Chapter Ten

Kana and I met up with Cindra at a network of roads that connected magic and Magech territories across the continent. Cindra had been waiting for us astride a black horse, wearing her armor and weapons. Her box braids were styled with half in a high bun on top of her head and the remaining half loose, falling over her shoulders and down her back. When she’d asked Kana how her stealth mission had gone and been told we’d sniffed her out, her only response had been “Hm.”

The Iloxi Roads were dissected into several lanes and could be traveled by rented Iloxi, your own mounts, wagons, and carriages. The smoothly paved roads were lined with lush trees that wove into a canopy overhead, which kept the harshest rays of the sun off travelers.

We’d been on the road for about half an hour, and I’d been told it would take about an hour to get to Quivess. Right now we were in a trot zone so we were able to chitchat. Color-coded markers let us know when we could ride at top speed and when we had to slow to mid-speed or a trot. I was impressed with the way the roads were structured and how well they were maintained. We hadn’t had Iloxi Roads during my first lifetime. It was nice to see this kind of progression.

“This will be your first time visiting any Diviner lands, right?” Kana asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “It’s interesting that now Diviners mostly congregate in specific places. They used to be more widespread. I can’t say I’ll miss trekking up freezing mountains or through dense forests to reach one though.” Something occurred to me. “I’m gonna assume the nexus points are on one of their lands?”

“They’re at Quivess.” Cindra’s tone was neutral, and her eyes were straight ahead. I was in between her and Kana, and the vibes coming from either side of me could not have felt more different.

“I see…” The last time I’d been around the nexus points they’d been in Varian’s magic museum. I steadied myself against the intense memory. That timeline didn’t exist anymore. The nexus points I was heading to no longer contained a raging working of dark magic.

“So…” Since the vibes were awkward from the left I decided to focus on the right. “Was it strange for your parents to meet Toji knowing he was their son, but they hadn’t had him in this timeline?” Seeing him meet Jun and Yukiko had been the most heartwarming aspect of this new timeline. And the amazing bonus that he had a younger sister.

“Because of the records and our family’s connection to Diviners we had full clarity on what happened in the Before Times,” Kana replied. “Diviners advised my parents when to have a child that would not be Toji. It was a little strange meeting a brother I knew my mother hadn’t given birth to in this timeline, but more than anything we’ve been happy to welcome him into the family.”

“This has really been a blessing for him,” I said.

“I know he has reservations about joining the Guild, but he’s actually one of the reasons I decided to join,” Kana said. “I wanted to help support the Guild, too, and I thought it’d be cool to be able to fight alongside my brother.” She gave a smile that wavered when Cindra made a sound of annoyance. When I glanced at her, she was sliding her eyes away from me. Her expression was contemptuous.

“There’s nothing quite like telling someone their loved one got trampled by a monstrous beast with one’s brother, is there?” Cindra commented. “Or that they were made to fall on their own sword because their mind had been warped. Or that they were incinerated and there isn’t so much as a fragment of bone for them to bury.”

My eyes widened, and I heard a soft gasp from Kana.

“Cindra, is it really necessary to tell Penn all of this…”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” she said sharply. “Why shouldn’t she know about the death and destruction that’s been wrought because of her actions? I saw more than you did that night, Kana. I saw things that will forever haunt me.” Her expression was twisted by her emotions. “How are any of us supposed to feel about the fact that she saved the world only to damn so many of us?”

I ground my teeth and didn’t speak so I could try to parse my thoughts. Cindra’s attitude made me defensive, but she wasn’t saying anything that wasn’t true.

“I’m willing to help any way I can,” I finally said. Reiterating that I hadn’t meant to cause the magical blackout wouldn’t make a difference. It had happened and I had been the catalyst for it. “If there’s any support I can give to the Apprentice Guild, I will.”

“Why did you come back?” Cindra’s sharp words caught me off guard, as did the shine of tears in her eyes. “Your sister’s writings indicated you were given a choice. That you could have stayed in the past with your family. In the time you belonged. But you chose to come back to the present. And that choice fucked us over. Literally killed so many of us.”

