The mud was cool beneath Peri’s toes as creek water rose and fell over her feet, cresting over her skin as her family’s goats scaled the highland steppes that bordered the prairie valley that she and her parents called home. The snow melt had finally ebbed after the spring thaw and now was when the mother ewes guided their kids on wobbly legs to the creek to drink their fill of crisp water. Flowers budded and bloomed in the long grasses while bees buzzed and shuddered in anticipation at the new years’ delights, much as Peri was from where she sat observing the goats drink their morning fill before spending the day on the steppes with her father. Despite the watchful guard she kept over their flock, the shepherd’s crook gripped tightly in her hands, she couldn’t help the way that her mind wandered outwards, past the prairie grasses, the village she grew up in and the mountain trails she could scale as well as any goat. Her thoughts flew over waterways, hills and well tended farmland towards the heart of the kingdom, where a castle dominated the scene with well sculpted towers that birds soared and crested between. Nestled in the crowded capital city was another magnificent structure with the Storm Warden Generals Crest carved in gold above the double doors that would welcome her and so many others later that day. It would be a long time before she saw another spring like this in person, but she couldn’t wait to get started.
Today would be Corbingiin Peregrine from Rook’s last morning in the Valley of Wind, her last morning with the goats, the bees and the breeze that played between the prairie grass like a fickle spirit. She would instead be starting her formal training at the Storm Warden Academy in the capital with all the other hopefuls with the gift who aimed to make something more of themselves. For prairie folk like Peri’s family, this was often the only way to escape the generations of monotony that came from doing the same thing for multiple lifetimes, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t miss the so-called ‘simple life’ she had been born to. To be born wild and free like the wind that gave the valley its name was not something she would change for the world and would miss greatly. So she dug her toes a little deeper into the mud of the creek, clung to her crook more tightly and took the deepest breath she could of mountain air mixed with the smell of budding flowers and grass.
Suddenly, there was the startled cry of a bird overlaid with the angry hiss of what could only have been a very angry mountain lion. Startled out of her stupor, Peri’s head swung around, up towards the steppes where the goats had scattered, eager to get away from the strange scene that was unfolding just above them.
The mountain lion had clearly tried to get the drop on one of the kid’s, aching for a nice meal after a long mountain winter, only to be thwarted by a black and white blur that angrily darted around its head to pluck and peck at its thin frame.
“Tsas!” Peri cried after the bird, stumbling to her feet and out of the creek. There wasn’t any time to scale the steppes herself to assist her avian companion. Luckily for her, there was no need to attempt a feat that would certainly leave other herder’s winded and more than one goat dead.
Instead, Peri swung her crook down in an arc towards the mountain lion and let the wind do the rest. Her entire body prickled, every nerve alive as she gave the breeze caused by the crook’s swing a mental push, amplifying its speed and force until it was a gale wind instead of a gentle swish that galloped up the hill and slammed into the mountain lion's flank. The gust knocked it off its feet and into a copse of pine trees with a startled yelp. Shaken but not greatly harmed, the startled mountain lion gave one last grumpy hiss down at the girl with the goats and the crook before slithering back into the underbrush, disappearing back up the mountain in search of less guarded prey. Peri let out a relieved sigh, the flood of adrenaline that came from using her powers quickly leaving her system now. She collapsed back onto her creekside seat from before, bringing her fingers up to her mouth to let out a sharp whistle. Arcing down from the bluebell colored sky, Peri’s companion Tsas glided gracefully back to her master's side, the lithe black and white bird coming to rest lightly on Peri’s now outstretched arm.
“Sorry, I should have been paying more attention,” Peri told the swallow-tail kite. The bird gave a petulant whistle, giving her falconer a sharp but only mildly painful rug to one of the girl’s stray curls. “I’ve got a lot on my mind, I can’t help it.”
Peri gave Tsas’s head an affectionate stroke, her gaze drifting back once again to the landscape that surrounded them. The goats had started to cautiously trek up the steppes once again while the creek continued its lazy slither through the valley down towards the village, oblivious to the life cycle of the creatures who drank from it. The breeze was in a playful mood as it swirled around the young girls’ shoulders, carding through her hair in the familiar way it always had. It always seemed to be demanding her attention in some way, whether pulling on her clothes, blowing through the pages of her school books and tickling at her face. In the days to come, she knew that the wind would be more than just her playmate and friend, it would be her greatest ally. The Academy would raise up her talent to a skill and from there, the sky itself wouldn’t be a limit anymore.
