Chapter Four- Sorian

I rolled around in my bed, my toes sticking out of the too-short blanket and my head buried under my pillow. I'm not sure what time it is, but my room was on the cooler side so my best guess was early morning.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and tried to conserve my body heat. It was currently late may so the weather was bipolar; freezing in the morning, scorching in the afternoon, and winter by seven o'clock

My eyes were stinging from exhaustion, but they had no reason to be; I went to bed at a normal time and I'm awake at a normal time, so what's the issue here?

"Sorian, up now!" yelled a deep voice. "We have a job and we're leaving in five minutes!"

'A job?' I thought to myself. 'But it's daytime, it's way too early

I groaned and started to get out of bed, my heart-thumping unusually hard in my chest. I felt the back of my hair get yanked upwards and I was forcibly woken up. My father stared me dead in the eyes with a menacing look and said.

"Don't make me repeat myself boy, we are leaving now!"

I looked into his eyes. His were so dark that you couldn't discern where the iris ended and where the pupil started, whereas mine was deep blue with flecks of gold scattered around. As much as I disliked the thought of it, he and I looked very alike, but I apparently inherited my mother's eyes. We both had the same wavy dark hair and neither of us could grow a beard so we both had light stubble on our faces.

I can't remember what my mother looked like, but I know from comments my father made that she was a Relmith, a sea elf who hails from the province of Ashijan. Humans can't inherit many of the features of their elven parents, but eyes and slightly pointed features like cheekbones and ears tend to be passed down.

"Why are we doing this job during the day? That seems very impractical" I mumble. I looked outside and it was very bright out.

"Why does it matter to you, it's not even you who is going to be stealing," He replies, letting go of my hair. "Plus, our contract today isn't in Velglow, we're travelling out of the city today and going to Porlil"

"Porlil?" I repeated. "Why that far, we only usually do contracts within the city?"

"We're being paid two thousand gold pieces which is almost four times our usual rate, plus travel expenses. It's simply too good of an offer to pass up"

"Ok fine," I say, "Can we leave a few minutes later, I have to make myself look a little presentable"

"You have ten minutes, any extra minute you take is one less meal for the next week," He said and he turned to leave. "I'll be outside, don't be late"

I nodded and he closed the door behind him. I ran a brush through my hair and the mane I woke up with was tamed and now formed a nice middle part. I changed into comfortable travel clothes and reached into my collar, pulling out the necklace Alea gave me two years ago and positioned it in the center of my chest.

I wrenched open the top drawer of my dresser and pulled out a piece of parchment and a fountain pen. I quickly scrawled a note to Alea that read:

'Gone off to Porlil with my dad, will be back in a few days. Don't miss me too much.' I scribbled a little smiley face at the end.

I folded up the letter and tucked it into my sweater pocket. I strapped my short sword to my waist and concealed it under the sweater, and I made sure that the two water pouches attached to my hips were full of water. I opened the door and jogged outside where my father and three of his men were seated on a horse-drawn carriage loaded with luggage.

"Ready to go?" My father asked with a tired look in his eyes.

"I gotta drop this letter off to Alea, but I'll be back in a few minutes" I called and I sprint away.

The street was soaked from the rain last night and normally I would've frozen the water and skated my way down the street, but restrictions on magic have become increasingly suffocating these last few months. Most human wielders don't openly use their magic, and elves have been treated worse and worse, punished more severely and belittled in the streets.

'Onfu' Is a term that humans have started using to refer to elves, a word that means inferior in the old elven tongue. Even I get treated worse simply because of my close ties to Alea, but everyone knows that the Eshoan king is against it. I thought back to a few years ago when Lewl, Alea's childhood nemesis, called her an Onfu and I pleasantly remember Alea whooping her ass.

Each human province of Avendalir rules individually, but the Pretonian king has been progressively spreading his influence and placing his own men into each major city so he has a say in every decision the rulers of each province make. Currently, there are four human-ruled provinces; Pretion, which contains the capital city of the continent, Padrea, Eshos which is my home province, Portius is the richest but smallest province, and Astien which is a frozen wasteland that is sparsely populated by small human and Chuvith colonies.

I reached Alea's house and tucked the letter into her door frame. I turned quickly and bolted back to the cart just in time so I can still eat this week. I jumped onto the cart and we started, bumping slowly until we passed through the city gates and bumbled along the dirt path travelling west until we reached our destination.

