Chapter 6: The Mission

Valina opened the bag of sugared candies. She was glad she had packed some extras, but splitting between three people, one of which might need training, would be a stretch. She twisted the ring on her left thumb. It was unadorned, but was also sleek, well-polished, and could catch the light in a way that made it shine in an array of green, blue, and violet.

“What’s the plan?” she asked.

“First we see what the kid’s worth,” Chalea said, tying her long hair back. “Then we go from there.”

“And the mission?”

“We carry on,” Chalea replied. “After the assessment, we’ll start asking around town, but there’ll be rumors after last night. I wanted to avoid a panic, but it might be better to let the town know; keep everyone safe. If the mission takes us out of here, we circle back and pick the kid up later.”

They slung their day packs over their shoulders and headed downstairs and out into the square. The sun was just showing its first rays when they spotted Tavin. He was putting on a brave face, but was obviously tense. Valina admired the way the morning light shone off his dark hair. He gave them an awkward smile. It was cute.

“So, you showed,” Chalea said. Last night’s fury was gone, she was back to her usual iron tone.

“Good morning,” he replied, “You, uh… you made it pretty clear that I should”

“Good morning,” Valina said, “I hope my teacher didn’t scare you too much.”

“Never! Scared, yes, but never too much.”

“Ha!” Chalea chimed, “Let’s see if that bravado will do anything more than get you killed. We need somewhere secluded. Most folks don’t like to see a Bloodsold in action, especially if they don’t have to.”

“I know a place,” he said. He relaxed a bit, as if he was accepting the oncoming challenge.

“Lead the way.”

He led them east from town, and along a swift, murky river. Valina watched the water stream by, admiring its endless, mesmerizing flow. Somehow, it always reminded her of her own venture into the pact-world, and the rapturous feeling it left her with. They came to a clearing right along the riverside, made of packed, silty soil, scattered with rocks and surrounded by evergreen trees. It was more than big enough for their purposes.

When they reached the center of the clearing, Tavin turned to them.

“I come here when I want to be alone,” he said.

Chalea spent a minute eyeing the place, as if inspecting for the treeline and riverbank to be up to her standards. Valina knew it was just a show. She sat on a nearby log and made herself comfortable. Her teacher slowly paced circles around Tavin, her long walking stick stabbing into the ground with each step.

“First,” Chalea said. “Some questions.” Her words were pure iron.

“Alright.”

“What god are you Bloodsold to?”

“Hanari.”

“And what can you do?”

“I… can summon fire. I tried throwing it, but....”

“Not so easy, eh? When did you form your pact?”

“Two nights ago.”

Chalea stopped in her tracks. Valina looked at Tavin curiously. The town was abuzz when they arrived that something strange had happened the night before. It took a while for the town to believe that it wasn’t their fault. Could it be…?

“I had wondered,” Chalea said. “So it *was* you.” She resumed pacing, faster this time. “What did you offer her?”

“Anything she wanted.”

“Fool,” she chided. “I don’t suppose she told you what that would be?”

“No… should she have?”

“You should have asked. Did she grant you grace?”

“What?”

“Grade, kid. Did she extend you grace when she made the pact?”

Tavin took a few moments to respond.

“I... think so.”

Chalea stopped pacing, faced Tavin, and sighed.

“Here’s what I think, kid.” Her words had softened a bit. “Hanari’s unpredictable. You’ve been given the most straightforward of Hanari’s manifestations. You’re like a candle. Every time you use the power in that pact, a little more of you is going to burn away. You’ve been given grace: that usually means that the god’s looked at you favorably.”

“So that’s good, right?” Tavin asked.

“Maybe, or it could mean that she just wants to see you burn faster. We’ll have yet to see. You might very well go from being a candle to a blazing wildfire, or you could burn through your life while always staying a candle.”

“So what do I do?”

“First, show me what you can do, kid.”

Tavin nodded his head, and faced the river. Chalea gave him some distance, and Valina stood and joined her teacher. Tavin pulled a knife from his belt, and closed his eyes while he concentrated.

“So the fires in town...?” Valina asked quietly.

“Yes,” Chalea responded in equally hushed tones. “Unless there’s two Bloodsold to the Goddess of Heat hiding in this little town, there’s no doubt.”

