Leviathans

Lucy stared at her, blinking slowly. “You think it’s because of the leviathan you say you saw?”

Rayne huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms. “I saw it Lucy. And yes.” Lucy raised her palms in surrender. Rayne could tell her friend was shaking. Lucy realized the two of them were still standing at the doorway, and that she was wearing nothing but a thin shirt and panties. She wordlessly motioned at her living room, blushing slightly. The space had a three person couch, made of wood and padded with pulped plant matter. The red dye used to color the rug in the center of the room served to highlight it against the pale floor. A small table sat at the center of the room an ashtray, a notebook, a pen, and a small inkwell set on top of it. Rayne thanked Lucy with a look, and pulled her legs to her chest as she sat down. Lucy stepped towards her kitchen.

“I don’t know what to do, Lucy” Rayne said, tears beginning to flow from her eyes, as the magnitude of what happened hit her like a stone. “Whatever you have to do, Ray” she answered simply. Rayne turned to face her friend, as the sound of glasses clinking filled the silence. The light, pastel yellow walls of the home were a stark contrast to the stained wood that made up most of the cabinetry in Lucy’s kitchen. It was separated from the living room nothing more than a stone island. The girl moved from one of the glass-doored cupboards, an empty glass in each hand, to the refrigerator. A small, cube-shaped appliance that used a more focused cooling unit. The city had deemed them a “necessity”. Rayne tended to agree. Lucy opened the small door, and pulled out a pitcher of water. She filled each glass slowly. The silence in the room stretched.

Lucy walked back into her living room, and wordlessly handed Rayne a glass of water. Rayne suddenly realized how parched she was, gulping the water down greedily, spilling some of it on herself. Lucy stared at her, and couldn’t help but laugh. Rayne glared at her, indignant. “What? That was funny” the girl said, and Rayne huffed in response. Two small thumps sounded as they both put down their drinks. Or in Rayne’s case, just the empty glass. More silence. It stood between the two of them like a wall. Rayne wrung her hands, her left foot taping anxiously. Lucy didn’t know what to do to comfort her friend. “What am I supposed to do? They’ll exile me, Lucy. Or worse. Brand me.” Rayne said, her breathing coming fast and shallow. She was shaking. “you were right. I shouldn’t have said anything to anyone, I should’ve-“ Rayne began. “shh, shh. No. It’s okay” Lucy interjected, pulling Rayne in for a hug.

“It’s going to be okay Ray, I promise. We’ll figure something out, alright?” She said, as silent tears carved rivulets across the dust and dirt on Rayne’s face. Rayne held tight to Lucy, her soft crying and the low hum of magic the only sounds in the room. Lucy did her best to help, brushing Rayne’s hair with her fingers and whispering comfort. Slowly, the tears stopped, replaced by hard determination. “I have to get out of the city.” Rayne muttered, and Lucy’s eyes widened. “What do you mean get out of the city?” this hadn’t been what she meant when she said “figure something out”. In fact, it sounded completely insane to her.

“Exactly what I said. I’ll go somewhere else.” Rayne responded, confidence returning to her voice as she remembered the stories Master Ethan had told her. She leaned forward, a smile growing on her face. Wondrous sights awaited her. Briefly, the weight lifted. And then Lucy asked her questions: “Yeah? How? Where to? What’s your plan?” Lucy’s eyes locked with Rayne’s, and Lucy could see some of the fire leaving her friend’s eyes. Her own heart fell. “I… haven’t gotten that far yet.” Rayne answered, somewhat deflated. she sighed, and leaned back into the couch, raising her arm to cover her face.

Lucy stared at her. Rayne dropped her arm back down, her head leaning backwards. Lucy’s gaze wandered from Rayne, settling instead on random objects in her living room. The glasses on the table. The rings they left on the wooden table as a tiny amount of condensation dripped down their sides. She looked up, to the cabinet against the far wall, opposite the kitchen. Her eyes rested on the dishes she saw through the glass doors of the cabinet. She knew that each one was decorated with a different alsamari. Alsamari...? Lucy thought, an idea forming. She sat bolt upright. “Ray, what about an airship?” Lucy asked excitedly, looking right at her friend. Rayne’s confused expression gave way to understanding. “It would have to be one of the smaller ones” Rayne said, almost to herself. “Something I could operate by myself.”