"I'm going to sleep, wake me up when we get there," I say to my father with no response. "Ok then… see you in a bit"

I lay down and closed my eyes, the gentle rocking easing me into a light and dreamless slumber. I lay in darkness, no dreams at all to keep me company as I traversed the inner depth of my mind.

I dreamt of nothing, just black the whole time until I felt a rough poke in my ribs that jostled me awake.

"Up, we're here," Said the deep voice.

"Already?" I say, rubbing my eyes. "But it's only been-"

I opened my eyes and it was dark outside, the crickets were chirping and the occasional croak of a bullfrog sounded through the night. We passed through the gate to the city and I heard it slam shut behind me.

Porlil is one of the three main port cities of Avendalir, the other two being the capital city Padrea and the Relmith city of Feflana. Being a port city, Porlil received a heavy amount of civilian traffic; both travellers and merchants following the Padrean channel, a river that runs through Avendalir and connects one end of the continent to the other. Many smaller offshoot canals are connected to this main river and provide easy transportation to most of the continent.

I admired the architecture in the city; most of the buildings were made of a smooth white stone and the roofs were all tiled with the same orange wood shingles. The roads were all paved with the same white and orange colour scheme and a bunch of small canals crisscrossed around with civilians moving around in small wooden rafts.

The city was busy and full of life, but equally calm. It looked almost automated the way people walked between carts and boated through intersections without even stopping.

"Where are we staying tonight boss?" One of my father's men asked.

"The Skillful Note, it's just up ahead"

We stopped outside a large tavern and I could hear the music and loud men from outside. The smell of ale was pungent and seeped under the door like a poisonous gas. We slowly unloaded our luggage and threw open the doors, dragging our stuff inside.

The innkeeper greeted us, a tall woman with broad shoulders and fiery red hair. I immediately spotted an axe strapped to her hip and made a mental note not to mess with her.

"OI YOU" She hollered and a small man practically teleported to her side. "Help these fine patrons take their luggage to their rooms"

"Aye Aye ma'am, right away!" He said, literally saluting her as he dragged our trunk up each stair step with a loud thud.

I grabbed my bag and glanced around the room as I walked up the stairs. The whole tavern was full of burly men, each holding a sloshing pint of beer in their mugs and singing along with a bard who played a rather aggressive tune. In the center of the room was a large fire with benches full of men merrily drinking and cheering. Soft tunes emanated from three bards spread out in the inn, each of them dressed up in fancy and expensive silk clothing and playing equally expensive-looking instruments.

The name 'A skillful note' made more sense to me now.

My party and I occupied the whole second floor and we all took our rooms. Much to my dismay, I could not escape the sound of rowdy mean anywhere in my room and I grappled with the idea to just hop back on the cart and ride home. I thought better of it though and I unpacked my things into the small dresser next to the bed.

I heard the bell ring twelve times and only then did it dawn on me how late it already was. Despite this, the people downstairs showed no signs of slowing down and I hoped to take this to my advantage. I crept out of my room and down the stairs, careful not to wake my partners.

I got downstairs and walked through the party as nonchalant as I could until I managed to reach the bar. The innkeeper was polishing a glass with a rag when I approached and I watched her eye me up and down.

"Could I get a bottle of your cheapest Portacian vodka?" I say casually.

She didn't answer at first, choosing to look me up and down a second time. "How old are ya' kid?"

"I'm eighteen years old," I say.

"Are you?" She didn't seem to believe me much. "Do you have the money to pay for it?"

"Depends on how much it is," I say, faking a laugh to break the tension.

She didn't even crack a smile. "Twelve silver pieces"

"Ok sure, I got that," I said. I pulled out my coin pouch and fished out twelve silver squares and handed them to her.

She inspected them for a solid minute before reluctantly handing me the bottle of baby blue alcohol. I practically ran to my room and slammed the door behind me, I was too close to get caught now.

I sat down in my bed and uncorked the bottle, taking a long drink of the booze almost immediately. Portacian vodka was my absolute favourite because it felt like ice water even when warm, plus it didn't burn when you drank it. The only downside to that is that you drink way more than you would with regular liquor and you get more messed up.

I downed about half the bottle before I decided that it was probably enough for now, not to mention I was starting to see two of everything. I lay back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, counting the planks of wood absentmindedly.

I closed my eyes and thought of the mission ahead; navigating the city in the dark, dipping in and out of alleyways and dodging the piercing eyes of the night-guard. I hated doing it because of my dad, but I loved the thrill. I could see myself bobbing and weaving between houses until I reached one with a large golden lock on it; the lock of all locks. I pictured myself puncturing the lock with my water, pushing each of the pins until the lock snapped open and my father and his team praised me.