“You’re awfully quiet today,” a voice rumbled up from behind the young woman. Tsas let out a happy chirp while Peri craned her head back to look up at the newcomer that now loomed over her.
“It’s a big day Papa,” Peri said with a bright smile. Her father placed his meaty hands on his hips, his broad figure casting his daughter in a shadow. Where his wife and daughter were short and athletic, Ardengiin Corbin was a stocky man whose stature and quiet disposition were often mistaken as being unfriendly and intimidating. The scars on his hands from the birds they raised and tended to spoke of a life of physical labor though his touches were always gentle. His bushy black beard and thick eyebrows often hid knowing smiles, his amber eyes mirroring his daughters’ often mischievous gaze. He reached down and took the old crook from his daughters’ hands, pausing only to give Tsas’s little head a stroke before he nudged Peri up to her feet.
“That’s why your Mama wants you back to get cleaned up.” Corbin gave the underside of Peri’s chin a gentle tap with one of his fingers. “We can’t have you smelling like the goats when you make it to the Capital.”
“What would the villagers think?” Peri teased, earning her nose a thump.
“Head back home,” her father said only slightly sternly. “Your Mama will be cross with both of us if you’re late.”
Peri scooped up her boots from the side of the river, hastily shoving them onto her feet before rising on her toes to press a quick kiss to her fathers cheek. “You could also do with a bath yourself, Papa. Can’t have the goats mistaking you for one of their own.”
With a light swat to the back of her calves, Corbin sent his daughter on her way, his strong form standing guard over the goats from the river’s edge growing smaller with every stride Peri took. Peri quickly sent Tsas on ahead, knowing that her mother would be watching the skies as well as the walking path for any sign of her daughter's return. With a few hardy flaps of her wings, Tsas was up and away, gliding through the air with her scissor-like tail feathers cutting through the wind behind her.
The route from the steppes where the goats drank and fed was a well worn dirt footpath that Peregrine’s ancestors had been wearing into the ground for generations, following the careful twists and turns of the mountain. The young woman was sure that if asked, she could walk the route blindfolded and still find her way back to the little house with the tower and the birds that sang and called from it. Soon though, she would have a new city to explore, a place filled with more exciting things than hungry mountain lions or winding little paths. She longed to see the Academy’s rookery with its many messenger birds from all over the kingdom and have her first flight on the back of a mighty Roc that Storm Chasers and Wardens alike used for travel. More importantly, she couldn’t wait to be around those who were like her, the gifted people who knew what it was like to hear the language the storms spoke in and not be shunned for knowing its secrets the way she had been since the men came.
No, at the Academy she would have a bright future, one with purpose and a chance for adventure. She would put good use to her gift and make her parents proud. Their little hatchling would become someone important, she would ensure that.
Rounding a few more bends on the path and crossing one of the newer small cracks that had popped up over the last few years, Peri was now just a short distance from her family home. She could just make out that the front door was open with a figure waiting, a familiar white and black shape resting on their forearm.
“You’re late!” Robingiin Ava called over the long grass and scrub bushes.
Peri let out a short huff before gathering the wind around her fingers like a weaver on a loom. She pulled the breeze tight, the concentrated wind forming a small cyclone that she compressed to the point of bursting out of her control. When she felt she could hold it no longer, the young woman leaped into the air, releasing the condensed air behind her to propel her the rest of the distance between herself and the house. For the few moments she was thrown through the air, Peri let herself believe this was what it was like for the birds they lived with. Propelled through the air with only the wind to support them and the victorious feeling of breaking free of the gravity that held everyone else down.
But unlike the birds, Peri didn’t quite have the control to keep up her short lived flight, ultimately losing steam from her burst of power that left her executing a stumbling landing a few feet from where her mother stood waiting.
