EA Chapter 32 - Letters From Home

The sun was starting to dip by the time the Hawks made it back to the Citadel. Luna had not bought anything more than her books and scrolls, but she had still taken the time to join the others for a meal. It seemed the socially acceptable thing to do, and the girls weren’t bad as far as comrades went.

When the time came to overthrow the monarchy of Elthreme, she’d rather them as allies than adversaries.

To Luna’s mild surprise the Citadel’s postmaster had left a letter in their dorm room in her absence. She knew at once, by the cheap parchment envelope, that it was a letter from home. As her family had promised, to her annoyance, they wrote often to her. Even when nothing ever happened in Strafford’s Harbour.

“Another letter from home?” Syri asked.

“Naturally,” Luna said, slicing the envelope open with a stroke of her finger.

“Geez your parents are really invested. We only get a letter once every two month,” Romula said, hopping onto her bed and getting comforable.

“Ma only writes me once a year,” Kiharu said, picking a chunk of meat from between her teeth. “But beastkin aren’t as needy as humans. One of our many advantages.”

Syri sighed, setting her freshly bought sword oil on her desk. “I could say something very mean right now, but I’ll be mature and refrain,” she said.

Ignoring the chatter, Luna unfurled the letter and took a glance at it. As ever, the first paragraph was dominated by Feris’ broad, scrawling handwriting. Everything after that was in her mother’s tighter, neater scrawl.

Luna

Ma sed I could write the start of this letter. Miss you lots. Is the Sit Citadel still a nice place? I hope so. Even if your not here, I hope you enjoy where you are.

Luna rolled her eyes. Mother really needed to improve the boy’s spelling.

Things are the same here as ever. Damon still hasn’t bothered me. Whatever you sed to him must have scared him super bad. I am glad.

Stay safe and get strong. And come visit whenever you can.

She gave a small sigh. Well she supposed it wasn’t the worst, having her family worry over her. Irritating or otherwise, they were still paying some measure of attention to her. It was more than she had gotten in her old life.

Still, she could have done with fewer letters. Her eyes scanned lower to her mother’s part of the letter.

Luna

I hope you are alright. Being honest, I still regret letting you go off to the Citadel. Still, as your mother, I know what you are like. And frankly, I know nothing I could have said would have been enough to change your mind when it is committed to something.

You have always been a driven and determined girl. In some ways, I have found that side of you to be intimidating. But, seeing how that same part of you was what saved our town from the Mire, I cannot complain too much. All is well and safe here. Nothing else has come out of the sea to harm us, and the new soldiers are a welcome addition to Strafford’s Harbour.

Please stay safe, and know you will always have a home here.

Luna folded the letter and set it on her desk. She wasn’t the sentimental type, never had been, but it was nice that they cared. She made for the door, stretching her arms as she did so. “I’ll be back in a bit,” she said.

“Huh?” Kiharu cocked her head. “Letter from home got you panicked or something?”

“No no, nothing like that,” Luna said, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. “There’s just someone I need to speak to.” Getting hold of Kane had been difficult since the end of the tournament, but she knew for a fact that he trained on the weekends. She’d get her answers on Aryn’s strange power, one way or another.

“You’re not sneaking off to meet a boy, are you?” Syri asked warily.

Luna rolled her eyes. “Syri, if you keep thinking like that then I’ll have to plant you like a tree.”

Romula sat up, flashing her a toothy grin. “That’s not a no!”

“Two trees,” Luna growled. She left the room and hurried through the towers. At this hour there were only a handful of other cadets milling around, a few of them watching Luna in passing and hastily glancing away whenever she looked at them.

She couldn’t help but smirk. It was nice to already have a reputation in her first year. By her own estimates, she had to be one of, if not, the strongest in her year. She still needed to maintain her training, however, and already it seemed her body had largely adapted to the weighted gear. So much so that it was no longer doing much for her or the rest of her team.

Well, given a little more time, she’d find another method to improve their training. The Hawks had a lead on he other teams, and Luna planned on maintaining that lead.

“Ah, Cadet Alcett.”

Luna was snapped from her thoughts by a deep, coarse voice. She turned and found herself staring up at Old Scratch’s familiar, scarred visage. She moved on a reflex, saluting by curling her right fist toward her left shoulder. “Sir,” she greete.

“So formal, for a girl who popped a prince’s arm from the socket.”

“Just part of the competition, sir,” she replied, slowly relaxing her stance.

Old Scratch snorted. “Faux modesty might fool some folks, Alcett but it doesn’t work on me. Not that it matters. For as much as the upper crust might grouse about you manhandling a prince, it reflect well on me.” He grinned, his scar forming a grim outline on the side of his face. “After all, the mystery bumpkin with the Way of the Cosmos at her fingertips was recruited by yours truly.”

“Indeed, sir,” said Luna, a small twitch of annoyance forming in the back of her mind. As if her accomplishments had anything to do with the old fool.

“Well, regardless,” the old man said, reaching for a pouch on his belt. “I felt you were owed a gift for your accomplishments. So, take this with my thanks.” He held a knife, a touch shorter than her forearm, toward her. It was sheathed in an elegant scabbard of black leather, marked with the crossed lances and laurel of Elthreme.

She took the blade from him with care, silently drawing it from the sheath. She marvelled at how the metal, rose gold in hue, shone in the fading sunlight of the day. It was quite unlike any metal she had seen in this world, or even her own.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Old Scratch asked, settling a hand on his hip. “Weren’t cheap to commission, but a smith owed me a big favour. It’s an adeptium knife. Special alloy of iron and adasite ore, from the northern mountains. Sturdy stuff. Course, a little blade like that would only be some dire last resort if you were totally drained of qi. Or, you know, if you had to cut your own throat to save yourself from a longer, more painful death.”

“Ah. How considerate. My thanks.” She feigned a smile, but she was quite intrigued by the adeptium in her grasp. It was tougher than steel, that much was obvious. And, potentially, a great conduit for a rune.

She just needed to think of the right one to put onto it.

“Naturally. I have high hopes for you, Alcett.” The larger man turned and started away from her. “We live in dangerous times, after all.”

Luna watched him go, her eyes narrowing just a tad. Her magic reached out with a tentative brush, the merest ghost of a touch on Old Scratch’s thoughts. She could sense his anxiety, a fear that was smothered beneath his normally cocksure demeanour.

Something had indeed happened by the Bulwark. Death and destruction had torn through the soldiers assigned to map the Ashlands. And, from what little Luna glimpsed from Old Scratch’s outermost thoughts, the fear was that the ashborn would encroach upon the wall with renewed force.

Luna smiled. Perhaps she’d get another chance to prove herself sooner than she thought...