13 Brown Eyed Girl

Left or right, backwards or forwards. No matter what direction I look. The bustling scene of commerce is repeated over and over again. Haggling over prices, or quantity, quality, or worth, the swarming myriad of faces within the market district of Sapphire Academy shift between a throng of emotions as they shout, scream, whisper, or cry to get for themselves the best bargain possible.

Stalls line every metre of the sides of the cobble-paved avenue creating a wide road for which shoppers can transverse in the moon-lit street. Blended into the legion of activity, I walk through the masses. Glancing between the stalls, weapons, gems, and other valued goods catch my eyes.

Father and I would often frequent vendors like these. In the inhabited floors of the Towers we raided, we would occasionally arrive at towns or strongholds constructed by human or native hands. In places like those, market districts were not uncommon. Trading our gold, silver or other precious resources, we would purchase in the light of day whatever took our fancy. Come the cover of night, we would don our disguises and take back what's ours.

Turning whole districts into war zones, we would bask in the red of blood, sparing none who tried to resist. Men, women, children. It didn't matter who they were. If they stood between us and what we would claim, the only ending they could have was at our hands.

Dispersing the memory, I stroll forward through the multitudes until I arrive at a stall. Simple in design. No different from the stalls to the left of it or the right, it wore the same draped counter and had the same stocked shelves behind. The only marked feature it possesses is an unusual metallic flower hidden among a clutter of miscellaneous wares.

Its scent attracts my notice, the tang of roses and iron. Without even needing to look, I already know what it is. My lips creep to a smile. I stop at the stall.

'Hi there, do you see anything you like?' Before me stands a striking young beauty. Perhaps three years my senior, the girl radiates elegance and the soft charm of youth. Framed by emerald hair, her face stands undiminished by any cosmetics. Hers is the natural fairness of unspoiled skin. Though plain, in my mind if she claimed to be the second-most beauty in the academy no one would dare claim to be the first.

Dressed in a pure white gown, the gentle breeze collaborates with my eyes to accentuate her form. Her rounded hips and ample chest entice my eyes. Her floral aroma engulfs my senses. To say she is beautiful is to diminish, with words, her splendour.

'I have everything you could possibly need to craft sealed Arts. They're kind of my speciality.' The girl adds.

'I've seen you before…' I say.

'Well, I know that I've seen you before, but, so high up in the audience, I can't imagine you would have noticed me. You might have met my sister though. She's the assistant to the sealed Arts professor at this academy. Nettle Bloom? Does the name ring a bell?'

Nettle Bloom? Didn't she… Yes! She's the one who took us to the first test in our entrance assessments. How the picture of elegance and the embodiment of grime can be related, it doesn't bear thinking about.

'Yes, I have met her, I wouldn't have thought-', the girl cuts me off with a melodious chuckle.

'No. Nobody ever does. Ember's blessings on her, but she doesn't exactly do her best to make herself presentable. That said, when it comes to her knowledge of sealed Arts, she's second to none in her age range. Anyway, I'm Ivy. Is there anything, in particular, you're looking for?'

'How much for that?' I ask while pointing at the metallic rose.

'That? Um… I'll be honest with you, I'm not actually sure what that is. I found it growing on the second floor of the earth-bound Tower nearby. I ran every test and asked everyone I could think of, but no one has any idea what it could be. Since it's not worth much to me, I thought I would see if anyone would be interested in it. So far, you're the only customer that's given it a second glance. If you want it, I can sell it to you for twenty silver.'

Could the gods of fortune really be so giving? For a dryad's heart to just fall into my possession, it's simply absurd.

'Twenty silver seems like a lot for something that might not have any worth. Perhaps you can throw in some Tension coal for my Omni-forge?' My heart pounds deep in my chest as the girl's expression changes. Her jovial lips bend to the left of her face indicating to me her consideration of my proposal.