“What do you think it means?”

“It means exactly what I told him. He has potential—a lot of it. We’ll have to see when his grace runs out just how quickly it consumes him.”

Tavin lifted the knife to his thumb, and sliced. Half of the blood that spilled swirled into fire, coalescing into a small sphere; the rest combusted as it splattered on the ground in small flashes.

“Good!” Chalea called out. “What’s next?”

Tavin moved the ball of fire with his hands and prepared to throw, but it was awkward and sluggish. He barely had control of it. He managed to hurl the fireball, but it flickered and spread, dissipating into nothing only a few strides from where it started. He was clearly distressed by his results, but trying to hide it. He wasn’t doing a very good job.

“Not bad for only your second day!” Valina called out as earnestly as she could.

The young man huffed in frustration and stared at the slowly healing wound in his thumb. Chalea walked up to him.

“Does it always go like that?” she asked.

“It’s only the third time I’ve tried,” he said.

“Well, it was terrible,” Chalea said. “But there’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone starts out terrible, myself and Valina included. Be thankful that Hanari granted you grace; it means that you spend less time being terrible when it matters.”

Tavin ran a finger along where he had cut his thumb, and it came up clean. He was almost scowling at it. Valina felt a pang of pity for him, but wouldn’t show that—he clearly didn’t like it.

“A few more times, if you would,” Chalea said. “It’s better to keep going once you start than to take breaks.”

Tavin repeated the process twice more. Valina noted that his flame *did* reach just a little farther each time. As he prepared to make his fourth attempt, his hands were shaking. It was time. She reached into her bag and pulled a few sugared candies out.

“That’s enough,” Chalea said. “The strength is leaving you, and you’ll have to deal with the blood loss on your own. Rest for a bit.”

Tavin made his way to one of the large rocks and sat, looking more tired by the second. Valina crouched next to him and offered him the sweets.

“Here, this will help.”

Tavin looked from her extended hand and up at her; they met eyes. This close and in the daylight, his were the most beautiful, brilliant hazel she had ever seen. The look lingered a little longer than it ought to before he broke it off. He was blushing.

“Oh… um, thanks,” he said sheepishly. He took the candy, and popped one into his mouth.

“You’ll get the hang of it,” she said. “It just takes practice.”

Chalea sighed.

“Here’s the other reason I asked for isolation. The town will learn about it soon enough, and since you went and made a Bloodsold pact all by yourself, you ought to know, since you’ll be affected.” Valina heard the resignation in her teacher’s voice. It was the same tone she used when accepting a particularly unpleasant mission.

“Affected? What do you mean, is Varenwald in danger?” Tavin’s energy bounced back immediately.

“Not sure yet,” she said. “But because you’re Bloodsold now, you’ll most likely be.”

“What does that mean?”

“Like I said last night: once you revealed your Bloodsold status to me, I officially *had* to take you with me. Rogue mages are outlawed; all Bloodsold must serve in the Alranis Empire’s ranks. We’re currently tasked with tracking down a rogue Bloodsold—a particularly dangerous one with a deep grudge against the Empire. I believe him to be somewhere in the area.”

“So what does that have to do with Varenwald?” Tavin seemed genuinely worried.

“I’m getting there. You wanted to get out of this little town, right? And you have no family?”

“Yeah, but-”

“Look,” she interrupted. “You have a choice. We’re not far from the border—a few days’ travel, a week if you stay off the roads. You can come with us, but that means facing down a madman with nothing to lose, and gaining a target on your back along with us. Or…”

Tavin had become very still, his eyes not leaving Chalea.

“I can look the other way,” she continued. “and you don’t risk your life before it can truly begin. You don’t serve the Empire, and you live the life you want, only not in this country.”

Tavin was quiet for a long time, staring at the ground. Valina didn’t pity the choice he had to make, but she was grateful that Chalea would offer it. She could get in real trouble if this was discovered.

“And the town?” he asked eventually.

“Might be fine; might never even be in danger. But if it is, it’s my duty to protect it to the best of my ability, and I intend to follow through.”

Another long silence, only filled by the gentle roar of the river and the rustle of branches in the wind. Eventually, Chalea spoke.

“So what will it be?”