Chapter 29

Arah

Yongsun had not imagined it. It was not an illusion, not a dream either. The sleeves of her shirt were ripped when she woke. She thought back to the young girl with pity, wondering who she was and what it meant to be The Devoured One. Yongsun grimaced when she remembered the scars, the cuts, and the blood.

They had been in a throne room built from sandstone. It was dark and cold, no light could reach them through the thick walls. Day was night and night was day in that room. They must have been in Sul-fur-zaar, or perhaps even beyond Sul-fur-zaar. They said the desert was endless, sand stretched far and wide, like the blue sea.

The girl’s name was Arah, The Devoured One. Yongsun frowned. Arah was the name of this World. It was important, it was what connected Couronne to Altair, Nordfjord to Sul-fur-zaar, Calistro to the mainland. Arah. The sea, the mountains, the deserts, the kingdoms and the Lands, the Stars and all living Beings —they were all Arah.

Arah. The young girl Yongsun had met was Arah. She had eyes like fire, but her soul, her spirit, was empty. Destroyed.

A cool breeze brushed past Yongsun’s arms making her shiver. She took a deep breath, swallowing the cold air. It made her more awake, as if she had swallowed a raging fire that ignited her.

Yongsun looked around and saw the sun in the distance. The others would wake soon. Then they would eat, pack up their belongings, and be on their way.

The Shadow was gone, it had fled like a coward into the the night, but it left behind a trail. The ground was scorched from where the flames had fallen, grass patches had been turned to ash. The Shadow would not return, but its cry would haunt Yongsun in her dreams. She could hear it here, in the World; in the wind that cried and the leaves that rustled.

Yongsun stood and changed out of her ruined shirt. She had another shirt she could use, and instead of throwing away her ruined one, she kept it, thinking she could use the fabric later, if need be. She rolled up her sleeping bag, packed her belongings, then threw her satchel over her shoulder. She had slept under a small tree, the shade was cool in this grey morning.

The other Angels had slept together on the other side of the road. Yongsun looked over and watched them. Irene was still asleep. She looked serene, calm. Yongsun was happy for her. Wheein was with them as well, but she looked troubled, there was a deep frown on her face as if plagued by a nightmare.

Yongsun turned and saw Hyojin in the grass. She was awake and wore a long coat with silver and gold medals on her chest. Hyojin sat on her own by a small campfire. She was not cooking, she was watching the fire, poking it with a stick.

The flames reminded Yongsun of Arah’s eyes. She watched from afar and saw a bird dancing in the fire, its wings a scarlet red, its beak golden like a king’s crown. It was the Vermillion Bird. Then it disappeared, and the flames were just flames.

«Do you know what Arah means?» Yongsun asked quietly and sat down beside Hyojin.

«Arah?» Hyojin said, lifting an eyebrow, thinking. «It means altar in Old Speak.»

Altar. The World was an altar then, and the Stars were what they sacrificed themselves for. Yongsun shivered, banishing those terrible thoughts.

«Arah.» Yongsun said, rolling the letters on her tongue. «Arah.» She said again. «The World of Arah. The Devoured One. The Devoured World…»

«Why did you want to know?» Hyojin asked, her voice was low, fearful. She eyed Yongsun with caution.

«You would not believe me if I told you.»

«Well, you don’t know that until you’ve tried.» Hyojin shrugged and looked into the fire.

«It is a long story, I would not want to bore you.»

«I told you many stories, all those years ago, and you listened. I shall do the same for you.»

Hyojin sat quietly beside Yongsun, they were both tired, but Hyojin masked it better than Yongsun, perhaps she had to, because the soldiers relied on her, needed her to remain sane so they would be sane as well.

Yongsun felt uncomfortable, squirming.

Hyojin had known her back then; had known Yongsun better than she had known herself. Yongsun was afraid now, for she had changed a great deal. She had become braver, wiser, but then there was that fire within her.

Yongsun drew a deep breath, preparing herself. Her hands were folded in her lap. She looked down at them. «Have you ever held your hand over an open flame?» She asked.

«What?» Hyojin exclaimed aloud, confused. She shifted so she was watching Yongsun, eyeing her carefully.

