The Girl Born of Smoke (6 page)

“With this huge rift between wizards and
non-wizards, it was no big surprise when a war started. The people
mobbed the academy, demanding the wizards stop the terrible drought
ravaging the land at the time. People were starving and dying in
unbelievable numbers. True, the wizards could have easily stopped
the deaths, but these were the people who cast them out of society.
When they refused, the war broke out.

“The people attacked and killed several
wizards, including the founder of the academy, before they were
stopped. Vowing revenge, the wizards fought back. Entire cities
were massacred. Gangs of wizards roamed the land, bringing death
and destruction. The people were forced into suppression during
what became known as the Wizard’s Reign. The wizards were cruel and
many more people died, even after the drought ended.

“But, their choice to split themselves up
turned out to be a fatal mistake. Overconfident in their power,
they didn’t realize that without each other, their powers were
weak. Practically invincible together, the wizards were horribly
vulnerable when separated. When the citizens eventually rebelled
against the wizards, the wizards were slaughtered, one by one.

“The wizards tried to rejoin each other, but
it was too late. Too few remained to fight back against the hordes
of angry people. Facing certain death, the small group of wizards
made one last stand. Regrouping at their old academy of magic,
here, they cast one final spell before they were killed and the
academy destroyed. They buried the magic energy deep into the land.
They made sure that no wizards would be born into the world for
many years and the citizens would have to learn to fend for
themselves. However, magic cannot just be contained in the world.
Eventually, there would be an outburst of magic in the form of one
very powerful wizard, maybe even more powerful than the entire
combined group of wizards at the peak of their reign. This wizard
would lead a new age of magic.

“Perhaps hoping to end the cycle of death,
this last group of wizards only ended up fueling the fighting. The
war took a new turn. A large group of the citizens realized what a
powerful ally the new wizard would make. They never wanted to be
treated as they had again. With no idea of how long it would take
before the wizard was born, they banded together and became the
Wizard’s Army. Another group joined together to defend against this
potential threat. They became the Citizens’ Army. The two armies
quickly grew in size and have been fighting ever since.”

Aurora looked at the ruins, captivated. “Can
you feel it?” She shivered and took a step closer to the
deteriorating stone wall.

“Feel what?” Djerr blinked.

“The power.” She took another slow step
toward the wall.

Djerr shook his head, leaning back against
the tree. “All the magic’s been buried for a long time. I don’t
think there’s any magic left here. There aren’t many people who
really remember where the academy is anymore. I think the people
feel guilty about everything that happened, so they let this whole
place grow over. I was wandering through here one day and came
across it, but no one I asked knew what it could be. I finally
asked this really old guy back in town and he remembered hearing
about the academy being destroyed out here.” He watched as Aurora
laid a hand on the wall, but quickly jerked it back as if it were
hot.

“Wouldn't it be wonderful to have magic,
Djerr? I think it would be more beautiful than anything we've ever
seen.”

“Maybe we should get going,” he said,
sounding slightly unsure. Overhead, a dark mass of clouds slowly
swept across the sky toward the two and the world was enveloped in
shadows. A few petals fell from the tree, getting caught in their
hair. “Aurora.” He stepped forward and put a hand on her
shoulder.

She shook her head and pushed her hair back
out of her face. “Yeah, let’s go.” They walked close together,
heading back to the brightly-lit, sprawling city of Kain. Thin
plumes of gray smoke trailed out from the chimneys and stood out
against the dark clouds. “Well, I guess I should probably get
home,” Aurora said reluctantly, as they re-entered the town.

“Oh, alright.” Djerr was quiet. “Do you want
me to walk you home?”

“No, that’s alright,” she answered. “You
should probably get home too. It’s getting kind of dark.”

Djerr shrugged. “Nah, I’ll probably wander
around awhile longer. I’m in no big hurry to get home.”

“Oh, I see,” she said, slightly taken aback.
“Come find me again if you think of anywhere else to show me,
‘kay?”

He grinned. “Sure thing, Aura.” Waving, he
continued down the road, deeper into town, away from both their
houses. She stood watching him for a moment, then turned toward
home.

