at the left and went behind the desk. He was wearing casual clothes like everyone else here and I could smell something like the drink the captain of the ship gave me on him. “How can I help you my friends”. He was being friendly at least, even though I could swear he wasn’t entirely here. “We wish to spend the night here, do you have any rooms”? I was direct to him and he looked at a book in front of him. He took his time and he even narrowed his eyes to see well so I understood that he was drunk. That was one thing I learnt while at the ship. If you drink too much of that stuff you get drunk and most of the time it is humiliating.

“We only have rooms with two beds at the moment I’m afraid”. That wasn’t a problem. We slept in a room like that before and it proved to be of no inconvenience. “That is fine. One room will do”. He looked at us curiosity and then proceeded to ask. “There is no double bed though”. Still I insisted it would be fine. It was after all. “There is no problem with that”.

He didn’t press the matter further and instead asked for his payment. “That will be two gold coins; if you wish for meals too then you add one silver”. I looked back at them and they nodded so I grabbed the pouch on my belt and took out the money. Victor had given this to us before we left saying that we most definitely will need at least some money. He took the coins and wrote something on the book in front of him before he grabbed a key from the desk and held it for me to take. “You have the second last on that balcony. If you wish to bathe you can in the back, the door over there leads to it. If the door on the hut is closed then there is someone else inside. Have a good stay”.

I thanked him and as he went back to his table we headed for the stairway and for the room he showed us. It was on the balcony above the door and he pointed on the second last one at the end of it. I unlocked the door and we got inside closing it behind us. The room was much like the one we shared at Starkhaven, only a bit more spacious. The beds were on either side of the wall facing the street between the window and a bedside table. There was a table with a candle stand and some chairs next to the left bed and next to the right one there was the wardrobe. Much like outside two feet of the wall were covered in wood and the rest was stone along with the floor.

Yuto lit the candles without even looking at them and we chuckled at his childish way of showing off which made him smile a bit. I locked back up and left the key on the table as Yuto was already at the left bed. “You two will get the right one, it makes me uncomfortable sleeping when my left side faces the floor”. I turned to look at him with curiosity and a weird look but instead of explaining he just teased. “Except if you are planning on sleeping on the floor like the last time? I thought you two slept together now”.

Now he was asking me where I wanted to sleep. This guy was beyond saving. With a smile I shook my head and he laughed as Maia blushed profoundly. I got behind her and hugged her softly bringing my lips to her ear to whisper. “Don’t listen to him, he is just jealous”. She shivered as my breath hit the skin of her ear and giggled loudly. However Yuto had also heard me and feigned to be offended quite mockingly. “Hey I might miss my wife’s touch but not enough to be jealous. Besides my home is a week’s journey from here”. We all laughed with the teasing and then we sat on our beds.

“So what is the plan again”? Yuto was concerned about the plan all along, mainly because we didn’t have one yet. So we were about to make one I though. “We need to get to Blackspire first. It will be a three days journey and we will have one more if all goes right. We need to cross the wilderness which apparently is a big area comprised of a big grass field and a lake in the middle of it. The road along the field diverts many times but from what Victor said if we follow it straight from here it will take us where we need to go. Then there is the forest labyrinth for which he gave me a map of the caves so there should be no problem there either”.

However I knew that this wasn’t the plan Yuto was expecting to hear so I continued without much interruption. “Once we reach Blackspire we only need to replace Ashe, everything else is of no consequence right now. Whomever we encounter we take out but we don’t split up. It will be dangerous, especially with Lars there. When we replace her we get out plain and simple. I will only deal with Lars should we encounter him not earlier because I’m sure he will make himself known. We avoid him if we can, I fight him if necessary. I will only need time to deploy Blood Realm, once I do his plan will fail if I can hold out for the few minutes the eclipse lasts. If I can’t kill him that is before it happens then we leave. The next blood eclipse will not happen while we are alive”.

