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Hard Water

Sara, Varian and Mathias entered the city with no difficulty. Unlike Kaa it had no outer wall. As a thriving port it had plenty of reinforcements within the city to ward off any dangers, and there were no real enemies to the city anyway. Life seemed peaceful and for the most part tranquil.

At least until the travellers reaches the docking quarter.

By the docks there was pandemonium and chaos as enormous hauls of fish and other seafood was transported through the streets and obnoxious sailors, greedy merchants, and hefty prostitutes made their rounds.

"We shouldn't stay for long," began Mathias, "The docks of this city are not known for their polite hospitality."

"We have to sign on to a boat making its way for the next island," said Sara, unnerved but not overly turned off this place. "What's its name Varian, you've got the map."

"The island is called Benedycine after the sea it's surrounded by apparently. We're headed for the nearest port city there; Port Mjern."

"Right, then let's find a boat, sign on, and then get ourselves a room."

The place they wanted shouldn't have been hard to find, but Mathias' rugged distrust and Sara's often too-quick language made navigating the sailors' often incorrect directions much more difficult. It was at least an hour before they managed to locate a suitable dock master. When they finally managed to convince the swarthy man to allow them passage on his ship across the Benedycine Sea they left the docking quarter. And they couldn't believe the difference! Every part of the city seemed to turn around. The people weren't in a hurry anywhere, and the streets, though filled and in some places crowded, the tangible aura of distaste as with the docks simply wasn't there.

It was time for Sara to let go of some of her inhibitions. She had forgot how much she enjoyed the sights and sounds of a big city. Or at least one where she wasn't working to build its foundations. She had to really think hard to remember the last really great city she had visited. It must have been Girard, the place where she had been treated to food and quarters in the palace of the Baron. She had to remind herself though that it was Varian's doing that got them there, and got them out actually. If it weren't for his increasingly powerful powers they may still be locked away in Girard's dungeons.

It had been a beautiful city though, and still more luxurious than Salleen ever would be. But still she couldn't help but be excited about her travels continuing again after so long. She had to contemplate for a while though, if she hadn't found Varian in Kaa, would she have settled down with Mathias? Would she have made Kaa her home? She couldn't be completely sure, and if what she had witnessed in the forest some days ago was any indication of the man Mathias truly was she wondered if she wouldn't have simply left and started a whole new adventure to the other side of the world like she had more than two years before.

They visited several shops along the way to an inn. By midday they passed by an outfitter where Sara took both of the boys in to have them buy a change of clothes for the road. Varian had stayed simple, taking a button-down cotton shirt with short sleeves, tan leather pants with a matching vest and knee high walking boots. He had also picked up a rimmed hat, which made Sara laugh with glee when she saw it. She said it made him look distinguished but really, she couldn't help but think how adorable it made him look; like a child playing dress-up. Mathias stayed relatively close to Varian in style, but had bought a long, dark, hooded cloak that came around his front and tied with a drawstring under his neck. It hid his weapon away nicely for he had noted earlier that no one in this town carried a weapon, and if they did they were part of the armed guard of the city. He didn't want that kind of attention here, so opted to keep himself as low key as he could. Sara couldn't help but think Mathias had made himself look a little intimidating. He was after all quite tall, and wearing dark colours made him seem like he was trying to hide. She didn't say anything though.

When finally they came to an inn it the sun was already waning. The sky was all lit up in orange and red, what clouds there were seemed highlighted and magnified. There was a cool breeze coming off the water to the south and every time it picked up Sara would turn around to face it, taking in the smells and feelings before she left. Sometimes she regretted not staying in one place for longer than it took to leave, but on the other hand she had spent an entire year in Kaa, not 12 days from Salleen. She wanted off this island and back on her original road.

During one of her "turn arounds" in the street Varian paused beside Mathias a few steps away and said, "She's beautiful isn't she?"

