Baconhands
The Traveller
Part One
Rain was falling again. The wind was howling; the buildings all groaned in its grasp. Occasionally lightning flared and thunder roared, illuminating draconic shapes in the sky. The residents of Volk were tough, seafaring people, however those along its eastern coast dared not leave their homes, such was the fury of the storms that struck. Even Tallin, one of the largest coastal towns in the east, located snugly in a naturally formed harbour, though it stood defiant, was quiet as the tempest bared down upon it.
The silhouettes that appeared in the sky always seemed familiar to Kadri, though each had a unique name to her and her family. The largest was named Ljos. He shone brightest and roared the loudest. He was the eldest of many siblings, according to the tales, and his voice always rang to rein in his brothers and sisters. Eitur was one he was always reining in; a mischievous creature who was the fastest of the children, she was fickle and quick to strike in vengeance. If somebody slighted her, even incidentally, she was sure to make her fury known. Bryti was much more conservative – she appeared rarely during storms, and only with her elder brother’s permission, but when she did, she was the most brilliant and beautiful to behold.
Kadri knew that the storm did not bring those three or their siblings; the children of the Aspect of Lightning did not have the time or the omniscience to appear with every storm, if they were even still alive. Yet with every flash and every boom, the lineaged’s scales tingled with a familial affinity that always affirmed her connection to the creatures that inhabited the storms. Sometimes, while she was glancing at her forearm, watching the cluster of a few dozen azure-blue draconic scales, she could see lightning pass between them, and seconds later a thunderous roar would follow from outside. Such occurrences would make her reflexively smile.
After a moment the young woman stood, surrendering her position from the window in her room. She could barely see the building on the opposite side of the street, and, to her disappointment, the dragons appeared very rarely, and their voices were quiet as if whispers when they did. The storm had fallen quickly, and with little warning. Kadri had been caught outside, coming back from a less than successful fishing trip from one of the stone piers only a few minutes from her home. Only twenty seconds in the rain and her clothes had been soaked through, her raven hair completely dishevelled, and her pale skin covered in goose bumps. Even now, having bathed and dried and with a fresh tunic, and trousers on, the nature of the rain still affected her.
As she stepped out of her room the aromas of frying bacon and freshly baked bread greeted her nostrils, and a pleasant smile came to her face. She navigated her way to a large room, barely divided in two by the different flooring. The first, categorised a lounge, with several arm chairs, one of which was large enough for her to lay across comfortably. There were several tables, and a small fire place. The floor was stone but covered in a fine carpet, with a fair distance put between the fire place and it. The second was a kitchen, also stone, but it was bare. There were several ovens and hobs, and a sink and counter for preparing food and washing dishes.
There were several occupants of the room. Kadri’s father, a burly man wearing lose clothing and sporting extremely short black hair, was in the kitchen, minding the bacon as it continued to sizzle. Her eyes, fell however, on the two others, whom were sitting in two of the chairs which they had moved closer to the fire.
The pair appeared to be in conversation. Kadri saw one of them, a young woman with chestnut-brown hair, olive skin, and striking features, cast a cynical glance at the other. “I’m certain that is not how it works in any way,” she stated flatly, her accent coming through every syllable.
“But!” began the reply. A gangly young man was its source, an incredibly tall fellow with simple features and short hair and bright brown eyes.
Kadri decided to get involved. “What’s the topic?” she asked with an enthusiastic grin, speaking to Sigrid.
“Hendrik thinks if he gets good enough, he’ll be able to compete in the lineaged tournaments,” came the hazel-eyed woman’s response.
Kadri raised an eyebrow, and sat down between the two of them, “I feel like we’ve tackled this before. Maybe a year ago?”
Hendrik took pause, his expression betraying that he was thinking incredibly hard. After a few intense moments, his enthusiasm evaporated from him as he apparently recalled the answer.
The lineaged put a comforting hand on his for a moment before she started warming both of her hands near the fire.
Silence settled, only broken by the occasional crack of the fire and the gentle sizzle of bacon. Ten seconds passed. The resting silence was finally broken by Kadri’s father who brought over three plates, each carrying four rashers of bacon and four thick pieces of white bread, before he dismissed himself back to the kitchen.
