Spirit Speaker

Rowan woke me before sunrise. My head was spinning. I'd drunk too much the night before. 

The king had matched me drink for drink. He'll definitely be feeling it. 

Salea, the blonde minstrel from the tavern, stirred gently next to me. She pressed herself against me. 

"Going so soon?" She said, sleepily. 

"Got orders," I said with a smile, gently disentangling myself from her. 

"Pity." She said and turned over. "Lock the door on your way out."

"Yes ma'am." 

I dressed quickly, kissed the sleepy half-elf one more time, and slipped out, asking the spirit of her home to keep her safe as I left. 

Rowan was waiting at the tavern entrance, a look of calculated disinterest on his face. 

I grinned. "Go on, lad, ask me how my night was."

"How was your evening, sir?" He asked stiffly. 

"Not telling," I replied. "Did Mr Shipley give you our travel details?"

"Yes, we're leaving on the Winter's Squall in about 15 minutes, then it's about a 3-day journey up the coast to Corel."

"It's pretty close," I said, stroking my chin, completely forgetting that no beard had grown yet. 

My elven heritage made it very difficult to grow a beard. 

"Yes, sir. It would have taken us a week by land."

"Good time." I mused as we walked on the harbour docks. "It's been a while since it was just the two of us, hasn't it, Rowan?"

"Yes, sir." He said. 

"How are you handling the servant quarters? If you like you can go back to the city, spend your time with the lovely Ayenna."

Rowan shook his head. "I'm fine sir, besides, who would you have to look after you?"

"That's true. You take such good care of me, lad." 

"Yes, sir." 

We walked silently for a few more minutes, the light just beginning to peek over the horizon. 

I took a deep breath, taking in the smells of the dock as I went past. Salt, brine, rotten fish, and more. 

It smelled alive. 

I concentrated for a second and summoned a water spirit to my side. 

It looked at me curiously.

"Go and tell Princess Anna that I will be gone for a few weeks on a special assignment," I commanded. 

The spirit took off in a flash. 

"Will she be able to hear the message, sir?" Rowan asked. 

I grinned. "Not at first. This is her homework. Chances are she'll decode the message just as I return."

"Monster." 

"Ho! Are you Master Lukas?" A man shouted from a nearby gangplank. 

"Ho! This is the Winter's Squall, I take it?"

"3 day trip to Corel." The man waved us aboard. "I understand you're an Academy Magus? Would you like to speak with our Wavespeaker? She's below decks."

I nodded. "Thank you. I'd love to chat with her. Rowan here will see to the arrangements. Will you lead me to her?"

"At once, sir." 

The man, tall, tanned and barrel-chested, called over to a boy, who rushed quickly over. 

"Take the Magus to Lady Windrunner." 

The boy nodded. "Aye, cap'n." he turned to me. "Follow me, mister…?"

"Lukas," I said, smiling. 

"Aye, Lukas. You ever been on a ship before?

"Once, a long time ago."

"Really?"

"Yes. There was a big sea battle, and I was needed to help rescue overboard sailors."

"Wow. Where was this?"

I looked at the horizon. "Far from here, lad. Far from now." 

The boy led me below decks, knocking three times on one of the few walled-off rooms in the ship. 

The rest of the crew slept on deck or hammocks below, but the Wavespeaker merited their own room. The only person more important than the speaker is the captain himself.

"Yes?"

"Mage, here to see ya." The boy said. 

"A Mage? Let him in."

The door swung open, showing me a well-lit room filled to the brim with shells, sea glass and sand. 

"Come in, Master?

"Lukas." I said, closing the door behind me. 

"What can I do for you?" She asked as I drew closer. 

She smelled like the sea, her eyes dark and deep, her skin brown and rough.

"I would like to follow protocol and introduce myself to the Winter Squall."

"Oh, that's easy enough. Here, hold this." She handed me a beaded necklace and then closed her hand on top of mine. 

"Now breathe."

I did and was immediately transported to darkness. 

- Mage.

"Greetings, spirit."

- So it's you. The spirit seemed curious, and I felt it touch my face. You're the one with the twisted weave.

"Yes," I replied. 

- Welcome. And thank you for keeping the old ways alive.

I smiled and broke my concentration. 

The wavespeaker was looking at me in awe. 

"Who are you, Mage?"

"Just Lukas," I said with a smile. 

