Chapter 3: Disguise

The dinner was almost ready when he arrived home as he smelled venetian stew lingering in the air. Beside his rumbling belly, he also noticed differences in the camp too. With the torch's all around, it didn't take him long to notice how the place became more spacious. More convenient. 

The small clearing where he usually spent his time also widened. Is that bad? No. He was not surprised by how the trees shifted to change the camp's border, he questioned why the whole cabin was rebuilt into...well, more like a formal house rather than a temporary one.

"We're staying," Dina said as if reading Ivar's mind.

"Wash your hands over there, and make yourself useful by washing those dishes. And have you seen your father?"

"He said he'll try to communicate with the spirits around the forest." 

"The well is clean. You should be able to fetch water."

"But how?"

"Don't ask me, Rowan and Harald sucked the water from the river up here. How did they do it? I don't know. I'm a Tippler, not Wheezer. And your brother made a watch tower above the trees..."

Ivar glanced above to see Harald grinning on a roofless tree house.

"... and other equipments for your training—"

"Hold on," Ivar interrupted.

"How about the dangers, the Seekers, and the imperial guards?"

Yesterday, they were considering this place as a threat. Whatever changed their minds, Ivar isn't comfortable with it.

"I'll check the stew. Your father will explain when he returns. Now go," his mother said, and went back to the kitchen.

Few moments later the three of them were at the table, except Rowan, who was still in the woods seeking guidance from the spirits who reside in the forest. 

But he soon appeared at the door, wearing a funny disguise—a fake mustache and a wig that Ivar has no idea where his father got from. Rowan told them that he made a quick visit to their house at Frulenberg to fetch his remaining items for the ritual.

"Any news from Frulenberg?" Dina asked.

"It's a pretty tough night," Rowan said, staring hungrily at the food.

"The town chieftain, Rudwick, ordered his men to double their patrol on the southern front, which made it harder for me to pass without causing an alarm. 

Ruins! The seekers whom we thought had left to pursue Harald's clone stayed," he said, removing his fake mustache.

"Suits you," Harald said, gesturing at his father's look.

"Good thing no one noticed our disappearance. It turns out your friend Jasnah had been lighting the lamps in our house at night so the seekers won't suspect. And our good neighbors occupied the rooms to further convince the scouts."

Jasnah! Did she know about it? he asked himself. Of course she does, she was playing with him most of the time.

"They think we're still around somewhere near Frulenberg, isn't it father?" Ivar asked.

"Yes."

"Mother said we're staying." 

"Ah, yes. Since we don't have the enough means to travel.The provisions were insufficient, and we would be left exposed to enemy territory. I said this is the safest place for us now that winter's coming."

"But so near to the Seekers?" Harald said.

"Near enough that they don't suspect our presence," Rowan retorted.

"Other than that, we don't have a choice. I'll show you a map sometimes, so you can realize how futile it is to leave this area unprepared. Since our encounter last day, they expected us to travel on the neighboring cities which they already swarmed with more Scouts consisting of Imperial Alchemists you may not wish to meet."

Rowan took a ravenous bite at the steak, dipping it on a hot chili sauce Dina made earlier. Ivar could see his father's exhaustion from visiting their previous home.  He wanted to ask him if he saw his kite that Jasnah made for him on his room. But he decided not to bring that up. It may means a lot to Ivar, but to his family, it is just a child's toy. An unnecessary baggage to carry.

"This morning, your father received a message from the far west of the empire, carried by a wind spirit," Dina said.

"And what does it say?" Harald asked.

"An invitation..." His father took a sip of the ale he brought from Frulenberg, and wiped his mouth. 

" ...to unite the scattered keepers of the wind."

"And where would that be?" Ivar asked.

"Many years ago, I received a message from my brother in the region of Surmwale, that a large group of elite Alchemists were building a safe haven for all that possesses the power of nature. Its main purpose, however, is to create an army of Alchemists capable of resisting the oppression of the emperor.

"Now you might ask me why I chose not to get involved in their cause. In my mind back then, I was eager to convince people that we are not a threat to his rule... That we let him do his own thing while accepting us as a part of his empire..."

"But that didn't happen." Ivar said.

"Yes."

"I thought the Emperor wanted peace and was just afraid of what we could do. The imperial guards and seekers weren't so popular back then. Almost a myth that didn't exist. I was foolish not to realize his real intention, which is to seek all the power to himself."

Ivar cannot understand why the emperor, who has almost everything in this world, still wants more power. What would he do if he learned their secret? 

Later that night, he climbed the watch tower and decided to sleep there, under the blanket of the starry night sky. His brother was there as well, leaning on the tree's trunk.

"Can't sleep too?" he said.

"I miss our home. In Frulenberg."

"I think you miss someone who lives in Frulenberg."

"Jasnah and I used to think about going to a place they called school, where anyone can learn everything they wished to know."

"Wonderful. But it's not free, I've heard of it," Harald said.

"But Jasnah mentioned a city just north of the town who offers them with no charges!"

"And what are they gonna teach you? About economy, mathematics, and other things used to live in a normal society. You know you can't do that."

"And what do you want me to do about my whole life? Are you satisfied with playing hide and seek for the rest of your life?"

"That is why we are taught to fight, so that one day we can live freely as we want. And if we die doing what we think is right, At least we give our children a better hope for the future."

"Sacrifices." Ivar said, yawning.

He's willing to give his life for the sake of others. But what about me? he thought. He has dreams too, far away from here. Would he really give up that dream for a life that wasn't his? Ivar cleared his thoughts. He was afraid he's getting selfish. He wished he could somehow do the same breathing his father had done, and summon a wind to take him somewhere peaceful. Father said he's gonna teach me the other day, yet Ivar only ended up being lost in the jungle.

"I wonder why father always forgets to teach me breathing techniques."

Ivar shifted near his brother.

"Will you teach me?"

"No," Harald replied.

"Why not?"

"Simply because it's a waste of time, it won't work. Wait after your awakening ritual. But you shouldn't worry about that; father said it will be tomorrow night. So you must prepare yourself for what will happen," Harald said.

"Why, what happened during the ritual?"

His brother sighed. He took a worried glance at Ivar.

"I am not allowed to say. It'll only cast fear into your heart. Just trust that everything will be fine."

"Thanks, now I can't sleep wondering about tomorrow."

"Trust me, you can't sleep either if I tell you. And worse, you might not want to proceed in the rit—"

"Just stop it." Ivar said, closing his eyes.

"I won't ask you again, Harald."

Harald chuckled as he rolled to the side. Few minutes later, he was snoring loudly.

Fireflies came out of nowhere. No, wind spirit, he thought. Their twinkling lights were almost indistinguishable to the stars, had they not flying above the tree.

Is it really possible to make friends with spirits? Ivar tried to speak to them, but he hesitated. Harald might still be awake and would find it weird and would just laugh at him. Perhaps talking to them won't work either because of the same excuse they say, 'You haven't done the ritual.'

But what really is it? Should I be worried? he said to himself. His brother implies that he should, because something will happen so disturbing that he might wanna give up.

There's still a lot to learn, he thought. Perhaps one day, when hope is scarce and his courage is running out, he may rely on his curiosity to drive himself forward.

That's it, he said to himself.

'Tomorrow, I'll find out what really happens during the awakening ritual.'