The Great War: Chapter 23
To see you again, brother, will be a blessing
“ISAAC!”
“AH!” Isaac yells in surprise as he’s suddenly jolted out of his meditation. Ezra bursts into the tent loud and proud, a proud smile on his face.
“Ezra!” he exclaims angrily.
Ezra can’t help but laugh back at him. “Stars, you should have seen your face!”
Still, the Illusionist’s scowl doesn’t stick with him for long. He stands to greet his friend with a soft smile.
“It’s good to see you again so soon,” he says. “Visiting?”
“Kind of,” Ezra replies, his gaze instantly turning to the back corner where Anya sleeps. “I’m actually here for Anya.”
“Ah.” Isaac also looks towards the mound of Anya’s blankets. It shifts ever so slightly, indicating life, and her mind, though slow, is active and aware. She’s awake. “Why?”
“I… can’t share a whole lot,” Ezra replies with a heavy sigh, “but I’m going on a voyage and would like to bring her along.” The pirate who left… what? is his next thought.
Isaac presses his lips together. He’s not surprised it’s because of the prince’s prophecy. While Anya isn’t a pirate herself, her last remaining brother considers himself to be a sailor. If he’s fighting with the Guardians, which he’d be surprised if he wasn’t with them, then he could be called a pirate.
But prophecy or no, getting Anya on a ship might do her some good.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Isaac nods in agreement. “Could I possibly come as well?”
“You? Why?”
“Just to keep an eye on her. Stars only know how the change of scenery will affect her, and… well, I don’t know how busy you are. I don’t want her to be alone.” He turns back to Anya’s blanket pile. “How about it, Anya?”
Must I? she wonders as she rises from her corner. Dark rims under her eyes are starting to show, and her dead gaze stare through the two wizards. Let me rest…
“How long will the voyage be?” Isaac asks Ezra.
I know they’re going to see about a peace treaty, but I don’t know how far the Fort is from Korodon… So Ezra just shrugs in response.
Peace treaty? So soon?
Isaac blows a sigh through his teeth. To Ezra, it might seem like disappointment in the voyage’s unknown length. To him, though, he’s upset with himself, as he always is. And he’s also disappointed.
“Hey, Anya,” Ezra says, “about your middle brother…”
A small hint of liveliness returns to her eyes. “Mathew?”
“Yeah, him. Did he ever… um… leave?”
A small confused scowl crosses her face. “What do you mean?”
“Like…” he hums, pausing to think. It takes all of Isaac’s willpower to stay out his thoughts, staring past his friend to focus on the opposite end of the tent. Still, the warm presence of his mind is almost begging him to eavesdrop. “Like… Stars, I don’t know! The line is ‘the pirate who left’, but what did he leave?”
A stunned silence descends on the three wizards as Ezra’s eyes grow wide, realizing his mistake in an instant. I wasn’t supposed to say that!
“Line to what?” Isaac asks, doing his best to try and appear confused. He simply can’t not react to this. He doesn’t want to appear strange.
“The line… Stars above, I’m in so much trouble…” The Creationist buries his face in his hands, as if he’s trying to hide from the situation he just got himself into.
“Line to what?” Isaac presses harder.
“I can’t…” Ezra shakes his head, takes a breath, and restarts, “I wasn’t supposed to say that.”
“Clearly.”
The Creationist looks over his shoulder nervously, towards the tent’s closed front flaps, then whispers, “If you don’t tell Samuel I can… say a little bit.”
Isaac folds his arms and nods towards Anya. “Let’s move over there, then.”
Ezra smiles weakly, and the two move to sit by Anya in a sight triangle. Anya and Isaac stares at the nervous Creationist as he laces his fingers together and deeply inhales in an attempt to quell his panic.
Finally, when he’s ready, he leans in close and mutters, “It’s from something Samuel told me. A prophecy. We don’t know what it’s for, but we know it’s about some wizards. One was the prince, one was his personal guard, one was about me, and now I believe one is about Mathew.” He pauses for a moment, letting his words sink in to the two. Ezra turns his attention once again to Anya. “Did he leave the family? Run away or anything?”
Anya shakes her head slowly. “No. We left him, actually. Before the war, our family was about as content as we could get.”
“Could it be something more metaphorical, then?” Isaac asks. “Maybe the line refers to him emotionally or spiritually removing himself from… something. Like a legacy or-”
“When you put it that way,” Anya interrupts him, “you can say he left behind his wizardhood in favor of becoming a sailor.”
The two look to Ezra, who smiles back in relief. “I can’t guarantee we’ll see him, but…”
“There’s a chance,” Anya breathes, hope sparkling in her eyes. She sits slightly straighter, emotion filling her voice. Even without reading her mind, Isaac can still sense her newfound eagerness and energy.
One thing is for sure, though. If they don’t meet Mathew out on the ocean, sooner or later he’ll make his way to Korodon. That is, if the line truly is about him. Although, how many other wizards are in a similar position to him? Probably not that many.
“Will you come, then?” Ezra asks.
Anya nods back without hesitation. “Anything to possibly see him again.”
“I can ask about bringing you along,” Ezra tells Isaac, “though I can’t guarantee you’ll be allowed to join. We won’t be leaving for a few cycles, but I’ll stop by to bring you two down to the pier at least.”
Isaac just nods. He’s more happy for Anya, if anything. Maybe the voyage will do her some good, whether or not she even sees her remaining brother.