The Consequences We Face

I never stop to judge my past enemies, what happened in the past, was then. We all must keep moving forward if we dwell on mistakes we become lost, if we dwell on others we weigh ourselves down and forever drag rocks around. -Warlock Biznur, Journal of a Thousand Journeys.

-=+-

An old lady wearing glasses came to the door, "Why hello there!" She didn't look too old but definitely had trouble moving around when I walked through the door. "It's always nice to see a new face around these parts." She smiled at me with warmth.

The house was pretty big from the outside, but once inside the majority of the space in the house was filled with books, shelves towering over every inch besides a small area in the back for a desk and stove. Taking a close look at the books the spines had lots of wear in them, but other than that they were almost pristine.

The old lady closed the door, "Let me go heat up some tea."

I stopped the old lady, "No worries let me do it." I went to the stove and looked around only to realize that I didn't know where the pots were.

The old lady noticing this giggled and walked over to a cabinet behind me and pulled out a teapot and some cups. "Here you go, Andromeda."

My cheeks were red with embarrassment I went to the stove, luckily she kept the matches next to it. The stove was round and was disconnected from the rest of the house except for the exhaust that went through the roof. I opened the bottom where some wood lay inside, I put some more in then striked the match.... It didn't start right away, in fact, I had to use 2 different matches. My cheeks were red as cherries by that point.

I got a fire going and poured some water in from the jug from the last time the church was here. The water began to heat up, and the old lady tried to make conversation with me, "My name is Iphla by the way, I used to be the secretary for Haidon Hipp and before him his father."

I scratched my back, "Errr sorry, I am a refugee here, I still don't know many of the people in this city." I bowed apologetically.

"Ah my youngin, no worries at all." She patted my shoulder, "We all come from different places, the work you will put into the church I am dearly grateful for." She began to pour her heart out to me, "I lost my husband when I had my child, my son took care of me for years, but when he was called to the frontlines," she paused.

It was hard for her, and for me, I could guess what happened. "You don't need to continue, I can fill in the gaps, if it is hard let us just sit down or enjoy the tea. Iphla sat down at her desk, I went back to the tea, before this I had never made tea by myself with no instructions. I tried my best to seep the tea for the right time and to make sure the water was hot enough. After getting two cups of tea I brought one to her and kept one for myself.

I saw her drink a sip and after that, I took a sip. I never thought tea could taste bad before but it can, I force down the sip and looked at Iphla, she just kept on sipping. "You don't have to drink it for my sake, I know it doesn't taste good." I hung my head in defeat.

She gently put down her cup, "My dear any tea is worth drinking as long as someone made it for you." She smiled and went back to drinking her tea.

Stunned by her words I froze for a second. I was truly touched by what she said. After a few minutes of exchange, I asked her what she needed to be done for today. "I don't need much done for today, but if you could get a book down from the top shelf, it is quite heavy for me, also if you could dust up there that would be a blessing." She smiled brightly.

I went to the shelf she said the book was and looked for the book. Heavy was an understatement, it was thick and dense. I struggled to pull it out. When I did get the book, it came down with a crash. Falling on the floor I was momentarily winded.

"Oh my! Are you alright?" Iphla came over to help me.

I collected myself and stood back up, "Yep!" I heaved out. I carried the book back to the desk and set it down, I looked back at the title, "A Journal of a Thousand Journeys? I don't remember any of the volumes being this big!" Normal volumes of the book were 1/5 the size of this book.

Iphla laughed, "Hahaha! That's because this is one of the original copies the author wrote before the publisher split it up into smaller volumes." She opened the book and browsed through the pages, "It is about volumes 1-5, though it is extra special because it is unedited and unchanged, just the way the author intended it to be written."

I was aghast, "Original copies by the author? How is that even possible, she is already so old! Never staying in one spot for too long."

"Oh, have you read them?" Iphla asked.

"Yes, oh my gods, yes! I love the way she rights the stories many would not be able to see, I wish I could follow her to see everyplace she has touched."

Iphla brightened up even more, "I am so happy that I met another who has read her work, the truth is, I grew up with her in a country that no longer exists, Balta, on the Island of Namm."

Immediately my fondness of this woman went up, "This is amazing, do you mind telling me about her!"

"Yes, I would love to!"

~+~

We grew up in Abaris, a coastal city in the north of the Island of Namm, Frieden and I. Her house was on the coast by a giant rock that we constantly climbed. Every day I would barge into her house, "Frieden, Frieden!" I knocked on the door furiously, at the time I was 9 and she had just turned 10, we always got into trouble together.

