Identity Chapter 12

D R A K

It was midday when Drak finally woke up. His head was spinning so fast it felt like it was actually running in circles—or at least he thought it was. He was actually still sick enough to projectile vomit one more time on his way to the spot by the creek where he should’ve met his friends hours ago. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the turn of events. Something big was about to begin, and from what he could tell, he had some part to play—even if that part was merely to stay alive.

The idea of leaving his parents should’ve held some appeal. He didn’t want people to know who he was. He wanted to get out of the shadow of being the youngest child of twenty, but he had never actually considered what having no family would mean and what full detachment would bring, and now he was faced with never seeing them again. So why wasn’t he elated; happy to build his own path? He’d finally gotten what he prayed to the gods for all his life: the chance to be his own man and not heir to the throne and to not be the good queen’s son—to just be Drak.

Identity Chapter 11

“No, class. We will not be hurling anything at him today.” 

“Why not?”

Shalini rolled her eyes. Clearly, using Lynton continuously for spell target practice was a bad choice. Not only were the girls fawning over him, but the boys kept harassing him for men stories. But as long as he didn’t disrupt the class, she was willing to let him tag along. Why he found her classes so much fun having finished his studies was far beyond her.

“Why must you always play with my hair?”

“Am I bothering you, Drak?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then. So you want an apple?” Drak responded by threatening to blow him up. How the second blowing up of the apple was so much worse than the first time, he’ll never know. Tilal was also playing with his hair. She was only half Dani but still found it fascinating, as her hair wasn’t orange or locked.

Identity Chapter 10

C H E R A N N

“This scorching desert heat is unbearable.”

It was a week since they reached a point in temperature change into Mironi and Cherann’s brother was crying like a baby. She found this quite amusing. His rantings were a pleasant addition to her usual solitary thoughts when travelling. She was a chronic overthinker but had learned to wield her mind to better purposes over time. Dent seemed to be able to find something to say about anything—all in the form of complaints. But she could see most of them for what they were: ways to hide his genuine interest in the things she was teaching him.

“We could practice your Mironian again. That would distract you from the heat.”

“Stressing over learning a new language is supposed to be a better option.” Cherann reserved her laugh and waited in silence for what she knew was coming.

Identity Chapter 9

S H A L I N I

They veered off about three streets in toward Pilal. There was no real goal in mind: just mindless wondering. It was a hot day as always in Mironi, so they decided a mug of chilled ale was desirable—or rather, Shalini just didn’t feel like walking anymore. The two of them settled in at a bar and Shalini found herself just entranced while looking at him. He’d left her to go gamble at a card table with some locals. They apparently loved him just as much as she did. He had a way with people. He was inherently good in a way that even she found hard to be sometimes. And he wasn’t afraid that she could destroy him. That was always a good sign.

Identity Chapter 8

“Class, this is Lynton from Keldon. He will be staying with me, for—well, I’m not sure. But with me he’ll be. And today he’ll be watching how amazing you behave in my class.” That brought a brief roar of laughter. Though she was pleased, they were generally quite disciplined; it seemed this discipline came along with loads of spontaneous questions totally unrelated to class.

“You’re from Keldon?” Janon asked. This guy had all the size of the mountain people without being too much. A fear that he had. Janon wanted to be big but not crazy-muscular like his people were.

“Yes. The province of Zar.”

“You’re a mix.”

“I’m part Mironian.”

Identity Chapter 7

S H A L I N I

Shalini was pleased with the message that all was well and even more with the messages she received from Tork on how well she commanded the situation. They did come out with a few broken limbs and some serious cuts but nothing that wouldn’t heal over time or couldn’t be healed immediately. At least they were all alive.

She was pleased to be waking up next to an increasingly interesting man: Lynton. He was 150 years her junior but still amazing. He had a heart bigger than anyone she knew—and at such a young age, she thought. It even took her a while to finally encompass that amount of care for all things good in the realm, yet he did it so effortlessly. She was impressed. He was only just waking up, and she was ready to bathe.

Identity Chapter 6

C H E R A N N

“You didn’t waste any time packing,” Cherann said to her brother. “No. I said goodbye to dad. The neighbour will take care of him. He doesn’t look so good. I feel bad about leaving him.”

“You shouldn’t. It was his idea.”

“His?”

“Yes. You only just went eighteen. He knows you have this passion for exploring the world, and he didn’t want you to wait until he died to do so. He said if he goes when you’re gone, at least he’ll die knowing his baby got to experience their dream.”

“He didn’t tell me that.”

Identity Chapter 5

C O R T E L L

Cortell was spending his second night home, and as he looked out over the green land of Keldon, he actually felt something he didn’t feel too often: peace. This land had that effect on everyone, which was why he was appalled at the idea of travelling for months. Why leave home, he wondered, when home was providing all that he needed? His brother was such an insufferable good spirit sometimes. Still, he was his brother: the only one out of all the people he knew that treated him like he was normal.

Identity Chapter 4

S H A L I N I

Shalini watched as her students left: glad to see that none of them cared a single bit that they had missed lunch. Regardless of the heat in the late afternoon, she had to admit that there was something peaceful about Mironi. Builders were building everywhere, so they were mostly talking amongst themselves, and the booksellers and shop owners were much more laid back than in any other province. It had to have something to do with the heat; one couldn’t be too overexcited with all the heat that was in Mironi.

Still, this was her home—sandstorms, heat and all. As she approached her favourite pub on Magicians Way—a rather boring name for a street if ever there was one—she came across something that she hadn’t seen in a while. What disturbed her more was that everyone was too busy to help. And the Alliance—what happened to the members that always roamed the free land? Where were they? Instinctively, she sent out a wave of magic that pushed the magician, a Mironian, off the peasant boy he was assaulting.

Identity Chapter 3

Janon was wondering how the apple exploding boy passed any of the tests to get in. How did the teacher know he would fail so miserably at the task? Why did she embarrass him? Surely there were other students that couldn’t do it.

“You coming? You can’t stay in your seat forever,” Janon said. The boy who exploded the apple liked Janon. He was tall for age eleven, a Keldonian, attractive and had a smile larger than the sea. He got up and followed Janon out of the class.

“Janon. And your name?”

“Drak.”

Janon saw the shocked look on the boy’s face and smiled. Clearly, he had no intention of telling Janon his name—well, at least not his real one. If he had remained cool, it would’ve been less obvious.

Identity Chapter 2

S H A L I N I

Shalini woke up to another amazing morning. The birds were singing, and the morning dew was enveloping her as she opened her window. Life was good for the moment. She went to the baths and filled her bathtub with the usual scents, with a twist of lavender and honey. Those were the constants out of whatever combination she had for the day. Afterwards, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was pleased. She was almost as slim as the Mironians but had some of the voluptuousness of the Dani people. So she was perfect in the fact that she didn’t really fit a category. Some mixed races didn’t turn out so well. But she thanked the gods her dear mother married a Dani and created her— may Salinor watch over her soul. Her mother had died some years ago of an illness magic, and natural cures could not fix. She was with child at the time and losing both her mother and the child sent her father into madness, so he killed himself. But life went on. She’d lived many, many years, as magicians do, and was now settled in a job she thought best to help the realm of Salinor.

Identity: Chapter 1

C H E R A N N

Another beautiful day in paradise.
It feels good to be Atorathian.

These were just some of the thoughts going through Cherann’s mind as she walked through the streets of Nera. She was a soldier of good ranking in the Keldonian army and hadn’t been on her home soil in a few months. She was looking forward to the solitude of the main city; maybe going through the garden maze at Leanor’s temple. Just taking in as much of the land in which she was raised as possible.