Mathias was still a little angry about their encounter in the forest clearing, but when he looked at Varian, Varian wasn't looking back, entranced by Sara.

Mathias turned back to gaze upon Sara as well, letting some of his anger subside. "Yes," was his answer.

"She doesn't get many chances to pause and look at the sky like that you know. She hasn't at least, as far as I know."

Mathias looked back at Varian for any hint of meaning to that. Finding none he simply asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Varian smirked a little, remembering the Sara he knew from two years ago. She was stubborn, harsh, and sensuous; everything he had loved about her then had seemed to leave over the course of a year. He remembered when she had rescued him from the innkeeper and his wife, how he had been so beaten and torn, and then how she had helped aid him back to health and how she had taken him on her journey, even though he never asked to go, like they were destined to go together and that was all. She seemed so full of life then, like she had something to prove and that she was going to prove it to everyone she ever met. Even when Miria had joined them and Sara put up such a fuss. He remembered watching her subtle changes, how she began to copy him when she talked, how she had slowly lost her sharp tongue in favour of a pleasant, more thoughtful tone, she even started walking differently, from a hard stalk to a calm gentility. Varian had watched all of that, even with his bad eye he knew she was doing it. He had had such a profound impact on her life so far, and then there was a year where she wasn't there, but he didn't even realize it. It made him sad and sick to think that he had missed so much changes in Sara, so many in fact that she wasn't the woman he had fallen in love with. She wasn't the woman he had held close to his heart and whispered into her ear promises and nothings. She was a separate entity, someone who had grown apart from him without realizing it and then become her own woman. She no longer needed to be with him to be happy.

And vice versa.

It made him feel sick.

"Sara," Mathias called, interrupting her reverie, "Come on, we should get a room. We have to be up at the crack of dawn if we want to catch the boat tomorrow."

"O-oh, yes, right." She said forgetfully. She had lost all train of thought, or lack thereof as reality came crashing back to her.

In one fell swoop Mathias had completely ruined Sara's first chance in so long to simply look at how the sky seems different from the other side of the world. Varian felt the emotions trying to get the better of him. He wanted to throw Mathias across the city with his powers, then lift him back into the air and drop his bloody body down to earth and bury it under so much rubble. His fists clenched and his breathing became too steady. But then Sara passed him by and brushed her hand, her soft, delicate hand across his shoulder and he felt everything wash away.

She was still the one he was in love with. No amount of time apart would ever change that.

The next morning came too quickly for Sara, who despite all warnings to go to bed early had stayed up to watch as the stars came out and trace lines from them to the moon and back. Varian was the one up first, and he brought breakfast to the room just before dawn. After waking Mathias, and fighting the covers away from Sara, they had a quick breakfast and left in a whirlwind. At the crack of dawn exactly they arrived at the correct dock and watched as the captain tapped his fingers impatiently against the bow of the ship waiting for them.

"Yer lucky I have the amount of patience I do young'uns, else I'd be out of eye's view by now."

"And you're lucky you didn't set sail, or I'd swim out there myself and make you into the head piece old man!" said Sara defiantly, much to the man's surprise. He wasn't used to being challenged on his own ship, let alone by a girl.

"Fah! Ye paid up front; I'd not leave you. 'Tis against my honour to leave a lady stranded such."

Pleased with his response Sara backed away and smiled at the captain. They both knew they were joking. It was just more fun to make a scene out of it.

After sharing a chuckled the captain yelled out to his men to set sail. They caught a perfect northerly wind and began their creep out of the docks. Sara, ever the child, rushed to the stern of the ship and watched as the people on the docks and in the streets became smaller and smaller. She had like Salleen, even if it was only in passing. She left with fond memories of this island. Time to make more on the next. Smiling and proud, Sara finally turned away when the city fell out of view and caught Varian and Mathias talking to each other a ways away to the left, nearer the front of the ship.

