2412, Strilaxis 09, Reshpe

Xanthy clenched her fists, gritting her teeth in annoyance. Should she have just gone alone?

Days after they left Cardina, Nyxis and June were already making her regret asking them to go with her. Like how one could not have butterbread without butter, it seemed like the world was doing its best to make sure Xanthy had no choice but to ask the boys to come with her. If she could knock some sense into herself from four days ago, she probably would have.

However, Xanthy wasn't kidding anyone. She couldn't reach Alkara without them, not when she hardly knew her way out of the Disfavoreds region.

So, she had no choice but to stick it out until the end. Over the course of four days, she had endured monologues from the boys, telling her everything from plants to how a rodent called whatraut could trim its claws with its teeth. Could she keep her sanity until they reach Flaron?

She hoped so.

The forest now yawned in the early morning light as Xanthy, Nyxis, and June reached the fifth day of travelling together. They were currently in the Shadow Road which was a major trade route that connected from Cardina's Magic Road from the Royalty region.

From what she could glean from Nyxis and June, the Shadow Road was situated in the forests of Rabante but was still considered part of Carleon. Xanthy wrinkled her nose as she inclined her head to the sky where thousands of leaves made up the canopies shielding her view of the endless blue above.

Part of Carleon, it was, indeed. Fog surrounded them like a hazy blanket, turning the sky into a color that looked like it was going to rain. Sunlight barely passed through the trees' crowns, which seemed to make the entire forest darker than it should have been.

Xanthy, back when she was with the Disfavoreds, dreamed about when she would get to travel and see many wonders—from Carleon to Helinfirth to Lanteglos to anywhere she liked. When she first heard from June and Nyxis that they were traversing the Shadow Road, she imagined it to be fully smoothed, cobbled, and full of people from different sub-races.

It would be a venue of cultural exchange, with travelers telling tales of their adventures at night and exciting things happening by day. She expected it to be colorful, lively and engaging. For someone who spent all their life being fed lies about the fairies, Xanthy figured it was time to learn about them through her own eyes.

Hence, her enthusiasm about travelling and the potential cultural exchange the trade routes presented.

Instead, she got dull, boring and unappealing. The Shadow Road was just a path cut through the forest that was wide enough for two merchant caravans to pass through at the same pace. It has a clear trail flanking it which was enough for two people to walk side-by-side.

Everywhere Xanthy looked, the forest remained largely untouched. Only the path they travelled on was free of trees. The single indication where the path was supposed to go was the soil distinct from its neighbors by having trampled grass and upturned dirt.

That was the first of the things that contributed to her mood. Next was the fact that she was in Carleon. It would have helped improve her mood and forget her disappointment if there were at least shafts of sunlight warming her. But with Carleon being a champion for darkness and mystery, she spent the past four days shivering through the night and inhaling wet air by day.

Since they moved away from the border in Cardina, all Xanthy saw were trees—trees, trees and endless trees. Crowns of multicolored leaves stood over her like they demanded her loyalty. They left the ground dappled with their shadows and Xanthy's mood the same feeling as the air around her.

When Xanthy squinted at the horizon, the trees stretched to forever, silhouettes of trunks with the fog enhancing the sense of mystery. Lifver was a mountainous city so the rising earth, the looming peaks looking down at her, and the fact that the path cut from the steep incline of a mountain put a nervous stone in Xanthy's stomach. The mountain could randomly decide to send chunks of its body at them and there would be nothing they could do to fight it.

Xanthy shook her head and sighed. Focus on travelling.

Every now and then, tiny huts made from straw and wood peeked at her from the shadows. Houses? Most probably. Did those people ever feel trapped like how she felt now?

Adding to Xanthy's dismay was that there were a few people who travelled with them on the route. Too few to be called an exchange of cultures. Most people who passed by them took one look at their messy tunics and dusty boots and decided they were not worth it. Some even looked at her like she would lunge and steal their versallis, which for the record, she might want to.

Yesterday, she had suggested they switch courses just to be on a more favorable road. June had looked at her like she had grown horns for teeth and said, "The Shadow Road is the safest route for a human, a brownie, and a half-blood to be seen travelling together without arousing suspicion. We could not risk it."