Hendrik was quick to construct two sandwiches and had wolfed them down before Kadri had finished half of her first.
“If the Aspects were to have a fight,” he began, his energy returning to him, “who would win?”
“That would depend,” Kadri responded quickly, “on who was on whose side.”
“The Dragon War was a draw,” Sigrid stated, though she quickly began to muse, “which means either they’re all of equal power or the two sides were equal.”
“I wouldn’t begin to speculate which ones were weaker; it would be like comparing individual grains of sand to see which was bigger,” Kadri said.
Hendrik was quick to throw out three names, but Sigrid quickly countered with another three. Kadri brought up a combination from both lists and added some of her own, happy to contradict her statement for the sake of joining in. The debate continued for nearly two hours as they went back and forth, agreeing and disagreeing until eventually, they concluded that all ten of the Aspect Dragons could probably defeat the other ten, depending on the day. The final remark was Sigrid’s, “Look; if I were a betting woman, which you know I am, I wouldn’t put money down at all if they were to fight. They literally created the world and destroyed the continent, I don’t think any one of them could categorically be considered stronger than any of the others.”
The storm continued to rage, but no thunder had been heard for nigh on forty minutes. The wind howled in its place but it could not match the thunder’s fury. A glance out the window revealed it was well and truly night; not even the lashing rain could hide the passage of the day. It was quickly agreed that Sigrid and Hendrik should stay until the morning. Pyjamas were lent, two temporary beds were set up by moving the chairs close to each other, and soon enough the three of them were sipping at hot drinks and settling down for the night. Hendrik was asleep soon after finishing his.
Kadri was reading a well-worn, leather bound collection of short-stories based on myths and legends that was titled Saga of the Aspects. The book itself was a shared favourite of the trio. Each had different favourite stories within it; Kadri’s was named Children of the Storm, a tale brimming with intrigue that ultimately cautioned against idleness while emphasising the virtue within ambition that was tempered by humility.
“You know Ljos is the fucking worst in that story,” Sigrid stated flatly.
Kadri looked up from the page and noticed that Sigrid was barely holding back a grin. The mage responded, mock scorn in her voice, “You non-lineaged wouldn’t know the struggles of having so much power and responsibility. Nobody could have done better, only people like me would understand.” She upturned her nose, putting on a voice, “And you Commonwealth folk are especially naïve! Always thinking you know better!”
“Madam, your prejudices should not infect our literary debate!” Came the retort, the grin well and truly established. “And I for one know that Ljos made every single worst decision-“
Thunder boomed overhead, deafeningly close, startling Sigrid so much she let out a small scream before she quickly covered her mouth. Kadri jumped. Hendrik turned over in his sleep and mumbled something about winning a tournament.
The two women shared a beat of silence before Kadri started laughing uncontrollably, “That’s right! I knew you couldn’t get away with saying something like that for long!”
Sigrid crossed her arms and shook her head in protest, “Simply proves that all of you descended from Arbuzs have the shortest tempers ever.”
Thunder rumbled again, quieter, yet somehow more foreboding.
Kadri had stolen Sigrid’s grin. “Might I suggest you be more careful with your choice of words?”
“You can keep suggesting that I do and I will continue to ignore your advice.”
When Kadri woke up, both Hendrik and Sigrid were still asleep. A glance out of the window revealed it was still dark; the Aspect of Light was still preparing to grace Volk with dawn’s presence. A yawn escaped the lineaged. She lay, staring up at the ceiling, as she had done hours before, trying to will herself back to sleep. She wasn’t certain how long she had been lying there for: a minute, ten, maybe even an hour. Dawn was apparently no closer when the lineaged decided that sleep was currently far from her grasp. The Saga of the Aspects was within arm’s reach. What felt like only a second passed – Kadri had the book in her hands, a lantern by her side, and she had the book open at its contents. Eleven stories, one told by each of the Aspect Dragons and one told by all of them. Despite the choice available to her, it was always a coin flip between Children of the Storm and The Dragon War.
They were two very different tales; the first, a mystery about the death of one of Arbuzs’ children that almost led to a great conflict in the mortal plane. The second was a tragedy; a story about desperation that brought all the Aspect Dragons into a war on the mortal plane that broke the continent of Euross into nineteen pieces. Kadri having read the former earlier, flipped the book to the beginning of the last story.