Sara had caught herself thinking a lot about her relationships with Varian and Mathias. The previous night looking at the stars. It seemed to her like she was simply taking turns with each of them. Varian for one year, Mathias for the next. She felt like she was being purposely pulled in both directions and had to make the life altering choice to have one or the other. The truth was, she had fallen for both of them during the time she had spent with them. As soon as she saw Varian she knew she couldn't have left him behind. Not only was he incapable of taking care of himself, she was the only one she trusted to see him through it. At first it was like dependency, and for the most part she had enjoyed taking care of him, watching him grow into himself. She liked the feeling of not being the subservient one, of being allowed to grow. Varian had given her freedom to be herself, to speak out and be loud and stubborn and...

But she had to keep thinking about it. Was she really all that stubborn? Was she really all that strong? She had travelled to the other side of the world with no help, of course she was strong. She was going to see everything she possibly could and return home a new person. She had her family waiting for her back home. She had a home waiting for her, somewhere that she was missed. She wondered though, if she had gone on living in Kaa, would she have been missed by Varian? The thought made her a little sad. Would she have even bothered to travel all this way if it weren't for Varian? She wasn't strong. She always had Varian to help her. She didn't need her weapon; it was just a costly walking stick. Varian was always there watching over her, keeping her safe. Even when she didn't like it she would always fall back on Varian when things got too tough.

That alone said volumes. A tear began to trickle down her cheek, but she didn't move to wipe it away. Mathias was a good man. But he was no Varian. Mathias had always been there to cheer her up, but he wasn't someone she would confide in, he wasn't a shoulder to cry on; he heard her but wasn't completely involved. He had his own thoughts, his own mind. He said he loved her, or at least she knew he wanted to say it, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it, because she had experienced true love. And she knew that that love was for Varian. If it hadn't been for Varian her journey would have failed, for she wasn't strong enough; she needed help, his help.

Despite herself, she would never refuse it either.

The voyage began to take its toll on the three travellers after the middle of the fourth day at sea. The land was far behind them, and all around for miles upon hundreds of miles was the open water. They were lucky to have left port when they did; they had caught a good wind south, guiding them quickly towards their destination.

It wasn't until the fifth day that the captain had some bad news.

"We're off course," he said simply, "Our aim is to be here," and he pointed to a place on the map, "But we've somehow ended up here by my best thinking. My helmsman's said he 'asn't made a change to direction for days, and the current westward isn't strong enough to pull us out this far."

"Then why have we drifted so far away?" asked Varian, beginning to sense something odd about the situation.

"Yer guess is as good as mine young'un. We've had perfect weather and full sails for the whole trip, and the water seems with us as well."

Then a thought occurred, Varian began to pour over the maps, which charted the currents of the water in this part of the world. East west. But the waters were dragging them south, more to the east.

"Captain, you said the waters were with us well. What do you mean?"

"Well the waters are... with us. They've been flowing in our direction."

"But they should be flowing west, with the current. Look."

"Some captain to not know the sway of the current," snorted Mathias defiantly.

"Hold yer tongue boy. Who's the one that agreed to take you all onboard anyway?"

"Something's pulling us. South..." said Varian, looking at the map again. There was something, a dot, in the general direction they were travelling.

"Captain, what's this?"

"An island by my best guess. Never been, never sailed out there afore."

"How far away is it?"

The captain looked at the map, peered for a short while at their location and the island. "A day, maybe a little more. It's not far. If the seas keep with us we make it sooner than that. This ship's never travelled so swiftly."

With that Varian left the captain's room, followed by Sara, who instantly knew something was suspicious with Varian the moment he started asking questions. She followed him for a short while to the top deck, where the helmsman was dutifully steering as best he could, following the waves and the mental compass in his head. He nodded to the two of them but paid no real attention.

"You may get off with fooling others Varian, but I know better. What's your intuition telling you this time?" started Sara quickly. "I've been with you too long for you to keep your worries a secret."

"Something's drawing us to that island. And it's something I can't see, nor feel. It's something intangible, like a presence. I don't recognize it."

