Chapter 22

Azur Gard

Yongsun woke, startled by her strange dreams. She had seen a young girl sitting on some dusty steps that led up to a throne carved from grey stone. The girl wore a pale sandy dress that barely covered her knees and on top of her head was a crown of silver thread decorated with white gems that sparkled like stars. They walked towards each other, their fingertips touched. Time halted, all was quiet, then the World was consumed by a great fire. Neither Yongsun nor the girl cried out in pain; the flames did not hurt them.

When the fire faded there was nothing but darkness and the girl was gone. Yongsun looked down at her arms and saw the white of her bones glimmering faintly. She stared in horror at her milky white bones, she touched her hollow cheeks and felt her teeth. Yongsun screamed but was hoarse, voice gone. She walked until she finally fell off the edge of a cliff with nothing below to save her.

Yongsun opened her eyes and pressed a palm to her aching forehead. She saw Moonbyul slumbering in front of her. In sleep, Moonbyul’s youthful and pretty face was marred with stern and worrisome lines. Worst of all, Yongsun noticed that the antlers still stuck up from Moonbyul’s head. Yongsun’s heart gripped with fear and she gently brushed her fingers against Moonbyul’s cold cheek.

She thought, wistfully, of the things they would not be able to have like other Beings. Would they be able to live out their days together in a cottage by the seaside? Or perhaps they would settle in the south of Couronne, near Avion so they could remain close to Heeyeon and her family. Or perhaps they would never settle, always on the run, always chasing the never-setting sun, and Death would take them before their skin had gone wrinkly or their hair had turned grey…

Yongsun knew little of love, and she wondered for a moment if love was supposed to hurt the way it did now. Was it supposed to make her heart ache, her chest twist? Was it supposed to make her breathless?

It was a soft poke at her chest, one that could almost be ignored, but Yongsun found it difficult to neglect. She had heard of Kings and Queens declare war in the name of love; lands conquered, castles built, cities destroyed and townsfolk murdered. Yongsun did not want a love that was violent, or brutal, or ruthless. Most of all, Yongsun did not want a type of love that killed.

She wanted a gentle kind of love; one that tucked her into bed at night, kissed her forehead, warmed her as she slept and greeted her in the morning with sunshine and light. Yongsun thought it was not too much to ask for, but with the World always on unsteady feet, the thought of such a sweet and gentle kind of love was but a dream. Yongsun would have to make do with what she had been given. There was no question that love would test her, again and again, in the days to come.

Yongsun looked up: It was not even dawn yet. The sky was dull and grey, waiting to be painted with golden hues of sunlight. The chill of the morning was harsh and bitter, causing her teeth to clatter. She shivered and shut her eyes tightly.

A yawn escaped Yongsun and she quickly covered . She lay down again, her ear pressed to earth’s floor and she scooted closer so her forehead rested against Moonbyul’s chest. She sighed, and sighed once more, willing herself back to sleep. But she could not. The strange dreams came over her in waves and Yongsun gasped for air. Peace did not come easily to her so Yongsun reached out, cupping Moonbyul’s cheek, then leaned in to kiss Moonbyul’s forehead.

Moonbyul smelt of pine and brimstone, of salt and rock. Blind, Yongsun would still know her, by touch alone, Yongsun would still recognise her. She softened the stern lines on Moonbyul’s face with just her fingertips. She listened to the way Moonbyul’s breath came; heavy, but calm.

She kissed Moonbyul again and then stood, wrapping the jacket she had worn to sleep tightly around her body.

«You’re up early.»

Yongsun turned to Heeyeon who was sitting by the remnants of last night’s fire.

«I could say the same for you.» Yongsun yawned and shivered.

«I didn’t sleep much.» Heeyeon shrugged. «Did you sleep well?»

Yongsun shook her head. «I had a strange dream.»

«You can tell me if you want.» Heeyeon said, munching on some red berries. «I’ve heard that if you tell someone about your dream, the chance that it’ll come true will be reduced.» Heeyeon smiled as she offered some berries to Yongsun. «Don’t know if it works or not, but I guess you could try.»

«It was not frightening, just strange. I could not understand or make sense of what was happening. First I was in a throne room made from sandstone. There was a young girl dressed in rags, I tried to reach out to her, but when our fingertips touched, flames devoured us. All was dark, I saw my bones glinting. I screamed but my voice was lost. I walked and walked until I fell. Then I woke up.» Yongsun took a couple of berries, plopping them into .

«A throne room made from sandstone? Sounds like Sul-fur-zaar.» Heeyeon muttered. «And the girl was dressed in rags, you said?»

«Yes. She also had a crown made of silver thread, decorated with beautiful white gems. Much like the one Jin made for me.» Yongsun remembered the young Starfollower with sorrow, recalling what had happened to the Temple of Izarrak.

She still had the silver thread Jin had given her. It laid in the bottom of her satchel, collecting dust. When the next Star Festival came around she would wear it, out of respect, Yongsun would not forget the kindness the Starfollowers had shown her.

Heeyeon looked at her then, her gaze hard and piercing. Yongsun squirmed, not sure what to do with her hands as she gripped the material of the loose pants Moonbyul had given her.

«What is it?» Yongsun croaked, nervous.

Heeyeon shook her head, then said: «The thing Jin gave you is called a band of light. The silver thread represents life. For some, life is linear, for others it’s a cycle. The white gems symbolise the Stars and are there to protect and comfort all Beings. Starfollowers make and give them to the people they care about. But…» Heeyeon hesitated, brow furrowed. She in a deep breath. «The tradition didn’t start with Starfollowers. Or, Starfollowers aren’t the only people who make and wear silver threads with white gems. In Sul-fur-zaar, those who are fated to be priestesses and worship the Seven Sisters, they wear these silver threads on their heads. They call it the Crown of Horns. Originally, the white gems were actually made from leftover bones of the animals the priestesses had scarified to the deities they worship. They call them Gods.»