"Iphla!" Frieden ran out the door, "Quick! Come on Come on, before my mother comes.

I nodded and ran with her into town, "Where are we going now?"

"Travellers from the mainland came! they are in a tavern with Old Man Rus," She jumped with excitement.

The city lay in a crescent bay with buildings along the mountains, the tavern was atop the tallest point where most travelers visited, "We have to get there before they move on!" I sped up with Frieden right behind me.

We reached the tavern out of breath, we huffed outside while we heard laughter through the cracked door. We walked in and immediately were noticed, "Well if it isn't the little rats sneaking in again." Vark, a merchant, called out to us, "Do your parents know, rats?"

"Shut up Vark, worry about your shitty merchandise before a bunch of kids," Frieden called back. Frieden was always notorious for being an impolite child, never respecting the authority in seniority. Snickering at us, we walked to the table in the back with Rus and the unfamiliar faces.

"Ah you made it little ones," Rus an old man and dwarf with an appetite for adventure said to us. We eyed the adventures looking for the okay from them, good impressions are important when talking to men and women who have seen it all.

"It's fine, Rus has told us about you." He smiled at us, we sat down with Rus, Frieden pulled out her journal, "My name is Mars Cobal." Mars was a cool-headed man, he dressed in layers of leather shirts with a mantle cloak to top it off. "I am a Magus."

The man next to him spoke, "Phyx Gyr, a paladin," just like his title he was a gorgeous man, but a very soft-spoken one.

The women in the corner spoke up, "Forgive him, he doesn't talk much." She smiled, "I am Lola, a Pathfinder." She had short bob hair with a headband to pull it back. She wore fewer layers but still had armor covering her whole body, most of it leather, she needed to be fast after all as a Pathfinder.

Frieden took notes down in her journal, " I am Frieden Mer! The best storyteller around and future adventurer!" The three adventurers talked while Frieden was engrossed with capturing every word they spoke, she would stop and have them elaborate, ask for specific names of people and places. She had been doing it for 2 years now, while I followed her around absorbing all I could.

A few hours had eventually passed and the adventurer said, "We came to Balta to find Sol's Venom, we were tasked by our country actually." The whole bar went silent, most of the patrons either worked for the country or had close connections to them so they knew what the adventurer's words meant.

Sol's Venom was a mineral that melted in high temperatures, but what its effects were used for when consumed in those conditions was what many countries were after, the creation of Warlocks. Only high-level Maguses or Spellweavers could handle such might of raw strength. At the time a large vein of Sol's Venom had been found, it was supposed to be a national guarded secret, but other countries across the channel found out.

Even Rus's mood turned dark, "Lads it's best you head home now," Rus said to us with a stern voice.

"Rus what do yo-," Frieden was cut off.

"Now," Rus was quiet but his deep dwarven voice was all too scary now. Rus was the only one Frieden would listen to, so with that, we left the tavern.

Once out I asked Frieden, "What do you think happened in the Tavern?"

Frieden was silent, staring out into the night sky. She always dreamed of learning everything and leaving this place. She hated when everyone in town treated her like a child, even though she was. Almost as if possessed, she walked back home silently, I followed behind her with my head down.

Days passed after that and so did life, I checked without Frieden to see if they were still here, but they had left. Rus wouldn't talk to me about it, and no one else in the tavern either. More days passed until a quiet moody day. Bells rang through the city, I looked out the door to see anything but I couldn't. I rushed to Frieden's house only to see her standing, looking out over the ocean. I walked up behind her to see the worst day of my life unfold. Warships in the hundreds dotted the ocean, some our's some the others. Soldiers over the city's hills poured into the beach.

I looked over the soldiers to see them coming in from all directions, disorganized, caught off guard, people in the city were running and screaming. I tried to pull Frieden's arm, I wanted to leave but she wouldn't budge. I looked to where she was looking and I saw a man clad in velvet armor and a long robe. A helmet with feathers adorned on it.

Frieden smiled, "He is here."

I was still confused about who this majestical person was, "Who is he, Frieden?"

"He is Biznur the Mindful, our country's only warlock." She was entranced with what was happening, meanwhile, I was too scared to move.

Off in the distance across the channel, a light blinked. A few seconds later an ice bridge appeared crashing into the beach, the Earth rattled, soldiers were knocked off their feet. Frieden help onto a rock and I held onto her. The other nation's ships began to approach more and more and our ships slowly began to dwindle.