"Stop with your babbling Varian! Start making sense! Is this presence drawing the whole ocean to it?"

"I'm not sure, but how else can you explain the water moving against the current? We should be travelling more to the southwest. Yet we're moving more swiftly to the south. And the wind in this area doesn't blow south; it blows with the current, east west. Whatever it is is controlling the weather to draw this ship to it."

"What kind of thing could do that though?"

"I think I might have an idea," said Varian pensively, holding out his open palm on the railing of the deck. He closed his eyes and began to focus his sight far away, to the south. Indeed the wind and water was drawing them closer, but as soon as he was able to see the island in his mind's eye the vision vanished and all he heard was the word "soon."

His eyes flashed open, and Sara, who had been watching the whole spectacle jumped back in shock as she watched him snap back as if from a deep sleep.

"Varian, what happened? What did you do?"

"Soon..." was all he could find in himself to reply. Somehow the word was the most frightening thing he had ever heard. He went to his room and slept restlessly the rest of the day.

Sara woke that night to yelling all about the ship. She was quick to slip on her clothes and meet outside the cabin, only to be greeted by the chaos that was the crew. Men were scrambling up and down the rigging, trying to fill the sails; one was even desperately trying to wave the hundreds of pounds of cloth by hand. The captain was up at the helm barking out orders at everyone he could lay eyes on, but to no avail. The sailors were panic stricken and completely useless.

He was the first person Sara came to.

"What's going on here captain? What's wrong with everyone?"

"Ah, girl, it's the sea. It's stopped. Like it's frozen over! Ain't a wave ta be seen for miles, and we ain't movin' either!"

Amidst the chaos, Sara looked out towards the figurehead. Standing there was Varian, seemingly calm, his hair gleaming in the moonlight of the cloudless night. She ran to him, dodging and weaving through the sailors and when she came to his side, panting, she could see a look of sheer horror cross his face. His bad eye was open, and for a moment she could feel the pupiless orb glance at her and look away. He was staring at an island. The same island that they had been sailing past that afternoon, yet it seemed no farther away than it had been several hours ago. No, it was closer.

"Soon..." Varian said ominously, and without a second word he leapt from the ship and landed perfectly on the water, standing on it as though it were as hard as stone. He barely even stopped to set his footing before he was off towards the faint outline of land in the distance.

"Varian!" yelped Sara, but if he could hear her he made no response.

She rushed back to the cabins and whipped the door of her room open, grabbing her staff. Then she flipped Mathias' hammock, sprawling him out on the floor.

He hit his head on the wood planks and was up again in a shot, baring his teeth and holding his fists up in defence. When he saw it was Sara though, and that she was holding her weapon he instantly knew something was amiss.

"What's...?" he began, but she was out the door before he could even finish the sentence. He too grabbed his sword and was after her, shirtless, into the night.

But when she came to the side of the ship and leapt over his eyes widened in fear and without even thinking about it, jumped in after her, bracing his legs as though he were planning on a splash.

Sara darted off, standing full upon the sea, but Mathias, just not quick enough to change his footing, slapped down on the hard water with all his weight. He bashed his knees, but was still able to run. And run he did. He was after her as fast as he could carry himself, more concerned with Sara's fear than with the fact that they were running atop the waves.

Sara and Mathias caught up to Varian on the shore, as he stared with his one white eye up and down the island, feeling the presence of everything.

They were breathless, and when they came to a full stop nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

"What is the meaning of this Varian?" gasped Mathias, his sword down on the sand beside him. "Water like stone, a ship flowing against the currents, wind paralysed?"

"And none of this 'soon' shit!" added Sara sourly, "I want an explanation or you'll be swimming home through that hard water, you hear me!" She didn't even realize when she said it, but by home, she was referring to her home back in Galvest.