When she dusted her pants off and righted herself on her feet, Peri caught a brief look at the torn expression that crossed her mothers weathered features. A mixture of sadness and awe seemed to overwhelm Ava for a moment before she remembered herself and schooled her features into something more fond and amused but Peri caught it nonetheless. The familiar expression had been a constant for her mother since the men had come and gave her what her parents referred to as the test. The young woman could remember flashes of that day but mainly the fact that the birds and the wind were restless and that she had caught her mother crying over the dumplings she was making when Peri woke up from her power induced nap.
She knew that her mother probably wanted a normal child, or at least one who was a little more conservative with her otherworldly powers instead of using them rather brazenly the way Peri did. When she was just starting her teen years, it was a topic of many arguments, their stubborn personalities sparking off one another like flint.
“You can’t just play with your gift like that!” Ava had caught Peri amusing herself and the other village children that were around her age by freezing and unfreezing pales of water at will on a particularly hot summer day.
“Elder Davaa says I should be proud of my abilities!” Peri countered. They were squaring off over the home's center fire pit as Corbin sat to the side whittling away at a piece of wood. He had learned long ago not to intervene in his girls’ fighting knowing that would only draw it out longer and drag him into it. “How can I be proud if I have to hide them!!”
“Elder Davaa doesn’t live here and Dolgoon is not the Valley of the Wind!” Ava retorted. Dolgoon was the largest town nearest their little village where Peregrine had been sent to learn about the history and culture surrounding her gift as well as how to start to hone it. At that time, she had been riding in Elder Och’s wagon every day since she had been deemed old enough to make the journey and start her formal education.
“No, there they are at least proud of their children with the gift instead of afraid of them! I bet you can’t wait for me to leave for the Academy so you can go back to the goats and have a normal life!”
Ava reeled back like she had been slapped, her eyes wide and full from a wound that Peri hadn’t really meant to inflict. It was then that Corbin decided his teenage daughter had finally overstepped her bounds.
“Peregrine,” he had said in his low voice, his tone brokering no argument. “The birds need their mews cleaned. Don’t come back down until it’s done.”
Peri looked between her parents, torn between the automatic apology that had sprung to her lips and the need to justify her argument to them further. Luckily, what little sense she had at that tender age seemed to get the better of her and she dragged her feet towards the tower door, taking the stone steps slowly up to the mews where she remained for the rest of the day and into the evening cleaning out droppings, feathers and bones of various creatures. She was still there when her mother ultimately came and found her, a cup of millet tea and a plate of dumplings in either hand, her typical offering when she wanted to make peace with her daughter. Tired, dirty and hungry, Peri couldn’t find it in herself to continue their earlier argument, choosing instead to plop down beside her mother on a workbench they had in the tower. While she chewed on the freshly made food and drank her tea, her mother carefully ran her fingers through her daughter's thick curly hair.
“You, Corbingiin Peregrine,” Ava started in a soft voice, “Have never scared me. All you have ever done is brought life and light into my life as well as your fathers. I’m sorry I scolded you, but you have to know it comes from my desire to protect you. All I’ve ever wanted to do was keep you happy and safe. Not everyone wants that for people like you.”
Peri leaned her head into her mothers gentle fingers, carefully mulling over what she was saying. She could agree with what she said, people did often look at her strangely when she went into the village, whispering when they thought she was out of earshot. The gift with weather was something almost mainstream in the larger cities where Storm Chasers and even Wardens were more common sights, but not so in the Valley of the Wind. There people still believed that the gift Peregrine held was some sort of curse or a warning from the Great Bird despite the teachings that the gift came directly from it. The cultural differences between what Elder Davaa taught and what she experienced everyday was something that had Peri’s thoughts and beliefs knotted together in complicated twists more often than not.
“So you don’t wish I was normal?” The young girl said, fighting back the wobble that entered her voice along with the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.
Ava let out a reassuring coo, pulling Peri into the circle of her arms so she could rest her cheek to the crown of her daughter's head. Peri in turn pressed her nose into her mothers tunic, breathing in the familiar smell of millet that always clung to her.
“No one’s ever really normal, hatchling,” Ava told her. “Look at me and your Papa. We live with a house full of birds and a herd of ornery goats in the pen out back. I don’t think most people would call that normal.”
“I would,” Peregrine muttered, earning her a quiet chuckle and a squeeze for her trouble.
