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12/2/T/xx-80
Someone once told me people are not to be judged by what they look like on the outside, for it is the heart that truly matters in the end.
He should have known this better than anyone as this lesson was a nightmare he lived. With scars that covered every inch of his body, and eyes that mirrored the look of a starving beast, he could be called a monster. Even so, I trusted him—as foolish as it may seem.
Pausing in his writing to look out the window, Tobias released a deep sigh. The last golden rays of sunlight streamed through the open curtains, painting the pages he wrote on a warm yellow. Black ink had smeared across his hand, and his fingers were starting to cramp. His chair at the desk had been comfortable when he first sat down, but now he couldn’t stop shifting in it.
He had promised them a record of the events, but introductions were so frustratingly difficult. Once he got past the hard part, he knew the story would flow easily. It still sat at the forefront of his mind, even after all the years that had gone by.
He shook himself and tilted his head downward to face the scribbled words once more.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is something we are often told, but the ones that tell us are usually the ones that ignore their own advice.
Maybe it is fear that drives us to make these choices. Maybe it is a cruelty we all deny we have. We think ourselves to be above things that are different and therefore look down upon those things. Is it, perhaps, our need to conquer? As humans, do we feel insignificant and require something to suppress this?
He stopped to stare at the words. Muttering to himself, he resisted the urge to tear the page into a million pieces and start all over again. The record had to be written, lest the whole ordeal happen again. Whatever it may be, he wrote, I was challenged to see past it. I found allies within my enemies and enemies within my allies. That is the twisted way of life, is it not? Ah, but my story does not have an exciting beginning like some do. It began just as any other day would: with clear, autumn skies—the season called Xenah in Calistie. My story started with a book I could not understand, a tree, and a woman I’d go so far as to call annoying.
7/3/D/xx-68
The old door creaked on its hinges as Tobias pulled it shut. He lingered outside of it for a moment, staring down at the key tightly clenched in his fingers. A sigh slipped through his lips.
Another day under the tree, huh? He twisted the key, satisfied as the locks clicked in place. Dad and Talia should hurry back before my eyes turn into an old man’s. The trail of thought withered as quickly as it had come. He stayed behind of his own choice, but he never imagined how lonely it could get at home while they were away.
The carvings in the mahogany door greeted him as his gaze traveled away from the lock. In the early morning light, the red highlights buried deep within the wood seemed brighter, as if the door were bathed in flames. It was warm and comforting, like the hearth when he could sit around it with his family during the cold season of Sefah.
When the house was empty—as it had been for the last several weeks—it was suffocating to sit there alone. Though outside, surrounded by the winds of the changing seasons and the distant cries of the dragonborn people, the tree provided a moment of peace for Tobias that the empty house would only snuff out.
Standing up straighter, he dropped the cord that bound the key over his head and tucked the cold metal into his shirt. Once he was certain that the small key had been safely hidden away, he gripped the strap of his satchel and spun on his heel. The grass rustled beneath his boots as he walked away, trekking down the slight slope from the house to the old oak in the distance.
The monotonous walk drowned away beneath the buzz of Tobias’s thoughts. It was the same thing every morning: wake up, pack, head out to the tree. After repeating the routine for the umpteenth time, the excitement and curiosity had dulled, swaying more into frustration. The only reason he began his morning in such a way was to avoid the work he knew would be waiting for him at his desk when he returned.
If I have to choose between staring at words I can’t read, and staring at words I wish I couldn’t read, I’d choose the first any day. There were only so many unedited manuscripts he could skim in a day before he began to long for the mystery that occupied his mornings.
Dropping his bag beside the roots of the oak tree, Tobias sifted through the contents until he dug up the source of it all: the curiosity, the excitement, the frustration, and the scolding from Talia had come from this. His fingers brushed against its spine, feeling the ridges along the middle from where the book had been bent a little too far back.
A blank, white cover met him as he turned it over. The empty, fingerprint-stained face mocked him.
Another day under the tree, attempting to uncover the mysteries of the stubbornly confusing script between the stained covers.
Tobias frowned at the white leather-bound book in his hands. The weathered pages, turning yellow at the edges, taunted him. The neatly-formed letters were beautiful to stare at—crafted with a steady yet graceful flow—but the words they created were gibberish to him.
He knew one thing for certain: he hated the white leather-bound book. Its gold embellishments shone too brightly in the early morning sunlight that filtered through the auburn leaves above him. Flipping the page only revealed another set of words and symbols that meant nothing to him.
He had been staring at the same stupid book on and off for six years whenever he got the chance, yet not one person he had consulted had been able to tell him what it was or what the words meant. Not even his older sister, despite all her wisdom and knowledge. The confusion etched into her face when he showed it to her for the first time was something he could never forget.
“If there’s anyone who can figure this out,” she had said, “it’s you.”
The only thing he had figured out thus far was that he hated that book more than he hated his own lack of knowledge about it. No amount of note-taking or attempted deciphering could uncover the mystery behind its delicate, handwritten script.