“The fishermen.” The two said simultaneously. Their eyes locked in surprise, and neither could stifle a laugh. Lucy’s expression became more serious. “So. Steal one of the smaller airships the fishermen use?”

“Steal one of the smaller airships. Yes.” Rayne repeated, rubbing her hands together nervously. Lucy grabbed Rayne’s hands to still them. “I can get you some stuff you need from the tower. As long as you don’t open the door for anyone, you should be fine” Lucy said, getting up. “Let me get dressed” she continued, walking into a hall opposite the kitchen. Rayne stared down at her hands, and nodded. It was time to come up with a plan.

Lucy walked quickly to her room, her steps carrying her past two other doors before she finally reached the correct one. She stepped inside, and sat down on her bed. She brought her hands up to her chest. Her heart was pounding, and her breaths came quickly. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes. The thought of Rayne being chased down by the Haralam, being branded, was too much. She blinked away the tears, and stood back up. She needed to look strong. Rayne needed somebody to rely on. Lucy had long ago resolved to be that person.

She opened her closet and pulled on her technomage attire as quickly as she could. Undershirt. Shirt. Jacket. Leggings. Pants. Boots. Tool belt. One after the other. A moment’s pause before she slid her hand into a corner and pulled a stuffed coin purse out of a boot. Her savings. Lucy grabbed a large empty pack, and threw the coin purse inside of it without hesitation. A short turn on her heel, and she left the room.

Rayne was still sitting on the couch when Lucy returned, muttering to herself in concentration. Lucy looked at her, and knew better than to try and tell Rayne anything. None of it would get through. Rayne’s eyes were closed, and Lucy could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. “While you do your part, I’ll do mine.” She whispered, her grip on the pack tightening.

First, the tower. Then the market. She had some things to buy. Lucy took a single step before she was interrupted by a series of light taps. She turned to see Rayne, eyes still closed and still muttering, gesturing slowly to a piece of paper on the table. Lucy grabbed it to find a list of books and other things Rayne wanted her to get. At the bottom of the note, a scribbled “thank you”, and a small heart. Lucy smiled despite the day’s events. “Pack some supplies while I’m gone.” She said, hoping Rayne would hear her. Rayne nodded silently, and Lucy turned to leave.

Rayne had sunk into her own mental world. She could see the docks as if she were there. The sailors and fishermen walking around. The warehouses on one side varying from incredibly decrepit with peeling paint, to new and well-guarded. She swept her imaginary gaze to the opposite direction, seeing the chasm. It looked like a gaping maw, growing darker the farther it went down, as if the sun itself wanted to avoid whatever was far below. The docks thrust themselves out into the empty space, making the chasm look like a far-too-wide skeletal grin from above.

The docks were fairly neatly split between cargo and passenger airships, and the fishermen. That was lucky for her, because it meant that all of the likely targets would be in the same place. It was just a question of getting there unseen. She drew on her years working in the city to see a map of the area closest to the docks, zooming out in her mind. Lines drew themselves across the vision, intersecting and splitting apart as she tried to decide what path would be the best.

An echoing bang came from outside, shattering her concentration with a start. Her eyes shot open and heart nearly burst out of her chest before her brain realized it was the sound of a conduit rupturing somewhere nearby. She leaned back into the couch again, trying to slow her breathing.

Rayne looked around herself as she tried to calm down from the surprise. She had been in Lucy’s home before, and it always gave her the same cozy feeling. Even now, in the midst of everything that was happening, she felt comfortable here. Safe. The ceiling was low, but not low enough that any adult would need to bend down. Simple paintings decorated the walls, giving the room some life. A small climate control apparatus sat in the corner of the room. It drew on magic to cool things down if needed. They were expensive to purchase, and expensive to run. Rayne assumed Lucy’s family only used it in the dead of summer, when it got so hot it was dangerous.

