The Journey of a Thief - Dominique Pearce (heavenly.kaos) (large ebook reader .txt) 📗

so that it may live and not be a danger to anyone. And Kitiraa needs the experience, she’s never been to Aavia before. If she is to be a proper Sage, then she will need to overcome this fear. And besides, no one ever said she had to go alone.”
“Hey!” I protested. “Don’t I get a say in the matter?” Shiva began twirling her platinum blonde hair. “Of course you do, sweetie.” she said. She put her hand on my shoulder. “After all, if we are to send you to such a dangerous mission, you should have a say.” This seemed to anger Pyran. I think he knew she was trying to manipulate me. Of course, it won’t work on me, but maybe I should let this play out. “Sages, what say you?” asked Shiva. “As Yunae said, the highest vote passes, so what do you vote for? Should we send her to Aavia?”
There was a moment of silence, when Payne, Sage of Shadow spoke up. “No, we should not have her go. As Shiva said, she is not ready to face the dangers of that world. We must find someone else to go in her stead. To send a 14 year old girl to such a place would be suicide, and such risks cannot be taken with a Sage.” Suddenly, Kiu joined in. “I disagree, she is more than capable of handling this mission. I have seen what she can do, and I’m afraid to say she is quite powerful indeed. A few beasts would be no match for her, even though she’s young. And if anything were to come out of hand, she could always use that powerful left hand of hers.” My left hand? How does she know about that? Wait a minute... “Where’s the rest of the Sages?” I asked. “Aren’t there supposed to be nine of us? I only see six here.”
“Sagus Deluna and Sagus Zira have been given leave for personal reasons.” said Yunae. “You know them as Vess and Lexina. They are currently in Aavia. As for Sagus Kyr, he is in his hometown for now.” Figures. Kyr is never here. I can honestly say that even though we’re both Sages, I’ve never met the man; I don’t even know his first name. I guess he hasn’t unlocked his Stone yet. Yunae looked up and peered out towards us. “There is an even number of us, so not all of us can vote. I’m sorry, Kitiraa, but you may not have a say. However, feel free to try to persuade us.”
“But that’s not fair!” I cried. “Without a fair vote, the matter’s a stalemate. I may not be as experienced as you, Yunae, but I know enough that this is not the proper course of action. You aught to be removed!”
“And you aught be arrested.” she replied. “Oh, that’s right. You were in prison before, weren’t you? You were held there for a full three days, until you escaped. For thievery and assault, no less...” I could feel the blood rushing to my face. That was the last straw. “Why you -- I’d kill you now if there weren’t so many guards outside that door!”
“Calm down!” cried Kiu. Sage of Wind...very befitting for her; she’s always had such a free mind. She raised her hand, and a sudden wind roared in the room. Her long golden hair blew furiously in the strong gusts of wind. It snuffed out our voices and suddenly all attention turned to Kiu. As the room became quieter, the wind stopped. “Well...now that I have your attention...” She lowered her hand and her voice, and became very calm. “If Kitiraa doesn’t want to go to Aavia, then that is her decision. We cannot force her to go. However, Yunae is right. Regardless of her choice, this is a matter of the Council, not Kitiraa’s personal whims.”
She looked up at me, and saw the despair in my eyes. “I’m sorry, Kitiraa. The decision is up to the Council, or at least what few of us are here. You may not have a say in the matter.”
. . .
A few days later...
Hmph. Some job. Why am I a Sage if I can’t do anything? I had absolutely no power in that meeting. None! And Yunae... just the thought of her makes me sick. She thinks she can do what she wants, just because she’s the King’s daughter. Well, royalty or no, she isn't above the law. Why, right now, she’s probably sitting in Bervinia Palace, eating a magnificent feast, and where am I? Trudging my way through a forest in a different dimension, or better known as the hellhole that is Aavia. Why am I the Sage of Nature if all I do is run errands like a servant for that wretched Yunae?
I sighed. There wasn’t much use complaining about it now. I’m here, so I might as well try to find the poor dragon. I pulled out the map that Pyran had given me two days ago. Wow, I thought. This place is huge, and this is only a map of this forest and a few neighboring regions. Kyr Woods... it looks like I’m in the right place. I looked towards the horizon. The sun was falling... I’d sure hate to see what kind of creatures come out in the dark around here; I’ve heard they’re something fell. Ok, I thought, looking at my map. If I go west a little ways, I’ll find a village named... Okia. And noticing how fast the sun was falling, I’d say I have about 30 minutes to do it. Better move fast...