Xanthy wanted to point out that his Ylanenla was still enough to arouse suspicion if it carried inflections from places that were not Cardina but she decided not to. Of course, June had a point. The Shadow Road was a trade route and all kinds of people are expected to be in it.

Xanthy blew a breath, earning an apprehensive glance from Nyxis. She shook her head and smiled at him. If anything, her feet hurt since she hasn't travelled this far on foot since forever. From Cardina, they have trekked a small portion of Carcalet, a city in the Imperial territory, Lanteglos.

June winked at her when they had passed a gaggle of richly dressed fairies with feathers for wings. He leaned in conspiratorially to whisper, "They are as opinionated as their textiles are as grand."

Xanthy had smiled just to humor him.

After Carcalet, they had gone straight through what was called Lifver and that was where she found herself in until today. Their goal was Flaron, the Brownies' vast farmland located on the livelihood territory called Penleth.

They had planned to get their supplies restocked in Flaron but with what money, Xanthy didn't and wouldn't want to know.

It had been so long since she was just in the Disfavoreds even when it was just a month ago. She had learned so much about herself and that included the bit that she was a Brownie, a sub-race of the Fairies that lived in both Alkara and Penleth.

The destination was Alkara, at least, according to Ravalee, who arranged to meet Xanthy there. Xanthy pursed her lips. She still didn't know what to make of everything that was going on with her. But going to Alkara, meeting Ravalee, and probably seeing her real race up close, she could probably get all the answers she was aiming for.

Carleon, as Xanthy recalled from having been to Asopus from the western side of the territory, was a banshee territory.

"Their synnavaim is necromancy," June informed her when she asked about them. Hearing the complicated word referring to fairies' innate ability still shook Xanthy. "That usually means they can summon spirits and do spooky stuff with souls."

Xanthy had shivered, the memory of Erin doing away with Xanthy's soul still fresh in her mind. Xanthy would like to never meet a banshee if these fairies could scamper around with their influence on fairy souls.

"And Lanteglos?" Xanthy had asked June during the times she tried to distract herself from her souring mood. "What do you know about it?"

"Cities with mansions, roads, and the Imperial Palace. That is it," June had shrugged. The amount of familiarity in June's tone suggested that not only had he spent some time in the Imperial Junction but most probably, he had spent a long time.

Xanthy opened her satchel and took out a vial of fairy potion inside. She from a month ago would have balked at the idea of drinking these things. But Xanthy from a month ago thought she was human when, in fact, she was a fairy and these things would not burn her guts. Nyxis had been happy enough to keep brewing her different mixes and flavors most likely because they needed to conserve their supplies. Sneaky.

That's their life for the past four days—walking, eating (drinking potions for Xanthy), talking, and sleeping on the path when the moons replaced the sun in the sky.

Today, Xanthy's mood wasn't much better. The morning came with a promise she considered empty and broken. However, unlike Xanthy's mood cloud, June and Nyxis had their shoulders relaxed and their faces light like Carleon's atmosphere didn't bother them the least bit.

Ever since they left Cardina, June, with hair back to cloud-white, bounced on his heels, whistling a jovial tune. Nyxis was animated because he saw nature.

Nyxis, the moment they entered the forest, had spent his time ogling at the exotic plants and animals they found idling around. Nyxis ventured alone into the forest for countless times that had Xanthy worried. He might come back missing an arm or worse, a head.

June laughed at her when she brought it up to him. "It is a way to replenish our inventories, I suppose," June had surmised.

Xanthy had wanted to say more but she stopped herself. Nyxis came back every time, thankfully, but what irked Xanthy was that it was always with something either too foul or too fragrant for her taste.

There was one time Nyxis had returned wrestling with a small rodent for a fang. He later let the animal go and informed them with a smile and bloody fingers that the creature was called a whatraut. Xanthy didn't know if she's supposed to be scared or clap her hands in wonder.

Another time was when Xanthy caught a whiff of one of the wretched things he kept bringing back and she spent a whole afternoon sneezing pink goo. June and Nyxis spent the same amount of time getting their laugh of the century. Xanthy still hasn't forgiven Nyxis for that.

A satchel was slung across Nyxis's torso. Xanthy could never recall him without that ever since she met him in the Common's pastry region. Ever since they had entered the forests in Lifver, he had done nothing but shove inside it "ingredients" that the human had foraged. Soon, the satchel bulged and Nyxis had to shift its weight from shoulder to shoulder as they walked.

