A Time for Revenge

Panamy walked the corridors of a palace that had once belonged to the enemy she had now come to hate. Never before in her life had she genuinely hated someone. There were those she disliked, those that she would rather not be around. But never had she truly hated someone so much that the only thought that brought any feeling other than hate was the thought of their death.

More than once she had cried herself to sleep since she had left Islat. More than once her husband, Marshall Stamince, had needed to comfort her in the middle of the night. For all the strength that she had, that she showed to the world and to her people, the loss of her sister was something that she could not endure.

Even now, as she walked down these lonely hallways, she wanted nothing more than to destroy what had once been Rubious’. There had been so many things that had gone unresolved between her and her sister that she felt herself falling apart within for not trying to make amends sooner. She couldn’t help but wonder how her life could have been had she been more accepting of Lizza’s decision to marry that wild sailor who had come to port.

The days before she met that man had been full of adventure and the two of them had planned to run the city of Islat together. Their Papa had decided to retire within ten years, leaving his children to become the next leaders. All they had needed to do was to prove they could handle it. They had trained every day, both physically and mentally. They had only been in their twenties and they were already outclassing the sailors who had years more experience than normal children could ever dream of. As a team, there was nothing that they could not do.

Then one day a ship came in, bringing with it goods that had been ordered discretely. Not an uncommon sight to see in Islat, but what stood out the most was the one who traveled with the ship. He was neither a sailor nor a merchant. The same day the ship docked that man had took it upon himself to ask an audience with their father, something that was not done often. Both Panamy and Lizza had snuck through the back way to listen in on the conversation, too curious not to eavesdrop.

Panamy was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly walked into someone as she turned a corner. “I apologize!”

“No need, Commander Panamy. Please excuse me.” The maid backed away quickly, apparently fearful of having made a mistake.

She could not let her leave thinking that she had made a mistake. Most of the people here were original staff and who knows what that kind of an accident may have led to in the past with Rubious. “Excuse me, before you leave.” She asked kindly, trying to emphasis that she was embarrassed for what she had done and that there would be no retaliation. “I was lost in my thoughts when I bumped into you, I may be twisted around. Is King Derune’s quarters around here?”

There was a look of relief that spread over the maids face as she smiled. “Yes mam, right down this hallway. Last door on the right. But he is not here right now.”

She had known that already, but she intended to catch him alone. There were things that she wanted to talk to him about, things that she needed to confess to before it was too late. “I understand. By chance, you wouldn’t happen to know when he is returning?”

The maid brightened a little more. “Yes mam, I was informed a while ago that Master Derune is returning today. A messenger bird arrived this morning saying that he was on his way back.”

Panamy bowed her head in thanks and turned away, allowing the maid to walk away. She hoped that the fear that the woman had felt was gone. There was already enough fear in this world as it was. Once she arrived at Mach’s room she slipped in and stood there beside the window, staring out toward the docks. Although the sight of it was impressive, her memories intruded on her once again.

That day the young man sought an audience with her father had been the day that she lost her sister. The young man had requested permission to map out the city, explaining that he was a professional map maker. A deal had been made for a select set of maps to be crafted with the condition that they remain in Islat, under the express control of the Commander. A bargain was made and for the next few days, the map maker stayed at the Inn closest to the docks. An unfortunate side effect had happened from that meeting in which Panamy blamed herself for it happening. If it had not been for her, Lizza would never had snuck into the meeting hall and spied on that conversation. Had she never have done that, it was possible that her sister may not have fallen head over heels in love with a foreigner.

Throughout the map makers stay, Lizza offered her assistance at the Inn. She took on any job that would put her in view of the young man, often abandoning her duties to follow him in a not so discreet manner. At first it had been funny to watch. Her younger sister acting like a fool in love. But as the days went by and the obsession turned into what could only be explained as single will that overpowered anything else, Panamy began to worry.

After a few days that young sailor left, leaving behind the maps and taking his silver for the work he had done. It was with a sigh of relief that she had watched that ship sail away. It was only then, standing on the piers, that she realized just how bad she had messed things up.

Lizza stood across the water from her, on an opposite pier. Her sister, staring out at the shrinking sails of the ship that carried the young map maker, tears falling down her cheeks as it had never done before. For the next few weeks it was much the same. Lizza would be seen standing out at the piers, watching the open sea, staring out to the opening of the crag’s teeth, waiting to see those white sails returning to her. It was heartbreaking for her to watch her sister like that. Even now, when she thought back to those days, she had wished that there had been some way to ease her pain. But the only way to do that was the path that Panamy would not be able to forgive until it was too late.

It took time, but eventually that ship returned. Lizza’s patience had paid off. She had been there that day, when the sails came into view on the horizon. When the call came out that there was a ship approaching, the pure glee that was on her sister’s face lightened Panamy’s own heart, but it also struck her deep. She knew then, without knowing exactly what would happen, that her life was about to change.

When the sailors disembarked, unloading cargo and goods, the map maker did as well. The pure delight on his face when he saw her standing on the pier, staring at him was as touching as seeing her sister’s face light up. She watched as he walked over to her, asked her to have dinner with him, and the pure joy that came from her was contagious. He left that afternoon, leaving with the ship with a promise that he would return. Numerous times over the next few months he returned with the merchant and cargo ships, and always waiting on the pier, ever watchful for his return, was Lizza. She was the first to greet him when he disembarked, never hesitating to run to his side and the last to leave the piers after the sails had vanished from the horizon. It was clear to Panamy that her sister was deeply in love.

