A short story of my apprentice, before they’ve become the Scilla we know and get annoyed at.
Million thanks to @heartofnopal, who was kind enough to beta this!
Sharp rays of the midday sun turned the air unbearably hot, making every breath feel like sandpaper. Across the dusty town square, a group of kids were playing Temse in the shade of the palm trees.
“Which one is it?”
“On the left. The child of that fugitive jeweller, Ajju.”
He remembered the woman well. She was born in the Inadan cast, and eloped with a beggared agguta, leaving her family for a man's charm. "Nobles are like rice, smiths are like millet, slaves are like corn." Their society did not like people intermarrying, and no one really liked an agguta. Years ago, the amghar had his doubts about taking them in his tawshet. Now, his generosity seemed to bear its fruit. He turned to his vassal.
“Let's see if the kid's useful.”
Boisterous laughter erupted from the children, followed by some yelling. The kids were too wrapped up in their game to notice the group of men, until a painted tambour crumpled under the camel's hoof.
“Kid!” shouted one of the warriors “Water!”
A big teethed girl at the edge of their group quickly nodded.
“There's a well a few corners away, I'll make it under a minute…”
The warrior's horse reared, the tip of his heavy allag pointed at a nearby boy's chest.
“Didn't you hear me?! The amghar's thirsty!”
The children screamed, and some started to sob. The warrior's lance tore a hole into the boy's takarbast.
“Stop!” rang a voice, that definitely did not belong to the amghar. The air was vibrating with something more than midday heat.
Ajju's child gathered some sand from the ground and offered it to him. The amghar held his breath, and urged his camel to kneel.
“What is it, child?”
The kid did not blink.
“Water.”
That was unexpected. His vassals haves told stories about the kid casually jumping over a donkey, and making little camels of sand. He tried to provoke the kid to see if their elemental magic could be used for attacks. For Kel Tagelmust, the veiled people, their wealth is in their herd. They drink their milk, eat their meat, use their skin, trade them and fight battles over them. Animals are prized in the desert. Water? Priceless.
The amghar was an ambitious man. His own magician, a diviner, already proved himself very useful in the fight for the amenokal position. All he was looking for was some magical backup to his troops, but fate gifted him with a rare trump card. All schemes overwritten. The results of the upcoming election become decided. The celestial bodies are merciful indeed.
He dipped his finger in the pooled water. It was cold.
The setting sun painted the dunes dusty pink by the time the child got home. Their tent at the edge of the oasis was surrounded by the usual evening crowd, regulars and travelers mixed together. At any other part of the town, seeing so many people in stunned silence would raise suspicion. But those who have heard the voice of Aderfi Ag Hossad, know it's power. His rich baritone finds its way to the most skeptical hearts, his songs soothe crying infants, and his tales capture souls. The crowd hung on every word, silent exceptexpect some bewildered "ooh"s and "ah"s.
Ajju's child, Amanar snaked their way around a bunch of Hesperian salt merchants hunched together, one translating the story in whispers to her companions. Aderfi sat his child on his knee, softly rocking. Amanar has heard the tale thousand times, but still couldn't help but be captivated. Their mother handed them a ladle and. Amanar gently lifted it to their lips, taking a slow sip of the thick eghajira. It's sweetness filled them with comfort. Aderfi was nearing the climax of his tale, his hands gesturing animatedly. Amanar gave back the empty ladle.
“The chief will come by tomorrow.”
Ajju patted the messy curls on their head.
“An inspection again? I must have missed the announcement.”
Amanar shook their head.
“No, he said he'll visit you.”
“The amghar spoke to you? When?”
“Today. After I gave him water.”
Ajju clicked her tongue in agreement.
“Oh. He must be thankful then.”
Amanar's upper lip twitched. The five year old's oddly cynical facial expressions never failed to make Ajju smile, much to her child's distaste.
“He was weird.”
“You shouldn't talk about our chief like that.”
“Then maybe he shouldn't try to stab my friends.”
Ajju's breath got stuck in her chest.
“He did... What have you done?”
Amanar blinked slowly, owlishly.
“He wanted water. Quick. His soldiers got rowdy. So I made him water.” They jumped off Aderfi's knee. Gathering some dust in their little hands, Amanar showed it in the vague direction of their mother. “Like this.”
Their father turned at the sound of the ladle hitting the ground. He jumped up like he was stung by a bee, picked up the child with a yelp, quickly making his way into their tent. Ajju closed its flap behind them, closing out the agitated outcry from his audience. She Ajju looked into his eyes, equally scared.
“I didn't know they could do this.”
Aderfi shook his head.
“Me neither. No one in my family had magic this strong. Your side has affinity to elementals, did they....?”
“A low affinity to metal, nothing like…” She vaguely gestured towards her child's tiny palms, still wet. “Nothing like this.”
Aderfi put the confused Amanar down, pacing up and down like a caged lion in the little place the tent provided.
“We should have been more careful. You know his so- called palace magicians all end up like slaves!”
“What do you expect me to do about it now?” Ajju's voice gained a new dangerous edge. “Pack quickly, we need to leave.”
“Where? The election is in two months. He has mercenaries in every oasis in the tawshet. Soldiers along every route. A fly cannot pass, without him knowing. His men cannot be compared to those your family hired.”
Ajju’s lips twitched in annoyance.
“We barely got away from those. With no camels, no horse...”
“...we have no chance.”
Fat, salty tears started to gather around Amanar's big black eyes.
"Mama... Did I do something wrong? Are we in trouble?" They hiccupped. "I was polite, just like you told me to! Even when he was rude and scary!"
"Oh darling..." Aderfi squatted down to comfort the shaking childkid, arms open.
"I behaved, I swear! I hold my tongue! He didn't look angry!"
They all winced when someone cleared their throat at the entrance. It was the tall Hesperian woman, who was translating Aderfi's tale to his friends earlier.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in. It's just we have a pretty good doctor with us. So if anything happened to the little bean here, snake bites, scorpion stings..." she gestured with her chin towards Amanar, slightly shocked by the sight of Ajju's dagger, "she can take a look. Free of charge. Just sayin' since we depart at dusk. If we can do anything to help before we return..."