Did that satchel even have a bottom? Xanthy would never know.

Whenever they would decide to settle down and spend the night in the forest, Nyxis would slice, peel, bottle, categorize them, and then dump them back into his satchel before going to sleep. From the looks of it, no. The satchel did not have a bottom.

Xanthy had held her tongue since Nyxis started on his foraging adventure. At least, he stopped going on about his face and his appearance. Xanthy learned the hard way that one should never ask him his opinion about himself.

One night, Xanthy asked him what he planned to do with his collection. She had to know how long she would have to endure avoiding inhaling anything that would make her snort multicolored goo. Nyxis looked up from his work and smiled. "I am making a tome."

"Surely there is something that has the same information?" Xanthy's insides churned. Would Nyxis murder them in their sleep in the name of additional information in his "alchemical" tome?

Nyxis shook his head and Xanthy, for a second, was confused on what statement he was disagreeing with. "I prefer making my own. I cannot exactly write on the margins of a borrowed book."

"Why not buy the book, then?" she suggested, tucking her hands behind her as she walked.

Nyxis looked at her, his eyelids low. "It does not suit my taste, " he clicked his tongue. "And most printed copies are either outdated, contain errors, or are unattractive."

Xanthy didn't press. She knew better than to ask Nyxis about his standards. The last time their conversation even touched a sliver of it, he spent hours yammering about the importance of perfection.

Since then, she had endured alchemical lessons from Nyxis, learning the difference between leaves of jarika and ophurie, which type of pipegrass would make her target have loose bowels for the next three days, what dosage of Fury Draught would she give to someone who has frozen sore. Her mind was left reeling that she's sure she would forget her name.

June, on the other hand, had busied himself blowing air into his weird instrument. When Xanthy asked him about it, he blinked at her before registering that she wasn't kidding. It was a look she often got from her friends when they expected her to know something but she didn't live up to their expectations. Annoying, but liveable.

"It is a warsei," June had answered eventually.

It's a lovely thing, with its multiple pipes of decreasing length jutting from a horizontal tube where players should blow. The pipes have multiple holes in them, each varying in size and distance from the other holes.

The warsei was as big as Xanthy's hand, with a cord tied around June's neck. It glinted against the sunlight, its wooden surface scrubbed clean with some type of wax. Every time June blew into it, Xanthy could swear the wind answered him, whether through small, quick breezes or through blasts of wind enough to drive Xanthy's hair off her face.

Xanthy mistakenly thought when June brought out his pipes that she was going to have moments of bliss listening to him play. It turned out to be a session where she would have to endure hours of splayed notes, incomplete parts, and rouge winds slapping her in the face.

Soon, Xanthy grew more and more disinterested with Nyxis's lectures. She sniped at June for not playing pleasantly. So, the boys stopped what they're doing to focus on a whole other target—Xanthy.

An hour ago, June suggested that they teach Xanthy magic as was her wish since they left Cardina. That was how she found herself hovering in the air with her magic blazing in her veins and keeping her feet off the ground. Her knees wobbled. She was inches from the soil, enough to see June's head from the top. Has he always had a round head?

"The key is in the balance," June placated her with his hands. June had once dragged her across the Disfavored region while flying so he knew what he's doing, right?

Right?

June snickered and Xanthy glared at him. "Alright, the next word is dart," he cast a knowing look at Nyxis who grinned back. Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. What was going on?

"That should let you glide calmly. This is the closest you will get to flying," June winked at her, his smile all the more playful. Her heart didn't know whether to beat faster or stop completely.

Xanthy bobbed her head, choosing to ignore the wily glances between her friends. Focusing back to her magic, she uttered, "Dart."

She left her stomach behind.

The wind drove her hair back as she hurtled forward at a speed she never knew was possible. The road faded from her view as she sped past the line of trees and into the fog. Merchants and riding animals alike followed her course in a line of confused glances. She screamed upon seeing a tree grow nearer.

"Angle your body!" June's amused voice rang behind her. "That should help you steer!"

Xanthy tried leaning left and right. Nothing happened. She cursed, putting her hands in front of her. "Julkisa!" she screamed, releasing the spell in the best way she knew how—escuira leistiva.