Kana remained quiet. I was rigid on Ashe’s back as her words sunk into me. As I opened myself to the truth of what she’d said.

If I had stayed with Ma and Kinari, the magical blackout would never have happened. The death and suffering caused by the escapees would have been avoided.

But I had come back because Mix had alluded that Callan, Toji, Gideon, and Ashe would face peril without me. I had already seen one such challenge in Callan’s risk of Erasure. What if he’d never made it to Bastillen?

I had wanted to stay with the family I’d been born to, but I had chosen the family I’d found because they needed me.

And that choice had had consequences I could have never foreseen.

Had Mixuné seen it? Did she know the blackout would have happened and had chosen not to tell me?

A very uncomfortable thought.

“You’re right, I could have stayed in the past but I didn’t,” I finally said. “My reasons for doing so were compelling but explaining them isn’t important. The choice was made and the fallout…occurred. But Cindra, I—”

“Should let the Kiabi Warriors have you,” Cindra cut in. “Maybe that’s the only way for penance to be paid.”

“Cin…” Kana started. But we’d entered a run zone and Cindra sped off on her mount.

“Penn, I’m…”

“It’s fine, you don’t owe me anything here.” I gave her a tight smile. “Time to run anyway.” I moved Ashe into a run and was glad I could use the run zone to retreat from the difficult conversation.

…

I wasn’t sure what I expected the Diviner lands to be like, but I hadn’t been prepared for a place that seemed cast in perpetual twilight even though it was mid-afternoon.

That push and pull I always felt around Diviners settled on me.

Like I was two opposing things at once: anchored and weightless, calm and frantic. Enveloped in ancient knowledge, but too brand new to grasp it.

The Gladius flared at my back, its pulse of magic thrumming into me like it was glad to be closer to more that was Divine.

When we got to Quivess, Cindra and Kana had stabled their horses before leading Ashe and I down a winding, tree-lined path.

We emerged from the trees, and I took a few moments to look around.

Kana made a gesture with her hand. “Welcome to Quivess.”

Familiarity rang through me when I noticed several white tents standing in patches of soft moonlight. The atmosphere was mesmerizing; the dim light made it feel like early evening, and when I looked up, I could see the gibbous moon directly overhead.

Cephis, doll-sized, winged creatures with glowing, golden skin and luminous eyes, flittered around, the melodious sound of their chatter carrying on the air. Sadness rose as I thought about Luce, the Cephi that had helped protect Ashe and me while we slept for almost three centuries. Luce had been the one to power up the Gladius, then sacrificed her magic to help us get the upper hand on Varian. I missed having the little creature around.

Diviner tents were set up on a wide expanse of grass that was maintained not by meticulous landscaping but by the appetites of the creatures that roamed here. There were deer, sheep, ducks, and foxes, as well as Wild creatures.

“So, Diviners still do card readings?” I asked.

“Of course,” Kana replied. “But people must travel to one of the Diviner lands for a reading.” I watched as someone emerged from a tent and a Guild member, who’d been standing at parade rest outside the tent, led them onto the path toward the exit.

“Escort duty is done by Pages,” Kana said, making a face. “It’s one of the least desirable Page assignments.”

“I imagine there’s not much excitement escorting people on and off the lands.” My lips twitched as I imagined Toji, who would join as a Page, doing card-reading escort duty. He wouldn’t be able to scroll on his phone or play one of his handheld games. It might be enough to make him quit on the spot.

We were heading to a huge rectangular space where the ground looked like packed white sand. Circles were etched into it to mark off several fighting rings.

Here, armor-clad people were engaged in fighting drills, releasing sturdy kicks and punches and executing neat flips. Off the fighting grounds, tables were set up with weapons from staffs to swords, daggers, axes, and more.

“Apprentices wear the white armor,” Kana commented. “Everyone else wears blue.”

“Got it.” That meant if Toji joined his armor would be white. “Does anyone have Talent magic?” I knew Kana didn’t but wasn’t sure about Cindra.

“Only non-Talented can join the Guild,” Kana replied. “As decreed by Diviners. So none of us have magic, but we are skilled with using magical items like the elemental stones and healing potions and herbs.”