"Sorian!" They cheered, lifting me on their shoulders.

"Sorian, I'm proud to have you as my son," My father said to me. "I love you for more than just your magic"

"Sorian! Sorian! Sorian!"

"Sorian!" I cheered.

My body lurched forward as someone cheered my name again. I opened my eyes and my father's face was inches from mine, an evil look spread across his face. My head lolled back and I hiccuped loudly.

I could hear muttering and I could see that he was talking, but all I heard was my name over and over again.

"Blah blah blah… you missed the rendezvous time blah blah blah… we're late," He said to me and I nodded my head.

My whole life flashed before my eyes as I got the smack of a generation. My whole body sobered up in an instant and I realized what had happened- I had fallen into a drunken sleep and missed when I was supposed to meet my father and his team for the heist.

"Father, I'm so sorry" I sputtered. "Can we still do the mission?"

"Did you not listen to a single thing I just said?" He scoffed, "I just wanted to make sure you were ready before the mission so I came to check on you, and I found you passed out on your bed with Portacian Vodka. Are you fucking kidding me?"

"You're right, I'm sorry," I say, hoping that the apology will end things swiftly.

He let go of my collar and I dropped a foot to the ground. I wobbled backwards, but he grabbed my shoulder and stabilized me. He turned to leave and held up five of his fingers signalling how long I had to get ready before walking out the room and down the hall. I let out a relieved sigh and shook all the drowsiness out of my head, running a hand through my hair and making it neat looking.

I grabbed and strapped my two water containers to my waist, and made sure that they were as full as possible. I smoothed out my clothes in the mirror and adjusted my hair again, making the middle-part as obvious as possible. I glanced at the bottle on my bed before walking out of the room and closing the door behind me.

I navigated the tables and chairs in the dark, the extinguished fire still hopefully crackling in the pit. I pushed open the door and joined the rest of my team outside the inn. My father was consulting his notebook like always and took off without bothering to check in on the rest of us. The four of us moved as one unit between the houses and over the canals, stopping to let the guards pass and slowly making our way there. Finally, we stopped at a house and my father roughly pushed me to the door, barking at me to get to it.

The house was large and very pristine looking; whatever my father was looking for in that house was definitely worth a lot of gold. The house was surrounded by a quaint rock wall with a large metal gate that we bypassed by climbing over the wall.

I got down on my knees and examined the lock quickly, noting that it seemed totally mundane. I used the water inside to push open the cap and extracted enough water to cover my index finger completely and I pushed the water into the lock. I fiddled with the pins, pushing them and feeling where it is that they lock at until I got all of them and I froze the water. I disconnected my finger from the ice and twisted it clockwise until I heard a click and the lock fell off.

I stood up and was promptly pushed away from the door rather roughly. "You're to watch for a guard like usual, stay out of sight"

"I got it," I say to my father.

He looked at me and stuck his hand out. At first, I was confused but then I remembered the new system he implemented into our heists. I made him a ball of ice and he took it and put it into his shirt pocket before he disappeared into the dark interior of the house.

I was left alone by the door and I was tasked with keeping watch. This was by far my least favourite part because there was no adrenaline rush from sneaking around, no trying to pick a lock as fast as you can, no nothing. All I do is sit here and wait for them to finish with all the fun and come out.

I took a seat behind the wall and stared at the door, waiting patiently for them to come out. I readjusted my back and got into a comfortable position and continued to stare. I pulled out a bit of water and began to play with it, shaping it into a rod, then into a ball and finally into a four-point star.

I heard shuffling steps behind me and ignored them until I realized who was walking behind the wall. I immediately tucked my legs into my chest and scooted over into the corner of the wall and tried to conceal myself in the shadows. Warm orange light bathed the inside of the property as a soldier dressed in beaded leather armour walked by with a torch in his hand. He didn't stop or pay any attention to the house and I could see him turn right ahead through the iron gate.

I let out an exasperated sigh and stayed tucked away. I went back to playing with my ice, but I was much more alert this time, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for the tiniest sign of guard presence. I looked up at the moon and over the houses, I could see the still dark horizon.

This time I heard them early; I could hear more than one set of footsteps coming toward the house. I jumped from the corner of the house and over to the side of the house where I was less likely to be seen. I raised my left hand and made a fist, reaching out to the ball of ice with my magic. I peeked around the corner and saw that three soldiers were standing outside the gate, torches in one hand and the other on the handle of their sheathed sword. I gulped and opened my hand, releasing my grip on the ice.