He sighed and leaned his head back against the tree behind him. Clouds rolled over the deep blue sky, briefly blocking the bright sunlight. The wind picked up and breezed through the book, turning over several more pages before he finally slammed his hand down to stop the motion.
He glared at the book, like it was the one at fault for the cold winds. One of these days, he would bury it in the ground and forget all about its secrets. He had no use for something he couldn’t understand, and all it ever seemed to do was frustrate him.
And yet… He never did toss the book. The mere thought of doing so pulled sharply at his gut. After all, what if it turned out to be important somehow? The world he knew had changed significantly in the six years since he found it abandoned in a forest near the mountains.
With restless hybrids beyond the border, a new High Summoner to rule us, and a new batch of Dragon Riders for my sister to teach, the world isn’t what it once was anymore. It’s bound to need this… book. Whatever it is.
Or at least, that was how he justified his holding onto it.
When the wind died down again, he smoothed his hair back and turned his gaze toward the Hybrid Territory. Beyond the forests to the east of his home lay the border to the land of the Draconic peo
ple—the pure dragonborn and their half-breed offspring, the hybrids. A roar resounded from somewhere beyond the border, sending a shiver down Tobias’s spine. Despite how often he had heard the rough sound, it never ceased to make him wonder what—or who—had become the next victim of the monsters’ insatiable hunger.
The sound died down, gradually replaced by the morning calls of birds. His shoulders relaxed, and he leaned back to look up at the red-brown leaves of the old oak tree. It had been his favorite place to read for years; now, he wondered if it would stay safe.
Although, with Deiah’s warm season coming to a swift end, many of the dragons would soon begin their hibernation. The leaves had darkened, and the cold had settled in much earlier this year. Tobias could only hope the abnormality would put an end to the noise of the hybrids, too.
“What are you reading?”
Tobias shot to his feet and scrambled away, looking left and right for the source of the voice.
A woman laughed before stepping out from behind the thick trunk of the tree, her hands clasped behind her back. She looked to be about a year older than him, having just entered her twenties; in spite of this, her voice was high-pitched and curious, like that of a little girl. Dark brown hair spilled down her back in loose waves; it was paired nicely with her tanned skin—earned by many hours spent in the sun. When she smiled, her eyes narrowed slightly.
Tobias huffed and straightened the front of his tunic, tucking the white book under one arm. “Why does it matter to you?” He hadn’t heard her approach at all. How long had she been there watching him? Had she been there all morning? Had he been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed?
As soon as the question left his lips, however, he winced. He could have told her the name of any novel; she might have accepted it and left, but he just had to be curt and rude right off the bat. Way to go, Tobias. Now she’ll want to pester you even more.
“Pardon me,” she said, tipping her head to the side. “I was just curious. I’ve been to this spot many times before and have never seen you here.” She fixed him with a sharp stare, a mischievous gleam in her sapphire blue eyes.
Tobias came to the tree to read—or stare at the white book—every day. He was the one who had never seen her. A red flag went up in his mind. Gritting his teeth, he scooped up his satchel from where he had dropped it in the grass and slung it over his shoulder, holding tight to the white book.
“Leaving so soon?” she asked. “Before you go, might I ask you a question?”
“You just did. Twice, actually.”
He caught a glimpse of her rolling her eyes as she stepped toward him. “A different one.”
Frowning, he narrowed his eyes and met her stare with one of his own. She blinked, smiling innocently. One question couldn’t hurt. With a sigh, he waved his hand for her to continue.
“Where did you find such a book? I must say, the cover is beautiful.” She tilted her head to get a better view of the book in his arms, her chestnut brown hair spilling over her shoulders. Leaning forward, she reached to touch the book.
Tobias jerked back, putting another couple of steps between them. Beautiful was not the word he would use to describe the plain white cover: it was stained with dirt, grass, and fingerprints from years of use. Even the gold embellishments Tobias hated were being worn away from touch.
He shrugged off her question. Despite the warnings in his mind, he couldn’t help the curiosity that stirred beneath his wariness. Did she know something about the book that he didn’t? “What do you want?”
She huffed and folded her arms over her chest, increasing her childish air. When she narrowed her blue eyes at him, he caught a certain spark of gold in them, glowing in the bright sunlight. It flick
ered with a life of its own, clearly not just a reflection of the light in her eyes.
“Aren’t you just so polite!” She pouted, and the spark of gold vanished.
Annoyance overtook his wariness and deepened his frown. “Polite? Well, excuse me!” He snorted at her look of indignation. “You’re one to talk. You seem convinced you know something about me—convinced enough to strike up a conversation.”
There was a slight chance that she might have been sent by his sister—Talia would send her friends with messages on occasion when she couldn’t come herself. But no sooner had the thought occurred to him than he tossed it aside. Even Talia’s friends thought to introduce themselves before beginning a conversation.
The woman raised a thin brow and rested a hand under her chin. “You really don’t know anything, do you?” She sighed and tsked, using her fingers to comb her long hair back over her shoulder. “He did say you might as well be living under a rock.”