“So would I,” Ava agreed. They settled into an amicable silence after that, listening to the idle rustling of the birds in their mews. It wasn’t until Peri had finished her dumplings and tea that her mother spoke again.
“I will always think you are extraordinary, hatchling,” her mother told her softly. “And I can’t wait to see what you do and make of this big world you’ll get to see. For now though, just try to remember where your feet are for the moment. Can we agree on that?”
Peregrine gave a short nod before finishing off her tea. Together, mother and daughter had descended the tower stairs and come back into the house proper like their argument had never happened. If Corbin noticed that his daughter sat a little bit closer to her mother over the following days and was especially helpful around the house, he wasn’t going to complain.
She had done her best to follow her mothers gentle warning from that day, only really using her powers out in the fields that surrounded their house or in her training sessions in Dolgoon. There was an itch that was always under her skin though, a call to let loose and embrace the elements that spoke to her in their secret language and whispered for her to be the force of nature that she knew she could be if she were only allowed to be. Soon she would be set free though and this day, her last day in the Valley of Wind, was the start of that.
As Peri finished dusting herself off, her mother approached to fuss over her further, swatting at microscopic bits of grass and debris that her daughter might have picked up on her trek down the steppes.
“Mama,” Peri groaned though there was no heat to her voice as her mother circled her for a moment longer.
“Oh hush,” Ava ordered before standing eye to eye with Peregrine once more. When they stood like this, the similarities between mother and daughter were readily apparent. Their slim builds and tanned skinned mirrored one another, the hook of their noses more prominent than others in the village. But where Ava’s straight hair was a long dark brown like fertile river soil, perpetually twisted into a braid that fell almost to her tailbone, Peregrine’s was black as night and curled wildly around her head like a halo, having forever kept it cropped shot so she didn’t have to fuss the way her mother did. Her mothers eyes were a rich color of brown as well while her husband and daughter had amber coloring that matched their birds. Ava was forever amused by it, saying how appropriate it was that her husband and daughter favored the birds that they loved so dearly.
Deeming that she was now clean enough to come inside, Ava ushered her daughter through the door and towards the water basin against the back wall of their home, what little steam there was to be had drifting lazily through the air. Ava gestured to the thick bar of soap that sat just on the window sill along with some scented oils and basil leaves for afterwards.
“Remember to wash your face and feet well, hatchling,” Ava reminded as she went back to gathering her daughter's meager belongings into a newly purchased trunk. It had cost her parents a goat and one of their nicer birds to get it for her. “We can't have the important people of the Academy thinking you’re a Khyrtyq**.”**
Peri refrained from rolling her eyes as she stripped off her tunic and trousers to slip into the bath. She doubted that the people of the Storm Warden’s Academy were prone to comparing people to swamp demons.
She scrubbed the dirt from her nails, her feet and her face, chewing absentmindedly on the basil leaves meant to clean her teeth. As she washed up, her mother set out her daughter's best tunic, leggings and jacket. The older woman then turned to buff out the mud from Peri’s boots, her daughter quickly rubbed oil into her skin to keep her clothes and the wind from chafing at her on the journey. Once she was done, she slipped into the clothes her mother had laid out.
Her leggings were black wool while her calf-length, dusky blue colored cotton tunic wrapped around her body with gold ties at her right shoulder, its inside lined with wool to keep off the chill as she traveled north. Her mother helped her to wrap the long gold sash that went with her tunic around Peri’s waist to brace her back and make sure her tunic stayed in place. As her mother tied it off, Peri fiddled with the long cup-shaped sleeves, admiring the small black feathers her mother had embroidered along the cuff. Her mother had tried over and over to teach her daughter the finer art of embroidery over the years, but Peri had proved too flighty and unfocused to fiddle with the small and precise detail work, but it didn’t prevent her from appreciating it. Brushing her fingers along the black needlework made the tunic even more special knowing how much time her mother had spent ensuring that it was special for her daughter’s big day.
Peri was brought back to the present when she felt an additional weight hooked onto her sash.
Looking down to her left hip, Peri was surprised to find a sturdy knife sheath with a bone handled-knife secured in it. She looked between it and the one that was perpetually on her mothers hip. Ava had a thoughtful look on her face as she considered the knife, a small smile tucked into her cheeks.