"Frieden we have to leave." I tried tugging on her shirt.

"No Iphla!" She pushed me away, "I will be here to record history!"

Not knowing what to do I stayed with her, she was a sister to me so I trusted her and didn't want to leave her alone.

An Icy figure moved down the bridge towards us. Frieden's eye lit up, "Another Warlock!"

The warlock appeared to be female, she moved down the ice as if skating in the air. Biznur began to launch his attacks, he attacked using the force of the world, he could pick up any object and summon any beast. The world around his feet began to crack as he formed two large boulders and tossed them at his assailant. The other warlock created ice and destroyed the boulders with ease. But Biznur used it as a distraction to vanish and appear in front of her. Soon a full-out battle between warlocks broke out in the sea, the force of the world versus the force of the high mountains.

Attack after attack, waves sent out, ice crashing into the shore and ships. The world felt dreadful right then and there. A piece of ice got flung in our direction, "Ahhh!" Frieden picked me up and jumped off the large rock onto the beach. "Let's move up!"

We began to run for the city while the battle raged on behind us. We ran and ran I heard names calling for us, "Frieden! Iphla!" It was our parents, I let go of Frieden and ran faster towards the sound. But a large boom behind us caused me to stop and look. A bolt of ice mage was sent flying in our direction, I braced for cover under a ledge with Frieden. Large sounds of crashing tore our eardrums. But soon it was over, we came out of the ledge and went to look.

What we saw was pure devastation, the city was completely destroyed. Not caring about anything else I ran into the city looking for my parents. "Mom! Dad!" I looked and looked until I found their bodies hanging from ice spikes. I fell to my knees, I couldn't cry, everything was so unbelievable to me. I heard Frieden yell behind me, "Get going now!" She grabbed me by the collar and pulled me up the hills. From behind, I could see the other's warlock, no Biznur insight.

Eventually, we made it out of the city, Frieden took me to a cliff overlooking the ocean. I began to cry hysterically. Frieden continued to look over the sea, a few tears dripped down her face. The sunset came with hundreds of warships docking at the beach, soldiers swarmed the area. I lay on Frieden's lap trying to forget what I saw. A voice sounded behind us, "You survived!"

We turned around to see Mars and the other adventurers from before there. Hate swelled up, "Monsters!" I may not have understood everything at the time, but I did know that they had something to do with this.

Frieden sat still, "What do you want." She said with no emotion.

"What happened to all that energy?" Lola asked, she smiled sarcastically.

Frieden ignoring them looked away back at the sea.

"Now now," Mars spoke, "We've come to make a proposition, we want to you to travel with us, and write about the stories." He scratched his chin, "Think of it as an apology." He smiled at us.

Frieden paused her breathing, she looked back at him. Making up her mind she stood up and dragged me across to them, "What?! No Frieden I don't want to go with them!" I kicked and flailed my other arm until I finally bit her hand and she tossed me away.

"Fine Iphla, but I will leave you then!" She stared at me.

"Iphla they had something to do wit-"

"Who cares now!" She yelled, "They invaded, our parents are dead! I am not going to stop now though, I still have so much to live for. Our life will go on no matter what! I will live it!"

I lay there crying as Frieden left me with the adventurers. I wandered for days and days until I happened by an injured person, it was Biznur, he wasn't dead. He took me across the channel and over into Zeke. Time passed, I grew up, got educated, and married.

One year while my husband was out, a figure came into the city. She was well dressed and looked like an experienced adventurer. She walked down the street and drew a crowd wherever she went. She asked around and said she was looking for a woman named Iphla. The residents pointed them toward my house. I was cleaning outside putting up laundry when she approached me. "Hello, Iphla."

I met her eyes and immediately knew who she was. Years have passed since that day and I already came to terms with the result of it, but I always wanted to see Frieden again, I wanted to know she still remembered me. Without making a sound I walked up to her and hugged her, "Welcome back," I said.

That day she apologized for everything, she told me about how she always regretted that decision to leave me there, but not the decision to go with the adventurers. I understood why she wanted to live her dream and at the time as a child, she didn't think of consequences. She only took action and pushed forward, any weight was left behind, any wall was knocked over.

A few days later she left, back on her adventures but left her journal, The Journal of a Thousand Journeys.

My sister from another mother keeps moving forward and will until she dies document any story she finds.