'I can throw in maybe fifty grams of coal, but that's as far as I'm willing to go.' Accepting immediately, Ivy scoops darkened stones from a sack and places them onto a scale. Checking the measurements, she nods to herself then places the coal into a brown sackcloth pouch. She takes the flower from the stall and delicately slips it in the pouch with the coal before sealing the top by pulling the drawstring.

The metallic cling of coins rings out, as I count twenty silver in my hands. Handing the coins to the girl, I take the brown sack from her outstretched hand. 'It's a pleasure doing business with you', I say as I turn to leave.

If that girl had any idea of what she had just given away, she would weep tears of blood. To think I would be so fortunate to find something this precious in the hands of a dolt. It's true what they say, the fool and his treasure are soon parted. Though, not a second too soon, to my delight.

Storing my purchase in a satchel at my side, I begin to walk back the way I came through the market district. Near the centre of the space, a distressed girl pleads with a vendor. Directing my eyes towards the clamour, I locate the source of the commotion.

The bespectacled girl.

I watch as she begs with tears in her voice for the stall-keeper to reduce his prices. Despite her whines and appeals for grace, the ginger-haired runt manning the stall sits unmoved.

'If you don't have the coin to pay for my goods, then leave. You're scaring away actual customers', I hear the boy yell. Pointing my way, the boy beckons me over. 'Sir, is there anything you need? I have potions and pills for sale. Anything you could possibly need for taking on missions.'

'I'm begging you, have some compassion. I don't have the coin now, but I receive a monthly allowance from my Dawn Clan.'

'Don't talk to me about the Dawn Clan, from what I hear the whole bunch of you will be nameless before too long.' Looking past the girl, the boy once again turns his attention my way. 'Sir, does anything take your fancy? For potions of this quality, you won't find better prices than here.'

'What is this girl trying to buy?' I ask, tilting my head in the direction of the bespectacled girl softly crying beside me.

'Ah, you mean Liza's tears, it's not something you'd be interested in. It strengthens feminine energies, allowing barren women the chance to conceive'

'Please, I'll give anything for that potion', the girl laments.

'Then give me one gold!'

'I don't have it now, but if you could just wait..'

'Why don't you wait and come back when you have it!' He snaps back. Of course, there's no guarantee I'll still be here, or that someone else won't have bought it by then. The Dawn Clan isn't the only to have been affected by the Dread Mother's Curse. My Walker Clan has risen in stature off of the back of this potion. It is in high demand, so if you don't have the money to pay for it, try find it somewhere else.' Laughing, the boy positions himself so that his face is towards me, and his back is towards the pitiful girl.

'Sir, as I said, I have all the potions you could possibly need while taking on missions. You're a lower-set student, there's no doubt you're already considering ascending the Tower in this region. Take it from a senior, you'll need much of what I have here.'

Seeing that there's nothing here I couldn't brew myself, I look at the sobbing girl beside me.

'I'll take Liza's Tears', I say. Reaching into my satchel, I take out my purse and draw a circular golden coin from within. The bespectacled girl stares at me with an open mouth and wide eyes. It's no surprise. One gold is worth one-hundred silver. Even low-tier Clansmen would rebuke their young masters that spend it wastefully. Needless to say, the nameless like myself, who deal in copper, are not expected to have so much currency to spend on anything.

Snatching the coin from my hand, the gaunt-looking young man places the potion on the table.

'Take it.' I say looking at the girl. What is one gold to me? At Father's side, I have pilfered thousands of gold. Much of my wealth is lost to me now, but to purchase the support of even a diminishing Clan, is one gold not a bargain?

Wiping her eyes and refixing her glasses, the bespectacled girl reaches out her hand and takes the potion.

'Tha- Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me and my Clan.'

'Think nothing of it', I say while I turn to leave.

'Um, excuse me, Nero, you've already done so much for me, but do you have a moment to talk?'

'It should be around time for dinner, I'd be glad to walk you to the cafeteria.'

'That's perfect, we can talk on the way.' Walking side by side towards the exit of the market district, I hear the shallow breaths of the girl beside me. She turns her head from time to time, before rapidly looking away. The two of us walk through the crowded streets of the market. As we cross the final market stall, the girl lets out the squeak of an unsaid word.