She was thrown out of the spell in time for her back to slam into a tree. She heard a few grunts of sympathy from the merchants. Black stars danced in her vision as she slowly slid down, her bow and quiver still secure.

Hysterical laughter was the first thing she registered as her senses settled back into her head. Her eyes narrowed. Nyxis and June stalked towards her, laughing and slapping their palms together.

"Did you see how she flew?" June wiped the corner of his eyes as he wheezed. "Gods, she is faster than light! And the way she slammed into the tree, legendary!"

"You," Nyxis wagged a finger at June. "are a genius! Who knew she would actually believe that?"

They laughed further. Xanthy picked herself up, dusted her trousers, and crossed her arms. They showed no signs of noticing her. June began coughing because of laughter and Nyxis fanned his flushed face.

Blood rose to her head. She cleared her throat. The boys quietened.

"Do you see this tree?" Xanthy asked through gritted teeth. "Do you know where we are? Do not make me split it in two."

June paled. He got it. Xanthy kept her expression placid and serious, but inside, she was relishing how afraid June became. He gave her a small bow and moved to help her up. "I am sorry. Never doing that again."

Nyxis raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? What is with the act, June?"

June's lower lip trembled slightly, his eyes quickly flitted into the fog. "The last time we were at Carleon, a gigantic flesh-eating sheep chased our bottoms off," he explained, hoisting Xanthy up and steering her back to the road they have strayed from. "Those things do not like noise and splitting trees are noisy. Best not make her split the tree."

Nyxis pursed his lips. He didn't look like he wanted to believe June. "Right."

Xanthy stepped back into the road and brushed herself off, flicking leaves and dirt off her sleeves. "It seems we still have our memories fresh, do we not? Now, let us focus on getting to Penleth. No music, no lectures about toxicity, and certainly no pranks."

She marched ahead of them, letting her head release steam.

Damn, they are as spiky as a komodec. Ravalee commented in her head. It had taken Xanthy a long time to get used to Ravalee's voice invading her thoughts. How the brownie could do that, she had no idea.

Xanthy snorted. June glanced at her. She drove him off with a glare. I don't know what that was nor do I care. She thought to Ravalee.

Inside her mind, she could feel Ravalee roll her eyes. It's just a prank. No need to feel this agitated or angry.

Xanthy frowned. Wow, you can sense my emotions now.

It's what I do, genius. I can even erase them for you, if you want, Ravalee replied, her Northern drawl thick in Xanthy's head. Besides, that was an elaborate prank, if you ask me.

A growl escaped Xanthy's throat. June gaped at her—openly, this time—with his eyebrows raised. Don't tell me you're with them! They made me slam into a tree.

Ravalee's breath caught in her throat, judging by the clipped tone that came right after. Don't be so sullen. They mean no harm.

"Yeah, right," Xanthy muttered.

June stopped walking, causing Nyxis to bump into him. "Is something wrong with you? You keep muttering and making weird faces."

Xanthy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, thank you for pointing that out."

"Look," June massaged his forehead, a sigh escaping his lips. "I know you are angry and I am sorry. Can we go on and be friends again?"

"We are friends," Xanthy raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "I'm just pissed."

June scratched his head. "Why are you talking in Keijula, then?"

For an answer, Xanthy just shook her head and stalked off. Behind her, June shrugged at Nyxis. Ugh.

You know, if you try and lighten up a bit, you could tell why it's funny, Ravalee's voice was becoming annoying. Xanthy tightened her hold into herself.

Doesn't matter now, does it? It's not like I could take back what I said, Xanthy fumed in her thoughts. Besides, it's not so funny when I was the one smacking into a tree. That's it.

Ravalee sighed, evident by a cool, blowing sound in Xanthy's thoughts. Have it your way. Tell you what, I know of a plant whose roots could turn a person to his opposite gender! Want to try it on those two?

Ugh. Xanthy coughed into her fist. I've had enough of pranks. And I'm tired of hearing about another plant with magical properties.

Oh? Ravalee's tone became mischievous. Xanthy realized her mistake. Oh, dear heavenly Queen. Because I know about how many potent species belong to the same genetic parent called Oosidex. They are interesting stuff! There is that one who makes people choke to death, and another who can shoot light beams when triggered....