I started walking towards the sunset. The sun falls to the west, so if I follow it, it should lead me right to Okia. I looked around a little. Strange, I thought. This place seems so beautiful, and yet so strange... Then again, it’s not exactly unusual that the rest of the normal world is strange to me. All kinds of things are going through my head. Why me? Why am I here in Aavia, a place known for its dangerous beasts and cruel people? Stupid bad luck. It always seems to happen to me... I stopped asking questions, for I knew the answer. I’ve been through this before, and every person I’ve asked has told me the same thing: It’s all my fault for existing. I’m a worthless, pathetic, unnatural, cursed excuse for a half-breed, and my merely being alive means I deserve all the bad luck I get. And when bad luck happens to me, it strikes hard. Really hard...
It had been almost five years since I had been pronounced a Sage. And I still seemed to be an outcast. Just because I carry a sacred Stone doesn’t mean people have stopped hating me for who I am. I’ve grown accustomed to being on my own, but sometimes, it still hurts.
Oh, well. It doesn’t matter now. I’m stuck here in this Aavian forest, and I won’t... I can’t... leave until I get what I came here for.
I went through my mental checklist. Maps, check... first aid, check... food... wow, thats all I have? Better go fishing later... my twin daggers, of course I have them. They never leave my side. They were fastened to each of my thighs, one at each side, by black leather bands with sheathes to match. And my gloves... Like my blades, I never took them off.
“Ahh!” I tripped on a rock and landed flat on my face. I tried to get up, but I started sliding... I was going down a small cliff! I tumbled over the rocks and branches until I finally reached the bottom. Luckily, the cliff was only 20 feet high. I staggered to my feet, and brushed myself off. Oh, gosh, that hurt! I had a feeling I was gonna feel that for a while. “Dammit! I hate this place!” I exclaimed. I must’ve had bruises up and down my body like you wouldn’t believe. I pulled some sticks out of my graygreen cotton shirt and black leather pants, and brushed my short black hair out of my eyes.
Snap.
I recognize that sound. That was the sound of someone or something breaking a twig. Snap. Snap. And whatever it is, it seems to be getting closer... I better hide, just in case. I took evasive maneuvers, and found the lowest, leafiest tree nearby. I climbed up about 15 feet. I hid in the leaves and looked around; I had to find the source of that noise. Suddenly, coming towards a nearby stream, there was a... person.
He was nearly 6 feet tall, and didn’t look much older than me, 15 maybe. He was wearing peasant’s clothes: a dark green short sleeved shirt, some black pants and no shoes. I couldn’t get a very good look at his face, but his hair was cut medium short in the back, longer in the front; and black, almost exactly like mine. He began speaking another language, what I assumed to be Aavian. I fished around in my pocket for a translator and attached it to my ear; maybe he had something good to say.
Oh, crap. My foot slipped.
“Ahh!” I came down fast and hard. Luckily, I landed in a pile of leaves, but it hurt all the same. Please tell me he didn’t see that, I thought. Please tell me he’s not coming over here...
“Oh my god, are you okay?” Too late. He’s coming this way. I sat up and brushed myself off. “No, uh, I’m fine.” I reassured him. “Second time today, actually. I’m kind of getting used to it.” I brushed a couple of leaves out of my hair. He only chuckled. “Well then, maybe you shouldn’t climb trees.” He helped me out of the leaves and brushed the hair out of my eyes. Ha, ha. Very funny. But I had to admit, it was kinda sweet. Then he started to look at me funny, like there was something wrong with my face.
“Wait a minute... you’re Ivvanan! What are you doing here?” he exclaimed. He shot away from me and backed up about five feet, like if he got too close to me, he’d catch some kind of disease. “Oh, yeah, well you’re Aavian! What are you doing here?” That sounded a lot better in my head... “Uh, duh, I live here. So why are you here, and who are you?” Thieves Code Rule #3: Never give away your identity or purposes unless you’re absolutely positive there is no threat.
“You know, I could ask you the same thing.” I replied very calmly. “Who are you to ask for my name?” He looked me over. After a while, he asked, “If I tell you I am, you’ll answer my questions?” I smiled. This is gonna be a piece of cake. “Well, sure,” I replied. “I’ll answer your questions; that is, if you tell me your name and where you’re from.” I started walking towards the sunset again, but at a slow pace so he could keep up.
He seemed to get the idea that I wasn’t gonna tell him anything. “My