It played out as she remembered; it began with an explanation that the ancient civilisations that had inhabited Euross were created as a way for the Aspect Dragons to settle disputes. Each was led by a family of lineaged, the first human descendants of the Aspects. While the Aspect Dragons could not intervene directly, they often directed their other children, such as the dragons, to assist the human kingdoms in their fights. Nixhem and Arbuzs, the Aspects of Metal and Lightning respectfully, were in conflict, and thus their mortals were embroiled in war. The reason was never explained fully in the book, and Kadri could never recall any priests of the Haven giving much guidance on the matter either.
Every battle was lost by Arbuzs’ kin, and soon his kingdom faced destruction. While it was never mentioned, Kadri always felt like her forefather would have tried to sue for peace, seeing how desperate the tale describes the war had gotten. The lineaged of Arbuzs, as written in the Saga, cried out for deliverance, as their enemy was soon to destroy their kingdom in its entirety, besieging their final city. Arbuzs answered, crafting an artefact of such great power that the besieging army was scattered in a day and his mortals were able to reclaim all land lost and soon it was Nixhem’s country that was facing destruction. Pride always swelled within the young lineaged as she read this chapter, but also a great sadness.
Arbuzs’ success worried the other Aspect Dragons; Awramaar, Aspect of the Arcane and oldest of the siblings, and Selta, Aspect of Ice and the calmest of them all, tried to intervene and mediate a peace. But other forces were at work. Olikah sensed an opportunity to permanently reset the balance of power in his favour and joined Arbuzs in creating an artefact for his mortals to use. Three others took after him, forcing the hands of five others, who took to the mortal plane to stop the destruction of their people.
All ten of the Aspect Dragons were soon embroiled in conflict, leading their people in war against each other. The final chapter culminated in a battle where all ten clashed.
The description of this battle always disappointed Kadri, for it was vague and broad in its scope. But the moment the siblings realised their folly always made Kadri take pause. The story ended with the continent shattering, and whole armies and cities falling into the abyss that the gashes in the world created.
Rain was falling again. The wind was howling; the buildings all groaned in its grasp. Occasionally lightning flared and thunder roared, illuminating draconic shapes in the sky. The residents of Volk were tough, seafaring people, however those along its eastern coast dared not leave their homes, such was the fury of the storms that struck. Even Tallin, one of the largest coastal towns in the east, located snugly in a naturally formed harbour, though it stood defiant, was quiet as the tempest bared down upon it.
The silhouettes that appeared in the sky always seemed familiar to Kadri, though each had a unique name to her and her family. The largest was named Ljos. He shone brightest and roared the loudest. He was the eldest of many siblings, according to the tales, and his voice always rang to rein in his brothers and sisters. Eitur was one he was always reining in; a mischievous creature who was the fastest of the children, she was fickle and quick to strike in vengeance. If somebody slighted her, even incidentally, she was sure to make her fury known. Bryti was much more conservative – she appeared rarely during storms, and only with her elder brother’s permission, but when she did, she was the most brilliant and beautiful to behold.
Kadri knew that the storm did not bring those three or their siblings; the children of the Aspect of Lightning did not have the time or the omniscience to appear with every storm, if they were even still alive. Yet with every flash and every boom, the lineaged’s scales tingled with a familial affinity that always affirmed her connection to the creatures that inhabited the storms. Sometimes, while she was glancing at her forearm, watching the cluster of a few dozen azure-blue draconic scales, she could see lightning pass between them, and seconds later a thunderous roar would follow from outside. Such occurrences would make her reflexively smile.
After a moment the young woman stood, surrendering her position from the window in her room. She could barely see the building on the opposite side of the street, and, to her disappointment, the dragons appeared very rarely, and their voices were quiet as if whispers when they did. The storm had fallen quickly, and with little warning. Kadri had been caught outside, coming back from a less than successful fishing trip from one of the stone piers only a few minutes from her home. Only twenty seconds in the rain and her clothes had been soaked through, her raven hair completely dishevelled, and her pale skin covered in goose bumps. Even now, having bathed and dried and with a fresh tunic, and trousers on, the nature of the rain still affected her.