“Something to remind you of where you came from,” she said softly, gesturing for her daughter to examine her new gift. Careful not to knick her hands or clothes, Peri brought out the knife, its blade shiny, new and untested.
“I put a whetstone in your trunk so do well to take care of it. Can’t let Elder Taimur hear that my hatchling is disrespecting one of his blades.”
Peri chuckled, tilting the blade in the light when something on the handle caught her eye. Etched careful into the polished bone was her full name, patronym and all: Corbingiin Peregrine Rook
Something to remind you of where you came from, her mother had said. The knife fit in her hand perfectly, light and well balanced as any blade from a master blacksmith should be, but at the same time it carried a new great weight that Peri hadn’t considered before.
Before today, Peri had never been further than her rides to Dolgoon for training to the north or whenever she and her father would head south for better pasture for the goats in colder months. Her parents would travel a little farther, mainly to buy or trade birds or get supplies, but their daughter had never been allowed to go. Someone needed to look after the house and tower as well as the goats and that was always left up to their only child. She wasn’t sure who would look after the place whenever they needed to travel now.
Warm callused hands wrapped around her own, her mother having come close with a concerned look in her eye.
“Don’t be afraid, hatchling,” Ava whispered, her grip firm and solid around Peri’s. “You’re going to do great things and I can’t wait to see what they are. You better not forget how to write while you're away either, Tsas will get bored if she doesn’t have anything to do like carry letters home.”
“Well I can’t have that,” Peri responded, trying her best to keep her lower lip from quivering the way she felt like it could be as emotion tried to overwhelm her. “She starts to get nippy when she’s cross with me.”
“As she should,” Ava agreed before releasing Peri’s hand and shooing her away. “Put your boots on and go get your bird ready. It’s going to be a long trip for both of you and you need to make sure she’s as ready as you are.”
The young woman slipped on her boots before moving quickly out of the main house and into the bird's tower. As she climbed the stone steps, she could make out the agitated rustle of restless birds mixed with their sharp cries. She had no doubt they had heard the door to the tower open and close, ready and waiting for someone to come and give them a treat or take them out for a practice hunt.
Coming to the top of the circular tower, the sound of flapping wings mixed with furious calls came to a fever pitch. Even when they were hooded, they knew their handler’s smell intimately and were excited that Peri had appeared. The tower mews lined the outer wall, each bird contained in their own partitioned section with a sliding mesh door. In the center of the room was a tighter circle of mews of a slightly smaller size, a perfect fit for kites, kestrels and raptors. There were a set of windows higher up in the walls so they could come and go, allowing fresh air and light to enter into the tower from all sides. When she was smaller, Peri would spend hours in the mews, learning all of their birds little quirks and climbing to the top of the mews to look out the tower windows feeling like she was lord of all she surveyed, the entire Valley of the Wind laid out before her in way that had her feeling untouchable.
Tsas had flown back to her roost after being dismissed by Ava on the front porch, preening her feathers as she waited for her treat for defending the goats. Peri quickly pulled on one of the abandoned gloves left on the workbench by the door before digging through the cold storage they kept beneath it to fetch her treat. A scrap of mouse meat now in hand, Peri called for Tsas with a sharp series of whistles unique to her little bird and her master. While the other birds merely cocked their heads at the strange sounds, Tsas sprang into the air, gliding the short distance between her perch to Peri’s outstretched and gloved hand, furiously pulling at the sinewy meat that was pinched between her master’s fingers. With her bird distracted, Peri took the time to give her the once over, checking for damaged feathers or wounds associated with her run in with the lion. Deeming her whole and unmarred, Peri released her firm grip on the mouse meat, allowing Tsas to happily gulp it down before wiping her beak upon the glove.
“At least you have manners,” Peri mused to herself as she carried her bird back to her perch. Tsas let out a sharp chirp in agreement before hopping from the glove back into her mew. She seemed content to once again preen her feathers until Peri pulled out the hood from the storage section under Tsas’s roost.
“Don’t give me that look,” Peri tells the kite as sternly as she can manage when Tsas has fluffed up like an agitated snowball. “You would be even more upset if I had to leave you behind. At least this way you get to explore the world with me.”