During those warm days of late summer, she
and Djerr fell into a fast routine. Most mornings, he would drop by
and they would spend the day wandering around town or sitting on
the cliff overlooking the docks, watching ships sail in and out.
Occasionally some of the other kids Djerr knew would join them, but
for the most part they were alone. They quickly learned the
boundaries of conversation, where the other would grow
uncomfortable. Djerr never asked about Aurora’s past and Aurora
never asked about Djerr’s family or the bruises she occasionally
noticed on his body.

She was sitting in a spot of sunshine late
one afternoon on the steps in front of her house eating an apple
when she heard her name being called.

“Aurora! Hey, Aura!” She looked down the
road to see Djerr and five other kids her age heading in her
direction. She recognized a couple of them as the ones she had met
in the market. “Wanna battle?”

Aurora stood up and cocked her head.
“What?”

“Battle!” Djerr grinned.
“Come on, it'll be fun.” He grabbed her hand and began to tug her
away as she stumbled to keep up with him. The six of them leapt
over fences, cut through yards, and headed toward the forest
bordering one edge of town.
Ducking under
low-hanging branches, they finally came to a stop in a small
clearing. One of the boys with short spiky red hair picked up a
slender stick off the ground.

“Here, take this.” The boy winked and handed
it to Aurora. She took it hesitantly and smiled. “Your name is
Aurora, right?” He smiled back.

She nodded. “Yeah, you're the one from the
market awhile back, right?” Out of the corner of her eye, she
noticed Djerr staring in their direction. The rest of the group was
busy chattering noisily as they found sticks of their own.

“That's right. I'm Kalib.” He idly scratched
a freckled ear. “Ever played battle before?” Aurora shook her head.
“Don't worry, I'll show you how it's done,” he continued, reaching
up to snap a branch off a tree for himself. Putting his other arm
around Aurora's shoulders, he announced loudly, “Aurora and I are
Citizens. Anna, you're with us. A tall girl with long brown hair
walked over to them. “All you Wizards,” he grinned, “scatter.”

Djerr and the remaining two took off into
the forest, sticks in hand. Their yells and laughter quickly faded
away. Anna quickly took off after them, her long legs leaping over
logs. Aurora started to follow, but Kalib pulled her back. “Hey
girl, there's no hurry.”

“Oh, alright.” Aurora looked around at the
empty clearing, then turned to find Kalib watching her intently.
“So, um...explain to me how this works.”

“Well,” he began, “we're soldiers in the
Citizens' Army and we're hunting down the soldiers in the Wizard’s
Army. This,” he touched his stick to Aurora's, “is your sword.” He
sauntered into the forest, Aurora following closely behind. “The
secret,” he explained, “is to listen carefully. In here, you'll
hear someone long before you see them. And by the time you see
them,” he paused, “well, you'd better be ready.”

Kalib stopped walking
suddenly and closed his eyes. Aurora looked around at the thick
tangle of trees and followed his lead. Closing her eyes, the
distraction of sight disappeared.
She
focused on the sounds she had been ignoring as she walked beside
Kalib. Somewhere in the distance, a bird tapped its beak against a
tree trunk at sporadic intervals, the noise echoing through the
forest.

Closer nearby, she heard a squirrel
clambering in the branches above. No...she tilted her head,
focusing in on that one sound. It seemed not quite right, too
purposeful. She opened her eyes to find Kalib's amber-brown eyes
locked on hers. He smiled slightly. The rustling overhead grew
suddenly to a crashing as someone leapt down behind them. Kalib
turned calmly, raising his stick in the process and easily
deflected Djerr's attack. Aurora jumped to the side as she watched
the battle.

Djerr whacked at Kalib several more times,
each time from a different direction. With just a slight turn of
his hand, Kalib blocked each attack. After the third strike, he
suddenly returned the flurry of blows. With a sharp snap, Djerr
took several blows to his arms as he tried to block Kalib's quick
attacks. Taking a step backward to avoid another swing, Djerr
tripped over a fallen log and fell backwards, dropping his stick as
he tried to catch himself. Sprawled out on the ground, he looked
away angrily.