The ice ball system was my idea and it was actually pretty genius. I would give my father some ice that I made and I would maintain a constant grip on it that way if someone was to get too close, I would thaw out the ice and his pocket would be filled with water, alerting him to the presence of law enforcement. It was silent and allowed us to 'communicate' at a distance which was perfect for these types of missions.

I couldn't risk sticking my head out again and having them see me so I did the next best thing. I pulled out some water and made it into a thin sheet of ice that doubled as a suitable mirror. I snuck the mirror around the corner and saw that the gate had been opened and the three soldiers; two men and a woman, were examining the door. My heart sank as the woman noticed the lock on the ground and picked it up, pulling the thin piece of ice out of the chamber.

The one drawback to magical ice is that it doesn't melt unless you allow it to melt and hadn't even thought about it. They now know that in our little group there is at least one water wielder and I can't melt it now or else they'll know that I am nearby. One of the men unsheathed his sword and pushed the door open walking inside slowly, the other two following suit.

Now that I didn't have a visual of the guards, I began to panic a bit more. I wasn't sure what to do, we've never been this close to getting caught and I was never taught what to do at this point. I decided it was just safest to stay where I was and hope for the best.

I drew out all the water from one of my two pouches and formed it into a long rod, holding it tightly in both of my trembling hands.

"No," I thought to myself. "I need to pull it together, this fear is just my nerves. How can I be a good thief if I collapse at the first sight of resistance"

I took a deep breath and steadied my hands, readying myself for whatever was to come next. I peeked my head out around the corner and was trying to get a good look when a hand clapped over my mouth and stopped my scream. I looked up and one of my father's men was standing over me. He put a finger to his mouth and I nodded and he removed his rather sweaty hand from my mouth.

He motioned for me to follow him and he disappeared behind the house. I got up and when I turned the corner, my father stood there, a large knife in his hand and a mean look on his face. He gave me an approving look before signalling us to follow him around the house and away. We all tiptoed around the property until we reached the gate where Collus, the larger of the men accompanying us pushed it open. It whined loudly and we all heard loud thumping footsteps running toward us from inside the house.

The four of us booked it through the gate and down the street when a loud voice shouted behind us. "Halt!"

We ignored the voice and navigated the dark streets, putting as much distance between us and them. We all looked behind us to make sure we weren't followed, but we should've been looking ahead as we ran directly into four patrolling guards. A woman was in front of the party and quickly drew her sword to face us.

My father instinctively swung at one of them, hitting him in his shoulder and he went down with a spurt of blood. The other three quickly drew their weapons and engaged us in direct combat, the sound of metal clanging filled the night and drew the attention of the other guards. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by at least twenty guards on all sides. Any way I looked at it, we would either be caught and jailed or killed on the spot.

My mind went right to Alea, her long soft green hair and bright green eyes. She always had a certain glimmer in her eyes, one that longed for adventure and I made a vow to give it to her if I made it out of this alive.

"Sorian, fight back!" My father shouted while parrying a blow. "We are getting out of this alive whether you want it or not"

A soldier rushed at me brandishing his steel sword furiously. He raised it and brought it down aiming for the top of my head. I reacted by raising the rod of ice I had forgot I was holding and the blade of his sword embedded itself in the shaft of my staff. The tip of his blade came just inches away from my face but was now stuck in position. Both of our eyes widened as I yanked the sword out of his hand and pulled it out of the ice, dual-wielding both weapons. I kicked him hard in the chest and whacked him hard on the side of the head and he crumpled to the ground.

I worried for a second that I killed him, but didn't have the luxury of making sure as the two other guards flanking me took precedence. My body moved practically on its own and I deflected both of their blows and remembered back to my father's attempted combat training and I swiped at both of their hands. One of the men dropped his sword but the other pulled away in time and launched a counter-attack, aiming for my neck. I ducked and his blade sliced a few hairs off the top of my head, but I had avoided any major damage. I swung at him with my sword and cut a deep gash out of his thigh. A spurt of bright red blood flowed out of the wound on his leg and he backed off, retreating behind the rest of his peers. I glanced to see how the rest of us were doing and they were fending off pretty well, but a woman lay on the ground with blood pooled around her chest.

I recognized her as the female guard from a few moments ago. My breath caught up in my throat and my neck began to ache. I had heard stories and rumours of what a dead body looked like, but actually seeing one was different. Her skin was pale and sickly, and her blonde ponytail turned red on the tips, dyed by her very own blood. She looked blankly up at the night sky, her eyes unmoving and hollow looking as if she were staring, but not seeing.