He? Tobias shoved the book into his bag, biting the inside of his mouth. A tug at the back of his mind urged him to leave, but another question kept his feet rooted to the ground. The wind toyed with his hair and clothes again, like it too was urging him to give up on his rising curiosity and go.
All the while, the woman’s gaze never left him.
With a shiver, he noticed it was more like she was looking through him. Her eyes were glazed over and the only thing that shone with life was the sparkle of gold he’d seen before. It danced and swirled, much like the look of the magic wielded by Mages.
She shook her head, and the moment vanished, just as the wind fell silent once more. “Well?”
“How am I supposed to know anything if no one tells me?” he asked. His hands itched to take hold of his sword, but when he lifted his fingers to grab it, they closed on empty air. Eyes flicking to the spot at his waist where it should have been, he found that there was nothing there.
Of course, he thought bitterly as he bit the inside of his cheek. I forgot it again. Subconsciously, his hand reached for the key around his neck. The cool metal pressed against his chest. He exhaled slowly in relief. At least he still had that.
The woman didn’t bother to answer this time. Rather, she leapt forward and thrust her hands into the bag at his side before he had a chance to pull back. With a triumphant smile, she yanked the book free and danced away. Holding it up, she gazed at it with a strange sort of fondness. Tobias leapt back on instinct, eyes wide and mouth ajar. At the sight of his surprise—or just the feel of the book in her gloved hands—laughter spilled from her lips.
“If you want to know anything, you should start by paying attention to what’s going on around you,” she said with a hum, waving the book in his face.
Warmth flooded his cheeks; he shot her his best glare. This only made her laugh again, hands on her knees with the book under one arm. He curled his fingers into a tight fist, clenching his jaw.
“Return that to me,” he snapped. “It doesn’t belong to you.”
The woman looked up, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes as she finally caught her breath. She cleared her throat and pulled the front of her red blouse straight again, adjusting her collar and smoothing her skirts down. Her lips twitched with a suppressed smile. She held the book out for him to take.
Eyeing her, he reached to take it back.
With a gasp, she pulled it back and cracked it open, holding up a finger when he opened his mouth to protest. “Let me just take a look at something!”
Rage swept away the previous warnings in Tobias’s mind, wrapping him in a burning desire to strike her. But he refrained, curling his fingers into tight fists at his sides. If there was one thing his sister Talia had drilled into his head, it was that he couldn’t hit a girl.
He wondered if that included annoying, thieving girls too.
“Can you even read this?” she asked, pointing at the very same page he had been staring at earlier. The neatly written words and
carefully drawn images still looked like gibberish to him, though beautiful enough to stare at for hours.
“No.” He curled his lip. “Why should that matter to you?”
She frowned, her nose scrunching up as she stared down at the book. “I’d bet anything it’s a spellbook. Did you know Mages write in a secret code to keep nosy people from learning their spells and twisting them to their will? As though people who have magic powers aren’t trained to read the code, but whatever.” With a shrug, she snapped the book shut.
Tobias studied her, mulling over her words. Could it really be a spellbook? His eyes narrowed as he wondered what else she might know about it. Anything he could glean from her would be a step forward, but a thread of impatience and mistrust wound tightly around his thoughts.
He only knew one thing for certain, and that was that she couldn’t keep the book. His gut twisted at the very thought of it staying in her hands.
Shifting his feet, he lunged forward. The woman met his eye and smirked. She twisted and swiped his feet out from under him, placing a hand on his shoulder and sending him crashing to the ground. He gasped as pain flared in his back. Before he could right himself again, the cold blade of a knife landed at his throat.
The woman planted her knee on his chest, leaning down so that she was face to face with him. Her knife pressed against his throat, making him clamp his mouth shut as he stared up at her.
“I think I’m going to keep this book. I know someone who needs it more than you do, but I’m sure he’ll thank you for holding it for him until now.” She chuckled, and a wicked smile twisted her face. “The Mage it used to belong to was rather protective of her spells.”
She pulled back and stepped away, sheathing the knife at her waist, where an array of others lay in wait—previously hidden beneath a swath of red cloth. “The name’s Eira, by the way. I suggest you not be so careless next time we meet! I may not be feeling as merciful then—oh! And your sword is in the tree if you want it back.” With another wink, she pressed her lips to her hand and blew a kiss before taking off with the book. Tobias rolled to the side and pushed himself to his feet with a grunt. He looked at her, then up at the tree. Sure enough, his sword had been wedged into the branches just above his head. He cursed and scrambled up the tree to get it. Wrapping his fingers around the sheath, he pulled until it came free. He leapt down and turned to face the way she had gone. Eira was still within his sights. Tying the sheath of his sword to his waist, he gritted his teeth and rushed after her. Just like that, the book he despised so much had been taken. The thing that caused so much frustration for years was finally gone.
But it didn’t matter. “Eira!” he yelled after her, his feet pounding against the worn dirt roads that led away from his home and his tree.
He was going to get that book back.