Ravalee continued coughing up an almanac load of information about plants. Xanthy balled her fist and let it swing far away from her. The Virtakios swirled in an unholy churn as her fist connected to a tree to her left.

A loud explosion drove her hair away from her face. The next thing she knew, splinters stuck to her hair and protruded from her clothes. Her eyes cleared of the same darkness expected when she uses the Virtakios.

Everything was still, for now.

Oh, wow. I felt that. Okay, I'll stay away for now until you cool off. Goodbye. Ravalee blurted. Xanthy could smell the hint of fear in her half's voice. Her mind quietened as Ravalee's heavy presence rescinded.

Huh. Why hadn't she done that sooner?

"What in Rudik's breeches is wrong with you?" Nyxis's voice bled into her ears. She felt his hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him and she could swear he took a step back.

"Just shut up for now," Xanthy waved her hand vaguely. "I'm pissed."

For the next three days, no one spoke unless out of necessity. The Shadow Road curved along the forests as usual. It rained for a day or two, drenching Xanthy's clothes more than she was comfortable in. That added to a number of things that messed with her mood.

She sighed. The moons started to creep into the sky once again. How many hours to Alkara, still? No matter. She should utilize this silence to think.

Her mind immediately went to the time when Nyxis told her about what happened in the tower in the Cardina Palace. She tore an abyssal hole between worlds when the Virtakios went on a rampage. That's how powerful she was. Her stomach soured. She shouldn't even use the Virtakios. The chances of her messing up were sky high. She needed help on how to leash the power boiling at the surface of her magic. Perhaps help would be available when she arrives in Alkara.

She gave a small, mirthless laugh. Alkara.

That's where she'll be if she wasn't Virtakios's vessel, if she wasn't what she was. If she was to look for someone to blame, there really wasn't anyone at the end of her finger. It seemed like the Virtakios itself pushed her into a role she didn't want.

She had to protect what was inside her from enemies. Cardovia and Synketros—she still didn't know what to think of them nor how she fitted into these organizations' plants.

For how long should she protect the Virtakios from falling into the wrong hands and how far should she go? Join the war? Not a chance. She could barely hold her ground in combat much less in leading it. Let other people handle it. She's simply not cut out for it.

She could only dream about the situation where she wasn't the way she was. If the Virtakios didn't choose her, would she have been whole, her soul unsplit, her parents still in a place where she can see them?

Who even knew how the Brownies would take her? Would they see her as an errant variety of their race? Would they accept the fact that she spent the last sixteen years living as a human? She didn't know what to hope for, even.

That line of thought sent bile to her throat and brought an uncomfortable knot in her stomach. If only she was not meeting Ravalee in Alkara, she wouldn't have thought of coming. If Ravalee didn't promise answers, Alkara would be the last place Xanthy would travel to. She's just...done having questions no one can answer. This time, she's seeking them from people who can give her one.

Who was she before her soul was split? Where were her parents? Why would they need to split her soul? How did she end up in Cardina? Who was Airlene? Why was Lebayou old and suddenly not?

"We will enter Penleth tomorrow," June's voice speared through Xanthy's mind sometime after the last hour of the day before they went to sleep.

Good. Xanthy tried telling Ravalee about it, but her mind was quiet, empty of her half's familiar presence. It's like Ravalee had established a barrier between Xanthy's thoughts and hers so that contact wouldn't be possible. Or maybe Xanthy didn't know how to conduct a mental conversation and she didn't trust the boys enough to let them teach her something worthwhile after that prank.

Xanthy felt like detonating a tree again.

"We are here," June stopped walking.

Xanthy raised her eyes to what lay ahead of her and her annoyance evaporated like a cloud. She let out a shaky laugh. Penleth was more glorious than she imagined it to be.

"This is splendid," Xanthy blurted, keeping her giddiness in check.

June rubbed his nape. "It is...brown."

Xanthy slapped his arm. "Oh, you just cannot appreciate art."

"This is art?" Nyxis complained, spreading his arms in front of him. "My face is more of an art than this...place."

Xanthy rolled her eyes. She grabbed their arms and pulled them into the city. "You both need to see the beauty of brown! Come on."