Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

A Visitor

 Valencia stretched her neck out, trying to get it to crack in order to remove the stiffness that had built over her hours of paperwork as she walked down from the Keep, towards the riverbank as the small ship sailed towards the wooden dock.

She saw her sister laughing as the two women on board prepared the ship for the end of the journey, smiling carefully as she realised the woman with her was Tisaso. She had hoped her friend would have caught up to her sister at some point. She needed a distraction from all the bad news and odd rumblings that were coming from the South, and Darya had been silent for longer than normal.

More and more people were leaving the lands of the Regent and the few Peers left allied to Lord Corvin. And all she heard were rumblings of hard times, harsh laws, and bad governance plaguing the Queen's stronghold.

Valencia wasn't so bold as to contemplate rebellion despite the clear expectation that she do so, although she had support of most of the stronger families in the nation and all their assorted lesser nobles, knights, and forces.

Despite the fact that some of her allies told her that Clairval had veered too off course and she was in the position to fix it, she had shied away from breaking the last thread of legacy that the Rakier name had. Her family had been loyal to Clairval since the civil war had ended a thousand years ago when the Rakier family had sworn an oath to protect the country and the island.

But she wondered, not for the first time, if protecting Clairval meant war, or peace, with the way things were.

The entire country had progressed forward in the recent decades, despite the cold relations between factions. There was hope if they could only trudge through the muck of egos and corruption.

The Regency had offered elected officials, mayors and provincial magistrates and say in policies, though the elections were rife with corruption and liars nearly overnight. Regularly, Morningside and its allies had taken firm steps to ensure fair dealings within their territories, only to be accused of interference and violation of Regent's law by cronies of whomever had the Queen's ear.

It was a mess she had inherited from her father and a mess she knew the Queen had been pushed into back then, though neither one of them had been willing to fix any of it. She doubted that either of them believed it was salvageable, even if they wanted to.

"Val, you're a million miles away." Darya offered her a quick, carefree smile as she stepped off the dock, onto solid land. "You're not happy to see us?"

Valencia blinked a couple times and shook her head. "No, I needed the distraction. I'm glad Tisa found you."

Tisa laughed softly and nodded. "She came upon me as I was sailing up here. I'm guessing you're hearing the same rumblings I am in Watersbreak."

"Corvin has been travelling too much lately. Messengers are arriving from all directions, and from what I've heard, he's been in Rulin for a couple of weeks now. Queen has been isolating herself even more, barely entertains anyone. Some people think she's dead. The contact I have in the Royal Guard says there are weird things going on. Queen's law is becoming harsher, more slanted towards Corvin and his cronies, stirring the commoners to mutter openly about rebellion."

"Which leads to harsher laws, harsher punishments. Rulin's probably happy. They're bound to be getting plenty of people for their roads and trees." Tisa shook her head before giving her a slow look. "People need a hero, Val."

"The people need stability. Not rebellion and war. Not whatever Corvin is trying to weasel out for himself. There's more beyond Clairval as well." Darya piped up, filling Val in on the rumours and lost messages since their last communication weeks ago.

"I know. But something's going to break." Tisa offered, before glancing towards the walls of Keepsal as a horn blasted three short blasts. "Wings on the horizon."

"Rulin wings." Valencia added, before turning to walk with her friend and sister back up to the keep.

She continued mulling over her thoughts, the looming prospect of some sort of decision that she didn't want made for her, trying to keep her imagination under control as they watched a small indistinct shape on the horizon speed towards them, showing itself to be a formation of Rulin soaring around two Vayans.

Valencia was just getting to the man gate at the back of the keep when a flash of colour from the group caught her eye, and she cursed about the same time her sister uttered the words. "That's Queen Veranandein."

Morningside's history with the Queen of Rulin was long and her soldiers and knights still had the half understanding and pride to consider themselves Veranandein's first Guard. They had called themselves

The First since her father was a child, probably longer than that. Longer than Lord Shelby's longsword had been mounted above the Lady's receiving mantle, reminding them of the Iron Oath the Rakier's maintained with the island's first inhabitants, it was an oath that Morningside defended during most of their discussions with the other peers, allies and enemies alike.

"Darya." She murmured softly, and her sister offered a grim smile.

"Don't worry Val, I'll lead her into the receiving room for you. How much time do you need?" Her sister was quick as a whip and would stall the Queen for as long as she could. She had no doubt about that.

Valencia shook her head. "If I know my history right, she's probably dressed less formally than I am. Just bring her in."

She turned then and walked through the back of the castle, giving Tisa a careful look as they made their way into the long room that had served as a receiving chamber for as long as the building had been around. On the walls were pictures of her ancestors, some of them formal poses. Though the one she looked at and paused beneath, the one above the Longsword, always caught her breath.

Oliver Del Rei had painted it for his friend and companion, a mural of Lord Shelby and Lady Reyani, alongside Veranandein at various points in their friendships. In tournaments, against the monstrous Cassaei, in quiet moments shared with intimate friends.

It was always a reminder of everything that was built by her great grandfather. A legacy that she had struggled to believe she was capable of. A reminder of the enormous weight she spent all her energy to continue in a country that had forgotten it, all while the Queen of Rulin, the Peace Maker, the King-saver, Mountain Killer, still lived across the ocean.

"We've got this, Rakier." Tisa murmured to her, offering a gentle smile and nodding to the chair. "We're ready for what's coming. Remember that."

"I can't wield a longsword, Tisa." Val joked, weakly, but it was something they reminded themselves of when needed.

"Different battles call for different weapons." Tisa rejoined, offering a wink as she finished their rejoinder. "You can fight better than he could, and he held his own amongst giants."

Val did not know if the first part was merely a lie she needed to hear, but it would help her face whatever had brought the Queen back to Morningside for the first time in Val's lifespan.