Rayne realized she was hungry, and stood up to go into the kitchen. She dug a small piece of alsamari out of the refrigerator. She took a few steps towards the stove. She had thought as a child that their use of adapted runic technology, using stored magical energy to generate fire, was incredible. She sighed, grabbed a pan from one of the hooks above the stove and poured a small amount of oil into it. The smell of fried fish quickly began to fill the air.

Rayne continued to refine her plan as she cooked. Lucy was right. If her goal was the leave the city, she wouldn’t be able to just walk. They were surrounded all sides by desert. Caravans would come through, but for the most part, her city was isolated. She was in luck, however. Periodically, the technomages had to fix something on one of the airships. Seeing them up close had made her curious, so she had done some reading about them. She was fairly confident she could get one off the ground, and direct it once it was in the air.

She flipped the fish, some of the sizzling oil getting onto her arm. She cursed under her breath. The problem would be actually getting to one of the airships. With the Peacekeepers undoubtedly still in the streets, it’s not like she could walk there directly. Rayne had asked Lucy to bring her a change of clothes, as well as a spare set of tools. They would be cheap, but they would have to do. Thoughts of the leviathan leapt unbidden to her mind, and she grimaced. Part of her wished she had never seen it. A much larger part was curious. What are they. The smell of burning began to waft from the fish. She cursed her wandering attention again before grabbing one of the plates decorated with alsamari and unceremoniously upending the pan over it.

She sat back down, feeling the weight of the stone in her pocket as she placed the plate down on the table. It was still there. She let out a sigh of relief. Whatever it was, she had promised Master Ethan she’d take care of it. She pulled a piece of the alsamari off with her fingers. It was hotter than she expected, and she passed it from hand to hand before tossing it into her mouth and burning her tongue. “ah, ah, stupid!” she muttered, before briefly wondering if Master Ethan would want the stone back. Not that it mattered, she had no way of getting it to him without getting herself caught.

She pulled the gem out of her pocket with one hand, as she gingerly blew on the fish. She was as mesmerized by it as she had been the first time. She stared at it. It seemed to pulse in her hand, and she was confident the warmth it gave off wasn’t due to her body heat. It drew in all of her attention. As if begging her to understand. She shook her head. It was a pretty rock. Maybe it was infused with magic, but that should be the extent of it. Somehow though, she knew that wasn’t it. This was something else. She had asked Lucy to bring her any books she could find on “runestones”. Hopefully that would help.

Rayne put it carefully back into her pocket. She couldn’t afford to worry about it now. She realized she was thirsty again. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, downing it quickly, and then getting another. This one she drank slowly, standing near the island that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room. The liquid cooled her down and soothed her burnt tongue. She started to think. About what it was that she was actually going to do. That everything would be different from now on.

All of her realizations seemed to hit her at once, and her knees nearly buckled. She almost dropped the glass. Rayne grabbed the island with one hand. Her knuckles went white with the strain, and she scrunched her eyes shut. She was being chased out. If she didn’t run, she would probably end up dead. Even if she did run, she might end up dead anyway. She would be leaving the city she had spent her whole life in. She would be leaving everyone behind. She would be, for the first time in her life, truly alone. She couldn’t ask Lucy to abandon her family, her entire life. Rayne started to shake, and her tears started to flow. She put down the glass and sunk to the floor. She cried silently, sitting on the floor of Lucy’s kitchen. She usually wasn’t a very emotional person. But today hadn’t been easy so far. She didn’t think it was going to get any better.

She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. What came next didn’t matter. Like Lucy said, Rayne would do whatever she had to. And what she had to do was escape. What came afterwards, would come. But if she didn’t get out while she could, then there would be no future for her anyway. She begun to run her plan through her head again, trying to figure out as much as she could about how to actually reach the docks. That was the important part. Or, one of the important parts anyway. She would need basic supplies, like Lucy had mentioned. Rayne went over to Lucy’s room, and grabbed one of the packs that her friend used to sometimes carry extra equipment. She started to fill it with food, bottles of water, and anything else she could think of. Once she was done, she would eat her fish.