Kalib stood triumphantly over Djerr, stick
lowered to his chest. “I win again!” Kalib glanced toward Aurora,
who was grinning excitedly. “Now,” he prodded Djerr with the stick,
“go on.” Silently, Djerr leapt to his feet and grabbed his stick,
dashing off into the forest.

“Wow, that was awesome, Kalib!” Aurora
jumped from foot to foot. “Do you always win?”

“Always.” Kalib confirmed, winking. “Now
that you've seen how it's done, it's your turn.”

Aurora bit her lower lip. “Well, alright.”
She started in the direction Djerr had gone, then turned back
toward Kalib. “Are you coming with me?”

Rolling his eyes, Kalib shook his head. “No,
go by yourself. You'll be fine. Just don't get lost.” He waved his
stick at her. “Now go!”

“Alright, alright!” Aurora broke into a
smile and slipped deeper into the forest. She wandered aimlessly,
trailing her stick on the ground and trying not to trip over the
underbrush. Looking up through the rustling canopy, she wondered
what time it was. When she looked back down, she found Djerr
reclining against a tree in front of her, arms crossed against his
chest. She excitedly raised her stick before she noticed Djerr's
was nowhere in sight. He scowled at her.

“I don't want to fight you.”

Aurora frowned disappointedly and dropped
her stick on the ground. “Why not?” She walked over to where he
stood.

Djerr shrugged. “I'm bored of this.”

Aurora gently uncrossed his arms. “Are you
angry with me?”

A crooked smile slowly spread over Djerr's
face. “Nah...but you have a lot to learn about this game.” He
reached around the tree and picked up his stick, laughing as Aurora
went scrambling for her own. He waited until she was ready, then
lightly whacked her a couple times on each side. Scowling, she
swung at his stick as hard as she could, snapping hers in two.
Looking helplessly at her stub of a stick, she looked back up at
Djerr just in time to be tackled by him.

The two fell laughing into a pile of orange
and brown leaves that had just begun collecting at the base of a
tree. For awhile, they said nothing, still trying to catch their
breath. Djerr finally turned on his side, propping his head up on
his hand. “So what do you think of Kalib?”

Aurora wrinkled her face in thought. “Why do
you wanna know something like that?”

“I dunno, just curious, I guess.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I like Kalib. We should hang
out with him more often.”

Djerr made a face and turned away. “We'd
better get going. It's getting late. Everyone else has probably
already left,” he said abruptly and stood up, brushing the broken
leaves from his clothes. Aurora hopped up as well, shaking her head
vigorously and sending crumpled leaves flying from her hair. The
sun had sunk low and Aurora shivered as the shadows crawled across
her skin. The two walked through the trees, saying nothing.

Overhead, she heard the night birds calling
to each other as they swooped through the sky, catching the bugs
that drifted through the air. Looking up, she could just barely
make out the swift shapes against the quickly darkening sky.
Looking back down, she saw the trees had thinned out and they had
reached the edge of the forest. Djerr glanced over at her without
actually meeting her gaze. “Well, I guess I'll see you later.”

“Djerr, wait.”

He finally met her eyes. “Yeah?”

She paused, unsure what to say.
“Where...where are you going?”

“Wherever,” he replied sullenly. “Maybe out
to the docks.”

“Oh.” She shifted from foot to foot. “Well,
have fun.” She watched him turn and leave, feeling sad without
knowing why. “I'm sorry,” she said softly, too soft for Djerr to
hear.

After the battle in the forest, she didn’t
see Djerr again for several weeks. She wandered around town
hopefully and saw several others her age, including one of the
other girls from the battle, but no sign of Djerr. As the weather
gradually grew colder, Aurora grew more restless. Strolling
listlessly around Kain one day, she suddenly realized she was
heading toward Djerr's house. Shrugging, she continued on her
way.

She walked down the dusty road, kicking a
pebble along ahead of her and creating a trail of dust so that some
of the other passers-by glared at her as they walked by. Blissfully
unaware, she finally lost interest in the pebble as she spotted
Djerr's small house, tucked away on the edge of the forest. Kicking
the pebble into the underbrush, she trotted up to the small house.
She raised her fist to knock on the door, but paused as she heard
yelling coming from inside.