Not long after a years’ time, the map maker proposed to her. Their father had forbid it, and Panamy had to agree with his decision. But Lizza would follow her heart, as she had always done. That very afternoon after her father’s decision, she left Islat, setting sail with a man who was nothing more than a map maker, with nothing more than the clothes on her back. Their father disowned her and placed Panamy as the sole heir to the title of Commander.

It would be years later before she received any word from her sister. The first of which was to inform their family that she had a child, a boy that they were naming after their great grandfather. By then, their father had already passed away from an illness that none of the Healers could cure. It had been a horrible sickness that had swelled his brain and caused extreme pain. For the longest time Panamy had blamed Lizza. But after the mourning period was over, she realized that there was nothing that could have prevented it from happening. So she wrote back, telling her sister all that had happened to their father. For several years they kept in contact, their letters coming by way of merchant ships. That was until word began to spread of a new danger.

As the leader of her people she had to find a way to protect them against anything that may come their way. The crag’s teeth was a natural barrier, but it could also be a death trap as well. She needed to find a way to hide her people from anyone who would think to attack them. There had always been rumors that the Mages had once had in their possession something called the Stones of Magic. These items would have been able to make even a normal person a mage gifted individual. If she could get her hands on one, than given her minimal abilities she would have a fighting chance of protecting her people. And back then, she had known where one such item may have been. Thanks to old documents, she had read about the last Mage King heading south on a quest after the Damnation. It was rumored that he was heading there to hide something valuable, what could be more valuable that Powerful magic?

She took the chance and set sail for the southern lands known as Hell’s Fire and sought out the rumored Power that was supposed to lay somewhere deep within those mountains. There, to the far south, she found a cavern. Using what skills she had, she hunted down what was rumored to be there to find that it was a crystal unlike any other. With it, she had found herself in possession of Power unlike anything she had experienced before and through its Power, she used it to protect her people, hiding her island city and the surrounding sea in the thick mist that would become legend itself.

It was from then on that only those that she permitted were allowed entrance. Anyone else would find themselves smashed against the crag’s teeth and lost to the see below. The last message she received from her sister had been a message from one of the people Lizza called friend, informing her that though Lizza could not write, she wanted to inform her family that her husband had passed away. No further messages came, no notes or rumors. For years Panamy had feared that her sister had taken her own life in grief over the loss of her husband. That was until recently when a young man showed up unexpectedly to her city, making it through her protections. A man claiming to be a King among his people with the last name that her sister had carried when she married that map maker.

She had heard the stories told, about the young man who had ventured out against odds that were more than he could handle. Stories of a young man who had been forced out of his home, who had lost everything he had loved. A young man who had lost his family. Her heart had been torn in two once again, but not in the same way. She had lost her sister decades ago when she had not stood beside her. Their lives could have been much different had she been more understanding toward her sister’s decisions, if she had only been accepting. She had lost her sister before she could make amends, but here was her nephew, her sister’s child, asking for help. He was not asking for anything personal, or for something foolhardy. He had come to ask for something that her people should have granted immediately given what was at stake.

The threat that was building outside their cozy little world of mist was becoming more real every day. And this child of only seventeen was facing it head on, taking burdens onto his shoulders that most men would never deal with. Mach Derune, child of her sister, was a man that Panamy’s father would be proud to meet. There was no way that she would have let him leave without help, even if that meant breaking every oath that she had made.

And now, here she was, standing in her nephew’s quarters awaiting his return. King Derune had already faced more and done what no other man would be willing, all while still only just becoming a man. There was strength in that boy, a strength that would eventually find its limit and when it did, she would be beside him to add her strength to his. And she was not the only one who stood beside him. There were many others who would brave any ordeal to offer their strength.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway, a gentle whisper of voices came through the shut door. “As soon as I rest up, we will meet with everyone. Get everything ready and start preparing groups. I want ships loaded with nonperishables just in case. If we find out the location of either, I want to be able to move out at a moment’s notice.” She could tell that was Mach’s voice. The boy was becoming more confident with every passing day. Her father would definitely have been proud to meet him.

“Yes sir, I will get right on it.” She was not sure who the other voice belonged to, but that did not matter. The one she wanted to speak to was here. She closed her eyes and waited. The creaking of the door alerted her to his presence.

“Panamy, what are you doing here?” He asked her as the door creaked shut slowly.

She opened her eyes to the window, staring at the world that lay beyond. It was time that she fully confessed everything. “Mach, there is a lot that we need to discuss.” She turned around to see him standing in front of her, a staff in his hands and what appeared to be another Stone embedded into the top of it. She reached into the pouch at her side and withdrew the item that had protected her people for more than ten years. She held it out to him, its crystal like form softly glowing with an inner light. Though it was mostly transparent, the crystal had a cloudy appearance to it. “I believe this rightfully belongs to you.”

Her nephew stood there in dumbfounded silence, his mouth working vigorously but no sound would come out. She smiled gently at him as she reached over and placed the Stone into his hand. “I also want you to tell me everything you can about your mother. Tell me what you can remember about her from as far back as you can recall. And in return, I will tell you about my sister, the woman I knew as Lizza Justil.”

She smiled brightly as Mach’s eyes widened in surprise, the shock of her words hit quickly. The tears that came to his eyes as she nodded her head, confirming what he could not find the words to ask, almost brought tears to her own eyes. This is going to be a long night. Perhaps we might need to call in a server.

She had been too late in reconciling with her sister. But at least fate was allowing her time with family. She would not waste any of it. Life was too precious and time was fleeting to waste.