“Interesting.” I recalled that Diviners only made non-Talented people their Apprentices because their souls needed to be unattached from magic. I wondered why everyone else who joined the Guild needed to be non-Talented as well though.

We continued walking and I saw Toji, who was chatting with a couple people.

As we neared, Kana made introductions and I shook hands and exchanged nods and pleasantries with many of the warriors.

The vibe wasn’t all friendly though.

I caught the eye of a few people giving me cool or calculating looks. Cindra wasn’t the only one soured against me. Now that I understood what had happened to those who were on patrol at the forest when the blackout happened, I couldn’t really blame them.

We reached Toji and I gave him a hug. Ashe butted her head against his shoulder, and he gave her a rub that made her croon. It was nice to see how much she’d warmed up to him.

“Where’s Callan?” Toji asked.

Sadness wrapped around me again. I was suppressing the events at Bastillen as much as I could. It was overwhelming to keep thinking about Erasure and the restrictive way Callan now had to live. “That’s a long story I’ll need privacy for,” I said, dropping my voice low. “I’ll catch you and Gi up after the auction.”

Toji nodded, looking concerned.

“Did you meet Naranthe?”

“Yes. My parents were here earlier but they headed back to Triumph a short time ago. They were pleased that I met Naranthe.” He gave a hesitant smile.

“How are you feeling about joining the Guild?” Kana and Toji’s parents were excited for him to join, but Toji had been understandably reserved about it. It was a lot for him to step not only into a new timeline, but to finally meet his biological family and immediately be expected to step into the role of a Diviner’s Apprentice.

Toji looked around at the training yard, the people sparring, trading barbs and jokes, or ogling my Circoux. Then he turned back to me.

“I’ve been thinking I should allow myself to be more open to the idea,” he said. “The topic still tends to lead to an argument with Gi, but this past week I’ve been bringing it up more and he’s been able to do less shouting, so…progress.” He flashed a half smile. “I don’t like feeling like I have no choice, like the path my life takes is already set in stone, but maybe I’ve been looking at things through too narrow a lens.”

“In the Before Times, all we came to know about the Apprentice lines was that you were expected to sacrifice your souls to continue purifying the Majimorta and that you were being wiped out by Varian’s Jigori to prevent precisely that.”

“Yeah, and that gave me a huge complex and is the source of Gideon’s fear about me joining. But there is so much more to the Guild. I’ve been told I could utilize my RN training and work as a healer alongside my other duties, which I found appealing.”

“That’s great. I’ve realized the Guild isn’t just about keeping Apprentices on standby for your Cephi souls.”

He nodded. “And we were only needed in that way because Diviners were gone and Cephis couldn’t be brought forth from the celestial. So, I’m going to work on getting to know more about how I would fit in with them.”

“That’s good to hear. And it won’t be a bad thing for you to pick up some fighting skills.”

“Would you like to spar, then?” Kana asked, smiling at Toji encouragingly.

Toji’s eyes widened. “Oh, I hadn’t thought I would…” Toji looked at the weapon tables and armor-clad warriors milling around. “I’m afraid I won’t be much of a sparring partner. I’m also not dressed for it.” He wore jeans, a polo shirt, and arch-supporting man-sandals he hadn’t stopped wearing even though I teased him mercilessly about them. He’d gotten the last laugh by getting Callan a pair, which he’d been wearing a lot.

“You can be introduced to various weapons and learn the basics of hand and foot placement,” Cindra said, sparing a glance at his footwear with a slight twitch of her eyebrow.

“Ah, well…”

“Don’t worry,” Kana said. “I won’t thrust you into a sparring match. I’ll just show you some basic moves.”

Toji cleared his throat. “All right.” He took a tentative step onto the sand.

“Have fun,” I said encouragingly as Kana led him over to one of the weapon tables.

“I will escort you to Naranthe,” Cindra said before she turned and strode away.

Ashe and I followed after her and I hoped with everything I had that Naranthe would be able to help with all the problems that had been dumped onto my shoulders.