Yongsun reached out, the flames were calling for her, she saw the bird again, flying upwards towards the sky. She touched it, felt its feathers hot against her fingertips.

«Yongsun!» Hyojin gasped, grabbing Yongsun’s hand.

The flames attacked Hyojin’s skin like a hungry dog biting into a bone. Hyojin winced, pulling Yongsun’s hand away from the fire as well as her own. She cradled Yongsun’s hand, her own hand was throbbing, shaking from the pain.

«It does not hurt.» Yongsun whispered quickly, then took Hyojin’s hand. «Please. Let me look at it.»

«You’re unscathed.» Hyojin breathed, amazed. She watched as Yongsun tended to her. «There’s no mark, not even a trace… Magic? Witchery?»

The pain would go away on its own, but the burns Yongsun could treat. Yongsun did what Moonbyul had taught her: She conjured the magic of healing from deep within her, the way one could call a name and the owner of that name would come.

Hyojin watched in silence her skin regained its colour. «The truth, please, Head Angel.» She whispered, short of breath.

«I am a magician.» Yongsun said quietly, not meeting Hyojin’s eyes.

It was easier to say it now, for she had accepted it, as she had accepted her fate and Destiny. They were things she could not outrun. It would only make her tired, and Yongsun had tried to outrun her past, escape her Destiny and break free from the chains that bound her.

In a sense, she had succeeded in all that. Yongsun had been broken, but she put herself back together. And that was what made her powerful.

But the truth was that the journey we call Life never truly ends, not even after death.

«I thought they were all extinct. Killed in the Great War.»

«I believed the same, but apparently not,» said Yongsun, «and I am not the only one alive in Couronne.»

«There are more of you?»

«There is one more. She taught me the many ways of magic and all the different shapes and forms it can take. She taught me about the balance of the World, of Light and Darkness, Life and death. The World of Arah is in imbalance. There is a Shadow walking among us. The Shadow looks like a man, one with silver hair and a crown upon his head.»

Hyojin said nothing for a while. Yongsun was relieved, glad that Hyojin showed no sign of hatred or anger towards her. 

«You think he’s a king?» Hyojin frowned, then looked away, troubled. « Our King?»

Yongsun looked up at Hyojin, eyes wide. «I have not thought about it. I hope not. For I would not want to kill a king.» She whispered.

Hyojin sat back and adjusted the coat on her shoulders. «There are no other Kings in this World that I know of. There’s a Lord in Calistro who commands the trading ships and the Calistran armada. There’s a Queen in Altair who started this cursed war. And there’s an Empress in Sul-fur-zaar, the Land of the South, who holds power over the Sandwalkers who roam the desert and the mountainsides.»

«What about beyond? Who rules beyond Sul-fur-zaar? Is there a queen, an empress, a lord, a king?»

«Beyond Sul-fur-zaar?» Hyojin said aloud, thinking, «there is only sand beyond Sul-fur-zaar. And no-one can control the sand, or the wind that makes it move, or the sun that warms it, or even the moon that turns it cold at night.»

«You told me they believe in gods,» said Yongsun carefully, «are there people who worship them as well?»

«There are priestesses. They worship the gods, they make sacrifices.»

«Human sacrifices?»

«I cannot say.» Hyojin looked uncomfortable, perhaps she knew more about the matter but did not want divulge further. «I don’t know much about them. They only obey the gods and the empress of Sul-fur-zaar, who they believe is a god that has come down from the sky to free them —and to take them to the Stars when that time comes.»

Yongsun lowered her voice. Hyojin leaned in closer, lending her ear to Yongsun.

 «I see a girl, beautiful, but her body has been bruised by scars.» Yongsun whispered sadly. «She is scared, always scared when I see her. And there is a crown of silver on her head. But now she does not wear that crown anymore. I can’t stop thinking about her.»

The soldiers and Angels were starting to wake, stretching and yawning as they crept out of their sleeping bags.

«There is war now, one that I must stop, somehow, even though I do not know how.» Yongsun whispered quickly, so no one else but Hyojin heard.

«You’ll find a way,» Hyojin said, placing her hand over Yongsun’s, «and I will help you.»

They walked most of the day. Yongsun’s feet began to ache. She would have to tend to her feet later, bind them with