Ch. 3: Goodbye, Gatesborn

As the sun was setting, I walked along the brisk path, the distant sea breeze ruffling my fur.

The sky was a deep orange, flaming streaks of auburn racing across the world above. My fur glowed like fire in the fading dusk as I came to a standstill and raised my head.

There it was. My home.

It was a hut, sitting up in the treetops among the branches. From there you could faintly see the ocean in the distance, through the dense foliage.

I turned to find Arius beside me. "Are you happy now?" I grinned.

Arius shrugged. "I am, actually. I just hope that now I'll be picked for the job specifically." He looked at me and frowned. "What I'm concerned about is what exactly the Prince plans to do with you." For some reason, he didn't seem upset at me specifically for once.

I pricked my ears. "...See, I'm confused about that too," I replied, opening the hut door and stepping inside. "I thought as a magicless albino, I wouldn't really get anywhere. But I guess the gods are on my side, huh?"

Arius just mumbled in reply as he dusted off a shelf in the living room, probably looking for something. But as he moved aside a few trinkets, he stopped and paused."What's up?" I asked.

Arius didn't reply, but I saw his paw moving towards a bound leather book. He picked it up and flipped a few pages. His eyes grew misty.

I moved towards him and reached for the book, then held it in my paws, confused. "Why are you…?"

Arius just sighed depressedly and picked up his bag, then moved on to his bedroom down the hall.

I looked at the book again, then remembered. Father's journal?

"I'm taking this with me," I shouted down the hall. "Might as well bring along some memories from this place."

Arius didn't respond, but he emerged from his room soon after. I quickly shoved the book into my satchel by my side, then turned to exit the hut.

We stood there on the lawn, staring up at the little brown hut in the treetops. Arius spoke in a whisper. "I'm going to miss this place."

I nodded. "But where we're going is even better, right?"

Arius smiled. "You bet."

He turned, heading for the river to meet up with the escorts; but I stayed a little longer, reluctant to leave everything I had known behind for the last time. This place was my childhood, and the very last time I saw Father before he sailed to the East Horizon was here.

I hope the gods have given him safety, wherever he is.

I gave a breath, then turned from the hut in the trees, leaving it behind me.

___________________________________________________

Arius waited for me by the wet path that led to the river.

"Coming?"

I nodded numbly, trying to shake off any traces of regret.

We walked on, the trees above us blocking out the gradually fading sunlight, leaving me to trust Arius' night vision to guide us.

But it wasn't for long. Just as the world neared nightfall, we saw a light up ahead, glimmering on the water.

"There's the ferry." Arius stood tall and puffed out his chest, trying to look important as we came into view. I just shook my head and snorted.

On the river was a large wooden ferry, presumably used to transport important officials to and from the Capital. Firelight gave us sight to see under the canopy of the trees above. And by the ferry was a line of all the aetyrim who had been chosen to go to the Capital.

Arius turned to me and frowned. "Guess you'd better find your Prince. I get the feeling you won't be staying with us."

I smiled, despite feeling a little uneasy. "Can I just say that I really didn't expect to make such a huge scene earlier? I didn't think I would be going to the Capital this early, either."

Arius didn't answer, but by his expression you could tell he was less than pleased. Without another word he left to the line, leaving me on the riverbank.

I sighed grumpily, then looked up to find Vrotaz keeping order of the line. Maybe he knew where I was supposed to go.

I padded up to him uncertainly and coughed. 

Vrotaz glanced over at me, then looked startled. "Aven Elsgard! Go right on ahead; Illesior is looking for you. He's in the main cabin on deck."

"Um… thanks." I felt really weird at his reaction, remembering that only a few hours prior he wanted me dead. But now that the Prince took a liking to me, he acted like I was some sort of priceless trinket.

I boarded the ship and looked around. There were many white manes on board, looking over the sides and talking excitedly with their peers.

I looked over the side and saw my friend Strubin, talking to his aunt Strudarin quietly. I watched them exchange words, then embrace before Strubin boarded the ship.

"Hey." I greeted him warmly.

Strubin blinked at me, grateful for my presence. "Hi, Aven. How are you?"

I shrugged. "I'm doing okay. I'm trying to find Prince Illesior, since that's what Vrotaz told me to do. But I figured that I'd say hi to my fellow aetyrim before then. And you?"

Strubin nodded. "Pretty good. I'll miss Strudarin, that's for sure."

"Yeah. I don't blame you." I stared up into the sky, trying to catch sight of any stars that might be hiding above the canopy. "There's someone I miss a lot myself."

"Your father, Abarin?"

I nodded. "But I'm going to be the best white mane, for his sake. Just because I don't have magic doesn't mean I can't make a difference."

He nudged me playfully. "Well, you are the first white mane to gain recognition from the Crown Prince. I'd say that's an accomplishment."

I shrugged. "That we know of, anyway."

Just then, Arius boarded the ship and came over to us. I stuck out my tongue at him. "Hey, Ari. Did you get caught carrying illegal contraband or something? Cause you took an awful long time getting up here."

He shook his head, not very amused by my light-hearted teasing. "Don't make jokes like that, Aven, or we might not get to go to the Capital after all," He scolded me, before turning to Strubin. "Anyways, what were you discussing?"

Strubin just shrugged. "We were saying that we were going to miss a lot of people from this place. Is there anyone in your mind that you continually think of yourself, Arius?"

Arius thought for a moment, then shook his head slowly. "Nobody except for Abarin. But he left years ago."

"I wonder where he is now," I thought aloud.

Arius glanced at me despondently. "Probably dead. You know that the world is just a disc, and the East Horizon is the edge."

"Well, we don't know for sure," I argued. "What if it's a gateway to another world? Or what if it's a portal to the spirit realm? There's just so many possibilities."

Strubin shrugged. "Unless you go there yourself, or receive revelation from the gods themselves, Aven, all we can really do is dream about what's out there."

I blinked. "You know, I do dream of traveling to the East Horizon from time to time."

"Why's that?" Arius and Strubin looked at me closely.

"You know, Arius, Dad said that the gods are absent from Aetyria, and the whole reason he left was to find them. So I doubt that I could gain revelation from them at all, unless they're not really gone like we thought."

Strubin looked at me, a little shocked. "Where did he learn that?" He asked. "I never knew the gods were gone."

I shrugged. "I dunno. But I brought his journal that was in our hut. I figure I'll look it over and see what he has written." I didn't bother to mention the obvious racism going on in Aetyria, for fear of the Black Manes overhearing and accusing me of treason or something. But Arius knew just as well as I did that the divide between Black and White manes was the whole reason he went to seek the gods in the first place.

Strubin blinked at me, a little confused. Finally he replied, albeit very shortly. "I hope you can figure out what he meant by that, then. I suppose I'll see you later."

As he walked away, suddenly a dark figure approached us and I recognized his face. It was Illesior.

"Greetings, Albino of Purity!" He saluted me warmly. "Come with me. We must speak together."

"Oh, okay." My face felt a little hot. "See you, Arius."

Arius just nodded, but envy gleamed in his eyes. 

As I followed the Prince, a loud bellow came from the ferry horn, and then the ship began to move. We were breaking away from the riverbank and traveling upstream, leaving Gatesborn behind.

I glanced over at the bank beside, taking it in one last time. "Goodbye, Gatesborn." I murmured softly, before closing the cabin door behind me.