"I've never known the Winter Squall to be so interested in someone. And your weave, it looked like there were two of you, one an old man with a spear through his chest, the other, you now."

I gripped the woman's hand. 

"Tell me more, speaker. What else did you see?"

She put her other hand on top of mine. "Pain, sorrow, suffering, war and death." She said, her voice filled with sadness. "And I don't know if it's in your past or your future, but it's with you. And it will forever be with you."

She gripped my hand harder. "Here. Let me look into your eyes." She sat me down and pulled out a thin shard of green sea glass. She looked through it, frowned and tossed it aside. "Nope." Then she pulled out a blue one and tossed it aside. "Not that one." 

She repeated this until she pulled out a golden one. 

"Ah, should have known it would be this one. Now hold still, Mage, this is going to tickle a bit."

She raised the glass to her eye, and I felt my pupil dilate. I could feel it get bigger and bigger until it filled my eye from corner to corner.

"Mmm. Okay, the weave is…twisted? Your strand has two halves. One half facing the front, the other half looking back."

"What does that mean?"

"Hush, Lukas, you're making it shake."

I shut up. 

"Let's see…the strand is made up of individual threads, each of which is twisted at the knot."

"And the threads mean?"

"They are spirits. Spirits that you've collected throughout your life. They make up your whole soul, and help you define yourself from The Spirit King."

I nodded. I knew that. 

"But for some reason, there are twice as many as there should be. It's almost as if you've lived this life before."

She lowered the glass and handed me an eye patch. "Your eye should be back to normal in a few more hours. Cover up. A naked soul tends to make people uncomfortable. 

"Thank you," I said, covering my eye. 

"Now, I have a question. This isn't the first time you've lived this life, is it?"

I shook my head. "No."

"How many times have you come round?"

"This is my first time."

"Hmm…" She sat back, still holding onto my hand. "You're going to suffer." She said without malice. It was just a statement of fact.

"I know."

"More than you did in your previous life."

"Why?"

"I don't know. There are three major strands in your soul, bigger than all the others. Each has a soul attached to it. Would you like to see them?"

I nodded. "Please, speaker. I would like that a lot." 

She nodded and held her palm out. She concentrated for a second, and a blue orb appeared in it. "The Winter Squall." She said. "She's a little small, but that's only because she's so young."

I nodded. "She's beautiful."

The ship creaked around us. The speaker laughed. 

"She likes you." She took the same gold sea glass and held it over the spirit. 

"Madam, if you wouldn't mind showing him the strands in his soul?"

The orb vibrated for a few moments, and then an image appeared; floating above the glass. 

Two people. 

The one a girl, little more than 14 years old, the other a full grown woman, dressed in shining armour, a banner held firmly in her hand, flying high overhead. 

"The princess, Anna," I said. 

The speaker nodded. "She must mean a lot to you."

"She's like a daughter to me." 

"Not just like a daughter." The speaker said, "As far as the Spirit King is concerned, she is your daughter."

"Next." 

The orb vibrated, and two more people appeared. The one, the queen as she was now, bride to the king, and ruler over The Kingdom. The second one my wife. 

"This one too. She means much to you. And is the cause of much sorrow to your heart."

"She died in my arms." 

"Just like the princess?"

I nodded. "By the same hand."

"Which leads us to the next face."

The orb vibrated again, and one figure appeared, beautiful, terrible, angelic, demonic. 

"Raethan, the traitor." I hissed. 

"Yes. This one. He's caused much agony. Not just to you, but to the whole world."

"I should have put him down when I had the chance." 

"You will get your chance again. Though, maybe this time, he'll make a different choice?"

I stared at the terrible face of my killer. "A different choice?"

"Watch." 

The figure turned into two strings. 

"This is the plan the Spirit King had for him," she said, indicating the one to the left. "See how it's noble and honourable? See how it's filled with hope and joy?"

I nodded. 

"And this is the strand that he became." 

I watched as a dark hand appeared out of nowhere and twisted the strand, breaking and tearing it into pieces, then remaking it, stained and filthy.

"Whatever happened to this one was not of his doing. He was a puppet, or maybe a servant, of something much, much darker."

"Thank you for showing us this, madam." She said to the orb. "You may return."

The orb vanished, and the speaker, now visibly more tired than she was before looked at me. 

"I fear you have been sent back to fight something much much worse than a war, Mage." She pressed her fingers to her lips. "And I pray that one day, you'll be strong enough to face it."