Two hours or so later, after Rayne had already started pacing, Lucy arrived. She was carrying the things that Rayne had asked her to bring. But she had also brought more. “Here’s some replacement tools, Ray. I know you lost some of yours.” She offered, smiling. The tools that Lucy held out seemed new. More than new, they were pristine. Rayne ran her hand over one of the tools, a small hook that served to separate conduits that had somehow gotten entangled. She recognized the metal they were made of. An alloy that had only recently been discovered. The tools seemed to shine and change colors as they caught the light. The tools wouldn’t break, they wouldn’t fail her, and best of all: they came with magnetic clamps that served to make sure she wouldn’t ever lose them. The tools must have must have been incredibly expensive. Rayne, awestruck, took them carefully. “where… where did you get these?” she asked, wonder coloring her face.

“You know how I’ve been saving up for a while? I decided that this was the best thing to use the money for” Lucy answered, the smile never leaving her face. “I wasn’t about to let you leave without some good tools, was I?” she continued, and Rayne was awestruck. She didn’t let her wonder show, however. “Lucy, are you crazy? That was the money you’ve been saving up for years.” Rayne said, pulling her hand back from the tools. Lucy shook her head. “What was I really going to do with it, Rayne? Really? Something better than make sure you have what you need?” She countered, and Rayne shook her head. Lucy sighed, and hugged Rayne, who arms were limp for a moment before returning the gesture. “I’ve already bought them, and I’m not taking them back. They’re yours.” Lucy pulled away, and handed Rayne the tools one by one.

Rayne put them in her belt as Lucy handed them to her, clipping the magnets into place and attaching the tools to them, taking particular care with the knife. She swept the loose piece of clothing Lucy had brought over herself, pulling the hood up and the pack on. Hopefully this works she thought. Rayne looked over at Lucy, who was adjusting her own cloak. “What do you think you’re doing, Lucy?” she asked, and Lucy looked startled. “Coming with you, obviously.” She answered, but Rayne shook her head. “You can’t. I can’t let you leave everything behind for me. What’re your parents going to do when they get home and you aren’t here?”

“Rayne, it’s okay, I’ve-“ Lucy began, but Rayne raised a hand to silence her. “No, Lucy. You have a life her. A family. Friends. I’ve been alone before. I grew up that way. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not going to let you do this alone, Ray.” Lucy argued. Rayne sighed. “Lucy, please. I can’t do this to you. I can’t let you leave with me, and I can’t have my last memory of you be us fighting. Please.” Rayne begged. Lucy pursed her lips, and sighed. She hugged Rayne, hard. Tears began to swim in her eyes. She knew Rayne was right. Lucy stepped away, and gave Rayne a quick nod. Rayne opened the door, and slipped back onto the streets. She blinked away tears for what felt like the thousandth time in the last few hours. She gathered herself, and started to move towards her objective.

Others were walking around wearing almost the exact same thing she was. Unfortunately, the clothes she was wearing underneath and her tool belt were slightly visible as bulges. She hoped that whoever looked at her would be too distracted by the pack she was carrying to notice anything amiss.

She had to force herself to walk at the same pace as everyone else. Had to force her eyes to look straight ahead. Force her breathing to stay steady. The Haralam seemed to be everywhere. On every corner almost. Rayne considered taking side streets, as she had before, but immediately decided it was a bad idea. If there weren’t people around for her to blend in with, she wouldn’t exactly be blending in, would she? She felt her nerves getting to her.

Rayne stuck to the main thoroughfares. She barely saw the city as she slowly walked through it. Just a day ago, she would have noticed the piping carrying magic energy into and over the buildings. She would have noticed the bustle of people, the shouting, the thrum of life. As it were, however, she saw none of it. She looked straight ahead, and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

As she approached the chasm, she felt safer. There were more people here. It served as the city’s main port, and most trade came through on one or another airship. Many of the citizens also owned their own personal ships. She was hoping to steal one of the personal ones. Right now though, she didn’t really care about why there were small airships. Only that she would be able to take one. And if she were careful, she would look like just another airfisher.