As she stepped out of her room the aromas of frying bacon and freshly baked bread greeted her nostrils, and a pleasant smile came to her face. She navigated her way to a large room, barely divided in two by the different flooring. The first, categorised a lounge, with several arm chairs, one of which was large enough for her to lay across comfortably. There were several tables, and a small fire place. The floor was stone but covered in a fine carpet, with a fair distance put between the fire place and it. The second was a kitchen, also stone, but it was bare. There were several ovens and hobs, and a sink and counter for preparing food and washing dishes.
There were several occupants of the room. Kadri’s father, a burly man wearing lose clothing and sporting extremely short black hair, was in the kitchen, minding the bacon as it continued to sizzle. Her eyes, fell however, on the two others, whom were sitting in two of the chairs which they had moved closer to the fire.
The pair appeared to be in conversation. Kadri saw one of them, a young woman with chestnut-brown hair, olive skin, and striking features, cast a cynical glance at the other. “I’m certain that is not how it works in any way,” she stated flatly, her accent coming through every syllable.
“But!” began the reply. A gangly young man was its source, an incredibly tall fellow with simple features and short hair and bright brown eyes.
Kadri decided to get involved. “What’s the topic?” she asked with an enthusiastic grin, speaking to Sigrid.
“Hendrik thinks if he gets good enough, he’ll be able to compete in the lineaged tournaments,” came the hazel-eyed woman’s response.
Kadri raised an eyebrow, and sat down between the two of them, “I feel like we’ve tackled this before. Maybe a year ago?”
Hendrik took pause, his expression betraying that he was thinking incredibly hard. After a few intense moments, his enthusiasm evaporated from him as he apparently recalled the answer.
The lineaged put a comforting hand on his for a moment before she started warming both of her hands near the fire.
Silence settled, only broken by the occasional crack of the fire and the gentle sizzle of bacon. Ten seconds passed. The resting silence was finally broken by Kadri’s father who brought over three plates, each carrying four rashers of bacon and four thick pieces of white bread, before he dismissed himself back to the kitchen.
Hendrik was quick to construct two sandwiches and had wolfed them down before Kadri had finished half of her first.
“If the Aspects were to have a fight,” he began, his energy returning to him, “who would win?”
“That would depend,” Kadri responded quickly, “on who was on whose side.”
“The Dragon War was a draw,” Sigrid stated, though she quickly began to muse, “which means either they’re all of equal power or the two sides were equal.”
“I wouldn’t begin to speculate which ones were weaker; it would be like comparing individual grains of sand to see which was bigger,” Kadri said.
Hendrik was quick to throw out three names, but Sigrid quickly countered with another three. Kadri brought up a combination from both lists and added some of her own, happy to contradict her statement for the sake of joining in. The debate continued for nearly two hours as they went back and forth, agreeing and disagreeing until eventually, they concluded that all ten of the Aspect Dragons could probably defeat the other ten, depending on the day. The final remark was Sigrid’s, “Look; if I were a betting woman, which you know I am, I wouldn’t put money down at all if they were to fight. They literally created the world and destroyed the continent, I don’t think any one of them could categorically be considered stronger than any of the others.”
The storm continued to rage, but no thunder had been heard for nigh on forty minutes. The wind howled in its place but it could not match the thunder’s fury. A glance out the window revealed it was well and truly night; not even the lashing rain could hide the passage of the day. It was quickly agreed that Sigrid and Hendrik should stay until the morning. Pyjamas were lent, two temporary beds were set up by moving the chairs close to each other, and soon enough the three of them were sipping at hot drinks and settling down for the night. Hendrik was asleep soon after finishing his.
Kadri was reading a well-worn, leather bound collection of short-stories based on myths and legends that was titled Saga of the Aspects. The book itself was a shared favourite of the trio. Each had different favourite stories within it; Kadri’s was named Children of the Storm, a tale brimming with intrigue that ultimately cautioned against idleness while emphasising the virtue within ambition that was tempered by humility.
“You know Ljos is the fucking worst in that story,” Sigrid stated flatly.