Letting out a sound that could only be described as an irritated huff, Tsas stilled long enough for Peri to slip the hood over her bird's head, securing it in place so that she couldn’t shake it free if she felt the desire too. Once Tsas was hooded, Peri brought out one of the travel boxes her parents used when transporting birds to and fro. It was made of solid wood padded on the top and sides so the bird couldn't hurt itself, with the extra security of a perch with a chain to secure to the bird's ankle. The upper side walls had a row of one inch square holes to allow for air to pass through. It had the bonus feature of having tough leather straps so that Peri could carry Tsas on her back, leaving her hands free to do other things like drag her heavy trunk around the Capital when she got there.
Never a fan of traveling this way, Tsas made sure to make her displeasure known by giving her master’s non-gloved hand a few well placed nips.
“Now that I know you did on purpose,” Peri groused as she put the chain on Tsas’s ankle. Her avian companion secured for transport, the young woman went about grabbing the needed supplies for a brief ride. Treats for when Tsas got restless, a skein of water and her various tools - a glove that fit her, an ankle bell to keep track of Tsas, basic medical tools and balms her parents had concocted all went into a drawstring sack to tie to the strap of of Tsas’s travel box. She prayed to the Great Bird that she hadn’t forgotten anything important before shouldering Tsas with only a mildly irritated squawk from the bird before she headed back down into the house.
While she finished packing for Tsas, Peri’s mother had closed and strapped her daughter's travel trunk. Her palette beside her parents was clean and made up for wherever she got leave from the Academy, though her favorite stuffed goat had disappeared, most likely into the trunk with all of her other things. Ava herself was fussing about in the kitchen, tying a knot on top of a cloth bundle that Peri had no doubt contained food for her trip. Her mother spun around once she had finished her task, looking very pleased with her little gift as she dropped it into her daughter's waiting hands.
“There,” Ava clucked, clapping her hands together to rid them of imaginary dust. “Now you’re really ready to go. Is Tsas ready?”
“She nipped at me,” Peri groaned, cocking her head back to the travel cage with a rueful expression. Her mother gave her daughter no support, merely letting out a motherly coo towards Tsas’s crate that the little bird echoed mournfully.
“I’m sure you deserved it,” her mother told her, always one to side with the birds. Peri and her father were no better in that regard, not when travelling like this always put so much stress on both the handler and the bird though they worked hard to negate most of it. Peri hoped she could let Tsas stretch her wings when they made it to the Capital before they had to settle in for the night.
Ava shrugged on her coat, tying the sash at her waist before putting on her wide brimmed felt hat to keep the sun off her face. She handed Peri her slightly more refined hat, a leather cap that was lined with sheepskin that came up to pin to either side of the brim. The young woman felt like she was dressed for a festival rather than a long journey but her mother had insisted the occasion called for a little pomp and circumstance. Together with Tsas’s less than helpful hissing, the two women dragged Peri’s trunk out of the house where the family’s lone pack animal sat, an old but sturdy mare with a large head and strong legs. The horse let out an irritated noise, far more used to being ridden about barebacked in the rushing wind than being tied to a cart with a bit in between her teeth. Ava gave her muzzle an affectionate stroke after they had loaded the trunk into the cart before climbing up onto the driving seat with her daughter.
“This’ll be a quick trip, I promise,” Ava told the horse definitively before she urged her forward onto the little dirt road that led down to the village.
Peri had made this journey thousands of times before, knew every bump and divot on the packed earth path. She knew it on foot, on horseback and by cart, but today made it feel all the more special. Coming down from their house that sat higher up on the steppes of the valley, there was nothing that was hidden from her sightline. Greens of every hue and saturation blanketed the Valley of the Wind, climbing up the sides of the mountains that stood guard over them on either side. Slithering through the fertile land, the River of Blessing curled from side to side, its current flashing like silver fish scales in the unobstructed sunlight. From where they trotted, Peri could make out the village where it was tucked into one of the curls of the river, nearly surrounded on three sides completely by water. Little white smudges Peri recognized as sheep and goats were herded across pasture by shepherds like her father on both horseback and on foot as watchful birds circled overhead of their masters. Wildflowers buzzed with life and the exhilarating perfume that came with winter passing and spring starting to break through frozen earth while the ever present wind the valley got its name from teased at the travellers clothes. The Festival of the Golden Moon would be happening sooner than Peri thought it would. Surely the people of the Capital would celebrate the first full moon of the year as well, maybe it would be even better than what they did in the village. She pushed down against the ugly feeling of homesickness that was rearing its head despite the fact that she hadn’t even left yet.