Heeyeon shook her head again, then sighed, looking at Yongsun. «You’ve never been to Sul-fur-zaar, right?»

«Never.»

«Then it is extremely peculiar that you could’ve dreamt about something that is miles away from here.»

Yongsun nodded, although her mind was all over the place, trying to decipher the meaning of her dreams. «Do you believe it’s prophetic, that I’ll one day meet the girl in my dream?»

«I do not know. Perhaps. Perhaps not.» Heeyeon shrugged. «The only things I believe in are the Stars, my mother, my cousin’s sharp mind and oh— » Heeyeon smirked as her eyes moved back and forth between Yongsun and Moonbyul (who was still asleep on the ground), «love.»

«You seem to take great pride in teasing me. Especially when it comes to me and the magician.» Yongsun frowned.

Heeyeon went back to eating berries. «My apologies,» she mumbled, «I did not mean to offend, I’m merely trying to have some fun. It can be quite tiring having to be serious and cautious all the time. You never have a moment to let your shoulders drop and relax.» 

«Oh no, it is quite all right, I am not angry, just… I have never truly loved anyone the way I love Moonbyul. It can get quite overwhelming sometimes: I react irrationally, I ignore it, I apologise for it. But at the same time I treasure love, I cherish it. I do not think I could continue living without it.» Yongsun said softly. «I do not know what to do with this love. And I do not know much about it either.»

«Neither do I. Neither does anyone else for that matter.»

«Are you in love? Do you have someone waiting for you in Avion?»

«I do.» Heeyeon smiled, bright as any star. «And she’s waited a very long time for me to come home.»

Yongsun sat down on a tree stump next to Heeyeon. «What is her name, if I may ask?»

«Park Jeonghwa,» said Heeyeon with a grin, «The most stubborn girl I’ve ever met. So stubborn that she wouldn’t take no for an answer when I told her I had to fight a war and said she couldn’t follow me. So stubborn that she said she’d wait for me, till the last star in the galaxy died.»

Yongsun smiled at that, then asked: «Jeonghwa followed you into the military?»

«She tried to, but her family’s pretty well-off, they made sure she never saw the battlefield like I did. Y’know, her family pretend to like me, only for Jeonghwa’s sake, but I know they pulled some strings and got me sent to Ironsmith where the fighting was thickest. I could’ve died.»

«I take it she was not very happy with that.»

«She was not. But what could she do? Before I left she said I’d better not die, or she’d drag me back to Avion by the collar of my shirt and then I’d wish I was dead.»

«You love her very much. Your face shows the truth.» Yongsun gushed, teasing as Heeyeon’s cheeks bloomed red.

Heeyeon shook her head and gave Yongsun a playful push on her arm. They talked long into the cold morning, and when the sun started to rise, the birds began to sing. Heeyeon stood up from the stump she had been sitting on and went to look for breakfast and perhaps some firewood if they needed to cook. Yongsun stayed behind, keeping watch over their small camp.

The sun rose slowly over the trees, hills and mountains. Yongsun saw the Valley great and large in the distance, nothing but dust and dry lands surrounded it. Yongsun could not help but shiver at the sight. They had to cross through the Valley to reach the coastal cities on the other side. But the Valley was known as the resting place for two corrupted Stars, Alshain and Antares.

True, it was only myth. But Altair was also a myth. Vega was just a myth as well. And both turned out to be true. What evidence was there to deny that Alshain and Antares still existed, looming in the darkness somewhere deep in the Valley?

The thought grew like a weed in Yongsun’s mind. It scared her, made her think irrationally and she wanted to erase darkness from the World. But at what cost? Was she given the Art of Magic to destroy? To create? What was magic’s purpose in this World? If all magic was suddenly taken away, lost, what would be left behind?

«I have been thinking.» Yongsun said when Heeyeon returned holding a wild rabbit and several thick branches that she had found lying around on the forest floor. The rabbit hung dead in Heeyeon’s hand, its dark orbs staring at Yongsun, its small mouth hung open in a silent scream.

«Of what?» Heeyeon asked as she sat and started to skin the rabbit.

Yongsun grabbed the branches and placed them in the hearth which was surrounded by small stones to stop the fire from spreading. Heeyeon reached into her coat and tossed Yongsun her lighter, which was a shiny olive green and decorated with an inscription. 

«Of the true purpose of magic.» Yongsun said as she stacked the firewood. «I am trying to make sense of my role as Vega, but I have not reached a conclusion yet,» muttered Yongsun, then added, «where did you get this lighter? The inscription, although it is not in New Speak but in Old Speak, is a common saying in times of defeat.»

«The lighter is an heirloom. It belonged to my father, and his father before him. Do you know the saying?»

Yongsun nodded. «We grow accustomed to the Dark when Light is put away.»

«As for your question regarding magic, which, might I say, is a very big question, the people in Altair will probably say it’s the highest form of art, something to be worshipped. I think the people in Sul-fur-zaar will say that magic is something used for combat. Here, in the Land of Couronne, I know magic is used for menial everyday tasks, but strangely enough magic is also used in warfare. I don’t know much about Nordfjord, it’s such a strange land, so many tribes, so many chieftains, so many beliefs, I don’t know how they view magic there.»

«How do you know all of this?»

«I read it somewhere. There’s an