Kadri looked up from the page and noticed that Sigrid was barely holding back a grin. The mage responded, mock scorn in her voice, “You non-lineaged wouldn’t know the struggles of having so much power and responsibility. Nobody could have done better, only people like me would understand.” She upturned her nose, putting on a voice, “And you Commonwealth folk are especially naïve! Always thinking you know better!”
“Madam, your prejudices should not infect our literary debate!” Came the retort, the grin well and truly established. “And I for one know that Ljos made every single worst decision-“
Thunder boomed overhead, deafeningly close, startling Sigrid so much she let out a small scream before she quickly covered her mouth. Kadri jumped. Hendrik turned over in his sleep and mumbled something about winning a tournament.
The two women shared a beat of silence before Kadri started laughing uncontrollably, “That’s right! I knew you couldn’t get away with saying something like that for long!”
Sigrid crossed her arms and shook her head in protest, “Simply proves that all of you descended from Arbuzs have the shortest tempers ever.”
Thunder rumbled again, quieter, yet somehow more foreboding.
Kadri had stolen Sigrid’s grin. “Might I suggest you be more careful with your choice of words?”
“You can keep suggesting that I do and I will continue to ignore your advice.”
When Kadri woke up, both Hendrik and Sigrid were still asleep. A glance out of the window revealed it was still dark; the Aspect of Light was still preparing to grace Volk with dawn’s presence. A yawn escaped the lineaged. She lay, staring up at the ceiling, as she had done hours before, trying to will herself back to sleep. She wasn’t certain how long she had been lying there for: a minute, ten, maybe even an hour. Dawn was apparently no closer when the lineaged decided that sleep was currently far from her grasp. The Saga of the Aspects was within arm’s reach. What felt like only a second passed – Kadri had the book in her hands, a lantern by her side, and she had the book open at its contents. Eleven stories, one told by each of the Aspect Dragons and one told by all of them. Despite the choice available to her, it was always a coin flip between Children of the Storm and The Dragon War.
They were two very different tales; the first, a mystery about the death of one of Arbuzs’ children that almost led to a great conflict in the mortal plane. The second was a tragedy; a story about desperation that brought all the Aspect Dragons into a war on the mortal plane that broke the continent of Euross into nineteen pieces. Kadri having read the former earlier, flipped the book to the beginning of the last story.
It played out as she remembered; it began with an explanation that the ancient civilisations that had inhabited Euross were created as a way for the Aspect Dragons to settle disputes. Each was led by a family of lineaged, the first human descendants of the Aspects. While the Aspect Dragons could not intervene directly, they often directed their other children, such as the dragons, to assist the human kingdoms in their fights. Nixhem and Arbuzs, the Aspects of Metal and Lightning respectfully, were in conflict, and thus their mortals were embroiled in war. The reason was never explained fully in the book, and Kadri could never recall any priests of the Haven giving much guidance on the matter either.
Every battle was lost by Arbuzs’ kin, and soon his kingdom faced destruction. While it was never mentioned, Kadri always felt like her forefather would have tried to sue for peace, seeing how desperate the tale describes the war had gotten. The lineaged of Arbuzs, as written in the Saga, cried out for deliverance, as their enemy was soon to destroy their kingdom in its entirety, besieging their final city. Arbuzs answered, crafting an artefact of such great power that the besieging army was scattered in a day and his mortals were able to reclaim all land lost and soon it was Nixhem’s country that was facing destruction. Pride always swelled within the young lineaged as she read this chapter, but also a great sadness.
Arbuzs’ success worried the other Aspect Dragons; Awramaar, Aspect of the Arcane and oldest of the siblings, and Selta, Aspect of Ice and the calmest of them all, tried to intervene and mediate a peace. But other forces were at work. Olikah sensed an opportunity to permanently reset the balance of power in his favour and joined Arbuzs in creating an artefact for his mortals to use. Three others took after him, forcing the hands of five others, who took to the mortal plane to stop the destruction of their people.
All ten of the Aspect Dragons were soon embroiled in conflict, leading their people in war against each other. The final chapter culminated in a battle where all ten clashed.
The description of this battle always disappointed Kadri, for it was vague and broad in its scope. But the moment the siblings realised their folly always made Kadri take pause. The story ended with the continent shattering, and whole armies and cities falling into the abyss that the gashes in the world created.
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