Finally, she turned onto the street that bordered the chasm. Calling it a street was probably a disservice though. It was at least twice as wide as any other street in the city. Giving the warehouses and mechanics the space they needed to work on everything that might come in, be it the goods the airships brought or the airships themselves. The air here smelled strongly of machine oil, sweat, fish and the myriad of spices that came through the docks. It was a vaguely familiar scent. When the wind was right, it was possible to catch a whiff even in the tower. Burly airmen and dockworkers pushed roughly past her as she walked slowly in their way. Their bare arms decorated with ritualistic scars representing their years of experience and accomplishments. For now, she was being ignored. She was just another person walking along the docks.

She looked towards the edge of the docks. The airships that were anchored came in more shapes and sizes than she could count. There didn’t seem to be anything like a “standard”. She remembered reading somewhere that shipwrights all operated on custom orders. She was inclined to believe that statement. Some of the ships were simple. Straight hulls, shaped slightly to reduce drag. She watched as a man passed a barrel to a woman, who walked along the docks with it. The wood the hulls of the ships were made of was always surprisingly thin. A variety of colors painted onto them. Some were being repainted as she watched. Some had figureheads. Dragons, birds of prey, legends. Others were decorated in tribal designs, hard edges and smooth curves merging into mesmerizing shapes. They were one of the few bright and colorful things about her city.

All of them seemed to float weightlessly thanks to the large balloons that were an integral part of their construction. Magic held them up, Rayne knew, and the balloons served as containers for it. No gas would be able to lift the ships by itself. She looked at one ship, whose hull was shaped around its balloon like a grasping set of claws. Others looked more traditional, their hulls simply hanging below the balloons, tethered with thick rope and cable. Those were the ones Rayne was looking for. She had never actually handled one of the airships, and keeping it simple was probably best.

Rayne realized she had been staring, and got back to moving. The sound of engines running filled her ears. The propellers that drove and maneuvered the airships were louder than she remembered, and competed with the sounds of the cranes. Her breath started to get shallow. A man yelled at her to get out of the way, and she ducked as one of boxes that hung below the cranes swung above her. “Hey!” she couldn’t stop herself from yelling, but the man ignored her. Rayne looked up at the crane. A large wooden structure with pulleys and winches along the length, connected to a runic engine at the base that served to carry the weight. This particular crane had a counterweight hanging from a crossbar, so it could carry heavier loads. She ducked her head, and pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

Rayne made her way through the crowd, noticing a small amount of Haralam. Her blood chilled. It would be trivial to stop her if anyone noticed what she was doing. She tugged her hood down farther, and kept walking. The sand-swept stone and wood beneath her feet filled her vision for a few moments as she walked only a few feet or so in front of one of the people she was convinced was hunting for her. She raised her eyes, and scoured the docks. Trying desperately to find an airship that she could steal. She didn’t let her gaze linger on the cranes, as the ships they were unloading would be too large. She could feel every beat of her heart.

The noise, the smell, the sights, the people, all suddenly became overwhelming. She turned into a side alley as her throat threatened to constrict. Rayne tried to follow the calming exercises that Master Ethan had taught her. She squeezed her eyes shut, and cupped her hands over her ears. Her mind raced. What if she didn’t find a way out? What if she was stuck here? What if there were no small airships today, so soon after a sand storm? Rayne didn’t know what she would do if she were branded, all she knew how to do was related to runic technology. To have that torn away from her. She forced the thought to stop.

Suddenly, a tap on her shoulder. Rayne whirled around, wild-eyed, and found Lucy behind her. Lucy’s face was set with a determined expression. “What are you doing here?” Rayne hissed, balling her hands into fists. “Making sure you don’t get yourself caught. Or worse. Killed.” Lucy retorted, crossing her arms. “I told you to stay home, Lucy! What about your parents?” Rayne asked desperately. “I don’t want to drag you into this!” she continued. Lucy shook her head. “My parents will be fine, Rayne. But you might not be if I don’t help you.” The girl said, her jaw set. Rayne looked away, conflicting emotions running through her. She wanted Lucy to come, but it wasn’t safe.

