Chapter twenty-one: On the Road
By the time the sun began to set the driver pulled over and informed me that we would have to make camp because he and the horses needed a break.
I slid down from the wagon– stretching until my back popped. Every muscle in my body was screaming from being braced for the majority of the ride.
"You ever make a fire?" The man asked, dropping an arm full of sticks. "You don't look the type to do manual labor."
"I don't have anything to make a fire with." I said, irritated by his assumption.
He wasn't wrong– not exactly. Kyla had never done something like that in her life. Me, on the other hand, had. Unlike the noble life I was currently in– my original life had been a lot gruffer.
I had actually made fires when I spent a few years as a young teen on the streets.
He didn't need to know that and with his attitude– he wouldn't believe me anyway.
"You're manaless?" He asked, crouching down and holding out a finger.
A small flame wiggled on the tip, catching on kindling I hadn't seen him place.
"Or are you just not fire inclined?" He asked, adding a few logs to the fire.
"I'm not fire inclined." I agreed.
Sayvren– who had been napping– flew out of the carriage, landing on my shoulder. "You do have magic." He whispered next to my ear. "You just have to awaken it."
I wanted to ask him how– but I couldn't. Not with the wagon driver in hearing range.
"Hey, I have to go do something." Sayvren tugged lightly on my ear. "I don't sense any malicious intent from him. You'll be fine."
A soft pop sounded by my ear and the tiny weight of the sprite disappeared.
"Come sit." The man said, sitting on the ground himself.
He turned to the side, pulling out some dried food from a pouch and holding one out.
"Thank you." I walked over, taking the jerky from his hand.
"Welcome." He brought a piece to his mouth, tugging on it with his teeth.
I sat down on the other side of the fire– tearing off a piece. It didn't have much flavor, but it was food.
"I know it's none of my business, but what's a young lady like yourself doing traveling alone?"
"You're right." I agreed, swallowing. "It's none of your business."
He laughed, opening up a canteen and taking a deep swallow. "I didn't mean to get in your business. My names, Stern, what's yours? If you don't mind telling me. We're gonna be traveling for another three days together. I'd like to at least know what to call you."
"Cara." I lied.
"Nice to meetcha, Cara." He held out the canteen.
I shook my head and he shrugged taking another swig. I didn't know what it was exactly, but it smelled eerily similar to whisker. If something happened I wanted to be alert enough to escape.
"How about I tell you a story since you don't seem to like conversation." He suggested.
I shrugged. I'd rather we not talk at all, but if that makes him feel better– why not.
"You ever heard of the Jewel of Life?" He asked, leaning back.
"Yes." I said, taking another bite. "It's not real though."
The Jewel of life had been mentioned throughout the novel– but it was nothing more than a misleading piece in the story. Paulita had been searching for the jewel toward the end of the third book– but she never found it.
As far as I was aware, it was just a plot device to make her seem more tragic and alone. Her goal was to revive a boy she had grown up with who was like a brother to her.
"It's real." The old man insisted. "You're cynical aren't you?"
"I thought you were telling a story."
"Right, I was." He burped, taking another swig. "Anyway, they say the Jewel of Life was formed when the goddess Anyta lost her lover Lonto. He was mortal you see. She couldn't bare to be without him when his time came."
He paused, taking another bite of his jerky. "In her grief, she cried and cried, never leaving his body even when it grew cold in the ground. Even when he was nothing but bones. After a century of crying for him, all the tears that fell came together and started to glow. And out popped the most beautiful blue crystal."
Yeah, yeah. I don't care.
"Well, she picked up that crystal that held all her pain and then something amazing happened. The crystal began to glow and Lonto sprang from the ground. Everyone's heard that story, right? How they lived happily ever after and such."
"That's the case with most myths." I nodded, leaning back on my hands.
"Right, but no one knows that it's a lie. The man did come back up to life, but they didn't live happy after. You see the crystal had a price that the goddess didn't understand at the time. But, after several months of bliss, the goddess Anyta began to start to fall apart. Piece by piece until she was nothing but dust."
He cleared his throat and chuckled. "It isn't a pleasant tale, but my father and his father heard the story from a wandering man. Claimed he was that boy Lonto who had been 'blessed' with the gift of immortality. Ironic."
Was there a point to this story? I wondered, swallowing the last bite of my food. "Do you tell this story to everyone you drive around?"
"Sometimes. It depends if I get someone who's as snappy as you are or not." He leaned back, pointing toward the sky. "Ya see that constellation up there? The one that is twisty?"
I tilted my head back, following the direction of his finger. The "twisty" constellation he was referring to had several blue and gold stars wrapping to form something that resembled an infinity symbol.
Strange. I thought, looking over at him. But not strange enough to matter.
"Yeah."
"Well that's what the goddess Anyta turned into when her dust blew away. She floated into the sky and became what you see there. A reminder to Lonto. Something to remember her by." He chuckled. "The world's a strange place, little lady. Keep that in mind."
"Thanks…" I trailed off, thinking instead of where Sayvren went off to and where I would have to go next.
I didn't put any weight on what the man was saying– it was a legend that served no purpose.
I guess it's fine. I thought, laying back.
Every story needs a bit of myth after all.