'What's your name?' I ask her.

'Oh, oh. It's Emma. Emma Dawn of the Dawn Clan. I- um, I already know your name, everybody does, especially in the lower-set classes.'

'Is that so?'

'You're the boy that killed Wolf. It's impossible for people not to know who you are.' She replies.

'Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?' Cheeks lift to eyes and colour dyes her face pink. Looking down, Emma mutters some words imperceptible to my ears.

'That's not what I wanted to talk to you about', she finally says. 'I wanted to ask you if you'd consider joining my Clan.'

'Oh?'

'It actually has something to do with why I needed that potion. I'm from a small low-tier Clan in the Shwansham region of Area III. Twenty years ago, before I was born, a Maverick attacked the Dawn Clan.'

'The Dread Mother', I say flatly.

'Yes, her. During her attack, she did something. She performed an Art that killed all of our male Tension Masters and caused all of the pregnant women to miscarry. It was only after, they discovered the extent of her Art didn't stop there. She had done something to the women that survived. Something that prevented them from ever being able to conceive again.'

'Though a tragedy for my Clan, I can't lie and say it didn't benefit me personally. Because of their inability to have children of their own, the Dawn Clan began adopting orphaned nameless children like me into their ranks. I was personally adopted by our Clans matriarch. She's been so kind to me, and I would do anything to repay the debt that I owe.'

Slowing her steps, the girl goes quiet. Moving her head so that I can't see her face, Emma once again begins to mutter.

'Um… there's something else.' She says in barely a whisper. 'The Dawn Clan is currently at war with the Strider Clan from Area VII. Due to the distance between our Clans bases, the war is mostly quarantined in the Towers, but every so often a small group of their escalades will find a way out of the Tower closest to our strongholds and attack us on Aspiran soil.'

'There are even rumours that they're building up their Army to burst through the Tower and attack us directly.'

Resisting the fire raging inside, I clench my teeth as the memory of what happened to my village intrudes my thoughts. It had happened just like that. A war between Clans spilling out of the Towers. Before anything even happened, I knew, even as a child, I knew something was wrong. It was in the eyes of every adult in my village. It was in the eyes of my mother. When I looked into her eyes, I could see what I now know as the conflicting sight of terror and resignation.

As a nameless family, what could we have done? My parents barely got by, sowing clothes in the fabric factory. Forty copper a month was hardly enough to put food on the table, let alone see us outside the range of collateral damage. We hoped and prayed that their war would stay in the Towers… wasn't there enough room for slaughter in the Towers?

"The fate of the weak is determined by the strong"

That's right, Father. We were weak. I was weak. What happened back then was nothing more than the natural ends of our weakness.

'So what do you need me for?' I ask.

'You're strong', She says while walking in front of me to look me in the eyes. 'You're far stronger than anyone else in our class, probably stronger than most of the upper-set. We don't have anyone like you in our Clan! Even our matriarch isn't a true rank-four. You're my age and you're already a rank-three Tension Master!

'You haven't thought this through, have you?' I say. 'I killed Wolf Yung. Can the Dawn Clan protect me from their retribution? Could they even protect themselves? Inviting me into your Clan would ensure its total destruction.' The girl looks down.

'Then…'

'Then you get stronger', I say, anticipating her next words.

'How? The money I get from my Clan is barely enough to attend a few premium lectures this year. I can't even afford the few ether crystals the academy allows us to purchase. How can I possibly get stronger? I would count myself fortunate if I even reach rank-three before graduating, how could I possibly get strong enough to save my Clan?'

Without hesitation, I reply, 'By climbing the Tower.'

The girl trembles.

'That's suicide.'

'It's the only way. Unless your Clan is blessed with fortune, you'll never find a better opportunity to gather the ether-crystals you'll need to break through to rank-four.'

My words linger in the silence it created. In that silence, we continue our walk to the doors of the cafeteria.