Lucy interrupted Rayne’s train of thought by pointing back outside the alley, toward the docks. Rayne’s eyes found what Lucy was pointing at. A small, seven or eight person Airship, being tied to the dock by the owner. The hull was sleek, and it looked like it would be fast. Even the balloon was designed to be aerodynamic. Better yet, only one man had been piloting it. Rayne turned back to face Lucy, who had raised an eyebrow. Rayne sighed, and then hugged Lucy again. “Thank you. So much. I’m sorry for all this. I know you don’t believe that I saw anything.” Rayne whispered and Lucy smiled, hugging her back. “I’ll have you pay me back for it later, don’t worry.”

Lucy Let go, and Rayne turned back to face the ship. Rayne felt for the large knife at her waist, which would serve to sever the rope holding the airship down. She thumbed the edge, making sure it was sharp. Lucy’s steady breathing from beside her helped calm her nerves. A minute passed, and then another. The man tying the knots cursed as his hand slipped. He started over. Rayne was getting impatient. It wouldn’t do to screw up now, she thought, as one of the Haralam decided to stand just ahead of the two of them. Lucy’s eyes widened in disbelief, Rayne had to stop herself from swearing. Their luck couldn’t possibly be this bad, could it?

Lucy looked at Rayne and pointed at herself, and then the Haralam. Rayne nodded. The man had finished his knot and started walking away. It was now or never. Lucy gestured forward, and ran straight into the Haralam, shoving whoever it was hard. The person fell sideways, hands slapping hard against the street. By then, Rayne had crossed half the distance to the airship. People had noticed. Someone reached out to stop her. She ducked under their grasping hands, slipping the knife out of its sheath. She sliced the rope with one fluid motion, and leapt onto the airship.

She landed, sprawling onto the deck. The wood groaned at her sudden arrival and shouts followed after her. She turned back to find Lucy be grabbed by someone just before she could get on. Rayne ran forwards and pulled Lucy out of the airman’s grip just as her friend kicked him backwards. She pulled Lucy aboard, handing her the pack she was carrying. While Rayne ran towards the helm, Lucy saw a hole leading below and threw all of their supplies inside. She made it to the helm just as Rayne pulled the lever that controlled how fast the airship rose as far as it would go.

“Come on, come on.” Rayne muttered, as magic from the reservoir underdecks surged through serpentine conduits into the balloon above her. She imagined she could see it bubbling upwards, almost hungrily, through the coils near her. Lucy looked up, waiting desperately. She heard feet hitting the deck in front of her just as the airship surged upward. Their screams were drowned out by the rush of wind as they were nearly thrown off. Rayne clutched grimly to the railing to try and steady herself, while Lucy’s hands clung to her like vices.

Rayne looked over to see the Haralam Lucy had pushed down crouched low against the wood of the ship. Fear colored the person’s face for a moment before they broke into a charge towards her. The two girls wouldn’t win in a fight against a trained soldier. Rayne flipped the lever back down in the other direction, forcing the ship into a steep dive.

Rayne held onto the railing for dear life as the nose of the ship plunged downwards into the chasm. Her eyes watered from the wind, but she could feel Lucy next to her, pulling the lever back up to right the ship again. The two looked up only to see the Haralam be flung off the edge and into the depths below. Lucy’s chest tightened. The Haralam’s face, a mix of disbelief and pure terror, was etched into her mind. “It was you or us” she said to the empty air. Rayne squeezed her hand and pulled on her goggles.

Lucy did the same, and Rayne began accelerating out of the chasm, as quickly as she could. Behind them, she heard the fading sounds of people running to the edge, trying to find out what had just happened. Other airships began the process of lifting off, clearly wanting to give chase. Lucy hoped the two of them would get far enough away before they could catch up.

They cleared the city, and looped upwards in the opposite direction. Rayne had decided she would follow the nearby river to the sea, and then go up the coast. Below her, the city they had lived in their whole lives looked small. The towers rising up from it like the grasping, skeletal fingers of a dying man. The hard part of Rayne’s heart thought it was an apt image. The two girls held hands. Squeezing tightly. The rocky plateaus the city was built on jutted out of the desert. Dunes spread all around below them, wind-worn in their reds, yellows, and browns. The sun above threatened to burn their skin, the water below glittered in the radiant light. It was the most beautiful thing Rayne had ever seen. She was about to leave it behind forever. And she was taking her best friend with her.