That was as good a plan as we could make for now. We had no information as to what awaited us at Blackspire. I had no information on how Lars’ powers worked since apparently had the same powers as my sister and there was no way there were duplicate powers, magic didn’t work like that. She was unique like him. Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. This was his trump card I was sure. If I didn’t know his magic then I wouldn’t be prepared for it just like everyone else. That was the reason he kept it a secret. Also we didn’t know what would replace us on the way there. The possibilities were endless and thinking back on my last trip between cities on the road I had mostly bad memories.

Yuto nodded and Maia stayed silent when I finished. They were considering the plan to add on it if they found anything was not as careful as it should be. We agreed that we should plan every detail in advance and without knowing the layout of Blackspire we couldn’t do that yet so we made an early plan we would build upon. They agreed on my reasoning about fighting Lars and they were both happy and relieved about it. If it came down to it I would get my revenge, but saving my sister was more important to me than his death. It will always be more important.

“What happens if we can’t replace her in Blackspire? If they have her somewhere we can’t go”? She was posing a good question. There was no guarantee we would replace her in time. But there were so many places she could be too. The castle was huge judging from the one here. But she had to be close to the ritual site and most likely guarded too. “We search where there are many guards. She is bound to be kept close to the ritual grounds and Lars. We will know when we are there I suppose”.

They nodded again and that was everything. We talked about random things for a while, Yuto laying on his bed and Maia in my arms on ours. We talked about the city, how big it seemed and how the castle was a wonder. Maia was intrigued by this journey as she wanted to travel the world and now she was doing it. She never regretted leaving her home to come with us and she was actually happier than ever before according to her.

Yuto told us that he was thinking about going directly to his family after this was over and he wanted us to go with him for a while. He said that he wanted us to meet them and maybe stay there for a few days as we decide what to do. Turns out his village is two days further away from Blackspire and he was anxious about his return. He told his wife that he would come back no matter what so he wanted to believe that she was fine. That she stayed strong and didn’t think him for dead. We told him that he could have sent a message to her to tell her about this but he insisted that there was no need probably. Then Maia told him that this kind of thinking is what gets men in trouble and we laughed.

Then the conversation shifted to me and about my plans. I told them I didn’t have any. There was nothing for me here and I had nowhere to go even in the central continent to which Maia corrected me that I had her. However she wanted to travel the world and I wanted to settle down for a bit after this to which she agreed. They had me tell them about my life with Ashe. How she always made my day by trying to be useful when she didn’t even know how to get water from the well. I told them about her abilities and how she used them to make animals of stone and other things, many times things I could then project. “She sounds very nice. I can’t wait to meet the little girl that you love so much”.

I frowned at her words when she said that and felt sad. It has been five years since then and I had changed dramatically in that time. If I had changed into this from five years in Redgard how much different will be Ashe now? She spent the same time in his hands and I dared not think what he might have done to her. “I don’t know if she will be like that still. Redgard changed me so the same thing must have happened to her”. Maia turned in my arms looking worried when she heard my sad and almost broken voice and looking me in the eyes she spoke again. “I’m sure she is fine. They need her after all so they wouldn’t dare do anything to her”.

Would they though? They did need her but not in perfect condition too. “They might need her but they only need her alive for that moment. They don’t need her to be healthy or with all her limbs or not beaten to death”. My voice was breaking even more as the various outcomes of this time played in my mind. I could imagine her in so many different ways and every one of them was in bad shape, worse than what I was at times. I was breathing faster and I was unfocused when I felt Maia’s hand on my cheek drawing my attention. “You don’t know that Archer. She is strong like you. I’m sure she has tried to be strong waiting for you to save her. She has faith in you and knows you hate to see her hurt”.

I closed my eyes and nodded trying to ease my thoughts and mind as best as I could. My breaths became even again after some time and I kept my eyes closed holding Maia closer than before. She allowed me to do so without saying a thing. She knew by now that at times like this I needed someone and she was always there for me. Whatever I did though that lump in my throat never left as even though I wanted to be optimistic the thought of my sister being hurt kept crawling into my mind. That was the thought that kept me wide awake long after the others fell asleep until I finally collapsed from my own need to rest for the night.