"Someone's here, calling me. A power enough to bend the wind, freeze water. There is someone here looking for me. Even now I can feel a presence in my head, and everywhere on this island." His voice took on a worried, almost fearful tone at that moment, "An evil intent. An evil presence! It swallows the very sand we walk on; hangs like a mist on the water." He grasped his head as an immense wave of pain and nausea poured through his body. He collapsed to his knees, yelling at the top of his lungs, his bad eye open, glinting like pearl in the moonlight. But something was different now, Sara noticed. Even as she looked on in horror, as only she could see from experience with his pains, it wasn't just his bad eye that glowed white. Both were pale and misty, glowing, almost ghostly. Suddenly he stopped, the pain gone, colour returning to him but not to his eyes. He began to walk, speaking slowly as though trying to make every word precisely clear.

"It is dangerous."

Mathias stood shocked for a moment, for he had never before seen Varian like this, nor had any experience with someone whose pains were so intense yet so erratic.

But Sara was quick to follow behind him, "That's never stopped me before has it? Now maybe I'll be the one getting you out of trouble."

"You speak as though this has happened before. Sara? What is this?" asked Mathias.

Sara paused a while before she spoke, putting some thought behind whether to tell him everything now, or letting him find out on his own, a prospect that looked far more likely to happen anyway. "You'll have to follow me to know for sure. I'm not actually sure myself. This is the worst he's ever been."

Somehow those words frightened Sara more than anything else.

After trudging through thick brush and damp forest for a short while, Varian stood still, Sara and Mathias behind him a good twenty paces, Sara keeping her distance more out of caution than fear anymore.

Varian waved his hand and an entire screen of vines and plant growth was wiped away, to the amazement and shock of Mathias in the rear. It revealed a large stone door, intricate runes carved into the block. Varian traced lines in the air that matched precisely a few specific runes on the door and it began to quake, sliding to the side and jolting when it fully opened. Varian walked forward.

Sara followed much closer now, but Mathias would have no part of it. He called loudly to Sara as she disappeared into the dark corridor.

"You can go on ahead, but Varian's problems are not my concern." Then he added indignantly, "I'll be in the boat, waiting for you to come back." And then after a few moments when Sara still had not come out he yelled her name and stared into the darkness.

Varian was of one mind as he pressed forward. He would not respond to anything Sara said and he seemed to know his way through the labyrinthine passages as though he had known them all his life. Both his eyes had opened, but they shone with a pale blue radiance and only the whites were visible. Sara stayed what she believed to be a safe distance from Varian, as she was wary of what might be around the next corner.

The walls were all of worked stone, not carved, but laid brick. Sara deduced that this was because the island was laid on top of the original building and not actually underground. Still, the dampness of the stonework made the air chilly and thick, and everywhere the scent of moss and growing things hung like a curtain.

After a few more minutes of methodical pacing, Varian stopped in a large antechamber, as wide as it was long with a great ceiling at least 3 stories tall. Sara came to the room a moment later and was struck with awe at the place. The trees had broken through the roof and their roots clung to the rock of the ceiling and clambered down the walls like serpents. They must have been in the very centre of the island by now, and from the way Varian was acting, whatever he was looking for was somewhere close.

Suddenly Sara could make out quiet footsteps from an adjacent hallway at the far left of the antechamber. She couldn't make out what it was, but it was humanoid in shape, and seemed calm, too calm, for its place here.

"So you've finally come Varian, Number Three. I've been waiting for such a long time."

"Who are you?" asked Varian, coming back to his senses, his eyes dimming and true emotion returning to his visage.

"I am your brother, Varian, Number Three, but you already knew that. You just didn't realize it." The figure continued its approach, and with a wave of its hand several torches sprung to life and cast their orange glow into the room. The thing approaching Varian slowly was a human, the same height, the same build, but he walked unaided, and his eyes were open wide, as if taking in the world and all its wonders all at once.

"I have no brother," replied Varian.