"Sorian!" My father called and I looked up to a blade coming right for my eyes.

I raised the rod of ice, but the damage was enough to allow his blade to pass through and nick the side of my face, slicing an inch deep right on my left cheekbone. I turned the rod of ice into water and I drew the rest of the water that I had, slamming it into his chest and pushing him up against a wall. I clenched my fist and the soldier was frozen to the side of a house, his legs and arms flailing and kicking as hard as he could as he tried to force his way out, but it was a waste of effort. I only caught a glimpse, but I had memorized his facial features. He was young, probably new to the guard, with short sandy hair and freckles running down the bridge of his nose. He looked panicked and I felt a pang of guilt, but I couldn't linger.

A drop of water landed on my forehead and I glanced up. Even at night, I could see how dark the clouds were and I anticipated rainfall any minute now.

I ran toward my father and the two of us defended against two more guards, disarming them and as a group, dashing the front gate of the city.

"Close the gate!" One of the soldiers shouted and the metal gate began to drop. The walls surrounding the city were at least two Sorian's tall and easily could've been taller. If that gate shut, we'd be done for sure.

I heard a splash next to me and I noticed a small orange fish swimming around in a canal and an idea popped into my head. I raised my hands and grabbed as much water as I could, pushing it toward the gate and freezing a large pillar under the track. The gate halted from the obstruction but the sound of arrows being nocked in their bows made all of us look up; Two archers stationed above the gate aimed to fire.

I positioned myself to do my ultimate move and I made a wave with as much water as I could pull from the canal. I raised it high into the air and froze it solid. A large wall of ice separated us from the archers, but we were now blocked from the gate, but it was an easy fix.

"Cover me!" I shouted to my father, and my surprise, he nodded.

I stuck my hands out and began to focus on releasing my grip on certain parts of the ice. If I rushed, there was a chance I could melt the whole wall and we would be royally screwed then. I had never pulled off something like this before, but through sheer willpower, I thawed a large hole at the base of the wall and the four of us ran through and out of the city.

I was worried the archers would shoot at us on the other side, but my father was already ahead of me. He ran to the closest house where a wooden carriage was tied up to the horse stable. The three of us took shelter in the stable and my father slashed the rope with his knife, beckoning us on the carriage. He ran around us and attached one of the horses to the front before grabbing the whip and whipping the horse, propelling us down the road and far away from the city. A few arrows whizzed past us as we rode away, but we were quickly surrounded by the natural cover of the forest and out of immediate danger.

We rode through a large coniferous forest; the trees were tall and very thick and only had needles at the top. Hardened orange tree sap glowed on the bark of the trees and dead pine needles crunched beneath our wheels. I looked back up at the sky and noticed that the storm clouds were fading away just as fast as they had arrived.

I breathed out, totally unaware I was holding my breath and I lay down.

"That one could have gone so bad, if it wasn't for your ice idea then we would've been caught for sure" The bigger man said to my father who laughed boomingly.

"Typical," I thought to myself. "Just like him to take credit for my idea"

"But I think Sorian is the real man of this mission," continued the big man. "If it weren't for him melting the ice, keeping the gate open and literally saving our lives from those bloody archers, we would've been jailed or dead."

He grabbed my arm and raised it high into the air and I couldn't help but smile. The other man clapped loudly and raised my other name.

"Yeah I guess he did alright, but your combat skills are sloppy and you could've been much better with your magic, not to mention how late you were melting the ice, we nearly got caught still in the house"

"Cmon Ameren, he did amazing. Why don't you focus on his accomplishments instead of criticizing his every breath, Lord knows he needs some reassurance" the smaller man said.

"Don't ever tell me what to do. I'm the leader of this group for a reason and I won't have anyone question my decisions" Ameren said, "And I will continue to reprimand my son if I choose to"

"They're right dad," I said. "You never tell me what I can do to get better, you just put me down every chance that you get, almost like you like it"

"Excuse me?" He asked. He was visibly seething and his eyes narrowed. "How dare you speak to your father like that, I brought you into this world, and I will no sooner remove you, and believe me it won't be quick"

I gulped, he had never gone as far as to give me a literal death threat. I shut my mouth and crossed my arms, closing my eyes and letting my body relax. I didn't realize how tired I was and I was asleep very quickly, the bumping of the carriage rocked me to sleep.