All too soon, the traveling cart had rumbled its way from the little dirt path and onto the main thoroughfare that would lead them into the village proper. The village their home was built near was not considered large enough to have a defined name, even when she looked at Elder Davaa’s extensive maps and charts, she could never find a definitive mark for where her people raised their sheep, goats and birds. All that was there was the Valley of the Wind, therefore they were its humble people.
The village itself didn’t have many permanent buildings like the house Peri’s great grandfather had built near the steppes. It was comprised mainly of temporary round tents made of canvas and wood that would come and go when the time came to move with their herds while those who were too stubborn to move with the seasons like Peri’s own family, put up more established homes made out of stone. The center of town was where festivals were held, half surrounded by buildings and tents while the other half looked over the river as it meandered by. People were already bustling too and fro, mothers with children, men and women of working age on their way out to the pasture for the day. At the town center sat a modest statue of the Great One, a large bird with an elegant head and neck with ornate tail feathers. While most places had an effigy made of gold and hidden away in temple buildings, the Valley’s statue was carved from stone, less detailed than most but made to withstand the harsh outdoor weather. It was made to depict the Great One mid-flight, its base made from the tail feathers while its wings were full spread on either side, head raised skyward where its fellow avians soared and drifted through the sky. Offerings of bird feed, feathers and incense sat around its base, gifts left to gain favor with the one who had the power to bless or destroy the livelihoods of the valley’s people.
Peri knew this statue better than she knew herself. This is where she sat every morning waiting for Elder Och’s wagon to take her to Dolgoon for Elder Davaa’s training. She had sat patiently and not so patiently under the shade of its wings on days where it snowed or rained, or when the sun shined down hot enough to heat the stone. As her otherness became more apparent and her childhood friends turned into strangers, the Great Ones statue never did. Leaving it behind would hurt almost as much as saying goodbye to her parents and home.
At least, she thought as she spotted a familiar figure crouched among the offerings with a trunk of their own, I won't be going alone.
In all the Valley of the Wind, there were only two children who were identified to have a strong enough gift to be worthy of further training and a chance at the Academy. There might have been more, but they weren’t as flashy as Peri was with her powers or had a father as driven as Tuya’s was.
Taimurgiin Tuya was the more reserved of Elder Davaa’s two Valley students, always careful to listen and think through how she should use her powers over the elements unlike Peri. She was by far Elder Davaa’s favorite, a brilliant mind combined with someone who was willing to be instructed. Her father, Elder Taimur the blacksmith, was determined to have his only child succeed, paying for extra classes and tutoring for her while other students just came for the basics. He could see her being the next Grand Predictor, a sentiment that Tuya quickly adopted as her own ambition. But to do that, she had to survive a year of novice training just like Peri.
Tuya was dressed much the same way that Peri was, though her clothes were of a higher quality. Where Peri’s was mainly cotton and wool from the sheerings of her parents' goats and sheep, Tuya’s was made of actual silk with hammered metal buttons shaped like feathers. More feathers were embroidered in silver thread along the cuffs of her jacket and tunic, her hat edged with black wool with a silver knot on the top. She was lighting one of the incense sticks with her head bowed, no doubt praying for an easy year so she could stay amongst the archives for the rest of her days.
Peri didn’t bother to wait for the cart to come to a stop, leaping from the seat and onto the ground, Tsas angrily squawking at being jostled in her crate.
“Tuya!” Peri called out, waving to her friend as she finished her prayer. Tuya gracefully rose to her feet, dusting off the dirt from her tunic before smiling at Peri, her hands clasped in front of her.
“Good morning, Peregrine, Elder Ava,” Tuya greeted in her soft sweet tone. Everything about her was perfectly groomed and in place, her long black hair braided elegantly down her back. Her skin was a shade lighter than most of the people in the village from keeping inside to study on her fathers orders. Her hands were soft and uncalloused, lacking the usual signs of hard work that marred everyone else. She had brown, almost black eyes set into a heart shaped face and while everything Peri did was loud, Tuya was understated and polite, something that endeared her to most adults immediately, Peri’s mother included.