The human laughed flippantly, "No?" his voice was a series of breaking tones and pitches all meshed into one, on the verge of collapse and yet harmonious and symbiotic. "Then it won't be so hard to do this!" screamed the human, thrusting his hand forward, sending a shockwave of mental energy towards Varian and throwing him against the wall above the entrance of the antechamber.

Varian fell to the floor and gasped for air to fill his empty lungs. His eyes were open again this time full of fear, and Sara fell away back into the dim hallway, suddenly struck with terror at the supposed relative but unable to pull her eyes away.

"Come now Number Three. Surely you've learned to handle your powers better than that. Even I should have trouble doing THIS to you!" He expended his hand towards Varian and picked up the wolf's still gasping frame and hurled it to the side. "All my life I wanted to get rid of you! And all my life all I could do was passively watch and hinder your efforts. Finally, you confront me and I will have my revenge! You will die by my hand Varian! And there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Suddenly the human flew across the room and hit the back wall with an audible thud. Varian stood, his arm extended before him and his eyes open wide and glowing once again.

He said nothing, but began a slow march forward, maintaining a powerful mental grip on the human who had assaulted him.

The man stood, seemingly unaffected by Varian's mental energy. He threw a bolt of his own at Varian, who deflected it easily, and responded in kind. The human caught the bolt and crushed it in his palm, blue sparks evaporating into the air like candles suddenly being snuffed out.

"Finally, after so long. I've become so bored. Fight Varian, Number Three. Fight for your life before I wipe it out!"

The two of them began an intense show of psychic prowess, neither giving into the other while reflecting off of the walls and the ceiling like the sparks of electricity that they used as weapons. Sara peeked her head out when she heard the clash of energy subside for a moment and saw the two of them standing facing each other, winded but unyielding. The human grinned maliciously and launched an attack at Varian, only to deflect himself toward Sara at the last moment. Sara didn't even have time to react before she had an unimaginably strong hand around her neck, gripping her tightly and holding her above the ground. She grasped the fingers to pry them off but to no avail, and she kicked wildly for the leverage that wasn't there. She began to choke, and tears rolled down her cheeks as the fear of death began to roil in her mind.

"Varian!" she managed to whisper.

Varian stood perfectly still, but in a posture ready to advance in a split second.

"I've found your weakness Varian, Number Three. This woman should prove a nice distraction. Lower your defences, lest I crush this girl's windpipe like the fragile piece of flesh that it is." His voice lowered distinctly and took on a tone foreboding. He began to squeeze Sara's neck so that she whimpered and hacked for breath. Her eyes began to bulge and she took one last look at Varian, only to see that he had closed his bad eye and the visible energy surrounding him disappeared. The human laughed triumphantly and thrust a menacing hand towards Varian's vulnerable frame, at the same time dropping Sara to the side to gasp for the air she so desperately needed. The human tore into Varian like a ravenous beast, flinging him across the room like a rag doll and laying into him with every bit of energy that he had. Varian landed in front of Sara beaten and bloodied, wheezing through a broken nose and past broken ribs and the searing pain emanating from both his legs and an arm.

Sara crawled to his side, afraid to touch him lest she cause him more pain. But she draped herself over him, wanting if anything to shield him from one attack, and spare him an ounce of the pain he had already been inflicted.

"So the girl has a weakness for you. Varian, Number Three, you lady-killer. Don't' worry, if it's together you want to die, then who am I to deny you your final wish?"

The human raised a hand, and a long crackling ray of electricity came into existence above Sara and Varian, poised to sink through the two of them at once. The human raised his hand for the final strike when out of no where an old voice boomed through the antechamber and the mental energy surrounding the human vanished noticeably, even to Sara.

"Enough!" came the voice, originating from the far left corridor. "What is the meaning of this? Two, get back! Leave them alone! Or I'll have more than just your head!" The human backed off, his powers having all but vanished.

An old man replaced the view in Sara's waning vision, and as he bent down to inspect her she collapsed into darkness.