“Good morning, Tuya,” Ava crooned before bringing Peri’s childhood friend into a crushing hug. If she noticed the way Tuya winced under the pressure, Ava didn’t acknowledge it. She pulled away with a wide grin and her hands on her hips as Tuya quickly adjusted her hat back into its proper place on her head. “Are you excited about the trip? I know my hatchling is!”
“Mama,” Peri warned as Tuya covered her giggles with her hand.
“Yes, Elder Ava I am. I don’t think I’ve looked forward to anything as much as I have this,” Tuya explained, her eyes aglow.
“The same could be said of hatchling, no doubt. It's a wonder any of us got any sleep at all the way she was tossing and turning all night.”
“Mama!” Peri squawked indignantly, her face flushing while she twisted at the straps of Tsas’s travel crate. “Don’t you need to go check with Elder Sorocan about the next feed delivery?”
Ava flapped one hand at her daughter's attempt to change the subject. “Sorocan can wait but this can’t.” Fishing through her pockets, Peri’s mother produced a handful of bird feed, no doubt from their store back home that they used to draw smaller birds to the tower for the raptors to hunt.
“A great many things can be put off, Peregrine,” her mother said in a serious tone, her gaze turning towards the statue. “But I won’t court danger today of all days.”
Nodding solemnly, Peri extended her hand for her mother to pour a bit of seed into her hand. Tuya quietly excused herself to fuss with her own trunk as Ava and Peri kneeled before the statue. Both women spread their seed along the statue’s base before removing their hats to bow their heads.
“You who speak in thunder and know the secret name of the wind,” Ava starts solemnly, one hand coming to rest on her daughter's back. “Bringer of rain and snow, great Lord of the Sky, hear your humble children. Bless your special child Corbingiin Peregrine of Rook as she joins the special ranks of the Storm Guard. Please let her travel be safe, her journey uneventful so she can settle peacefully once she reaches the Capital. Keep her under your protective wing and bring her home safely when she can.”
Peri didn’t miss the way her mothers voice caught, the way her hand pressed more firmly into her back. “Her Papa and I are so proud of her. We can’t wait to see what she accomplishes in your name for your servant, the Storm Warden General. Help her to fly fast, fly strong, but never too far from the nest. So mote it be.”
Peri echoed her mothers closing words before abandoning her previous composure to throw her arms around Ava’s neck, face pressed into the crook where her neck met her shoulder.
“I’m gonna miss you, Mama,” Peri warbled, fighting back tears. Her mothers arms drew her in, one hand rubbing soothingly up and down her daughter's spine.
“I’m gonna miss you too, hatchling,” Ava whispered into Peri’s wild hair. “Your Papa will too, mucking about the tower or on the steppes without his little shadow. We know you’ll do great things though and have quite a story to tell when it’s all said and done. You’ll write us all about it, yeah?”
Peri nodded vigorously where her face was still hidden, earning a bright chuckle from Ava that she felt as well as heard.
“Then it’ll be like we’ve never been apart,” her mother promised before gently pushing her daughter off of her so they could be eye to eye. She brushes a few rogue tears from Peri’s cheeks before taking her daughter's discarded hat and putting it back on her head. She rose to her feet, pulling her daughter up with her. After another slightly crushing embrace, Ava turns to Tuya, placing her own hat back on.
“Don’t let Peri hog all the snacks I packed, there’s plenty for you to!” Ava declared with the wag of her finger.
Tuya nods, once again hiding a giggle behind her hand. Ava gives her daughter's shoulder a final squeeze before heading back to the cart. She makes quick work of removing Peri’s trunk from the back before climbing up into the driver's seat. With a quick snap of the reins, Ava turns the horse and cart back the way they came headed for Elder Sorocan’s small shop, the steady clop of their horses’ footfalls growing softer as she turned a corner towards the outer edge of town.
Peri would have remained rooted to the spot, eyes fixed on where her mother had disappeared had it not been a sharp poke to her cheek. She quickly turned to frown at her companion who had a cheeky smile on her face now that Peri’s mother had left.
“Not questioning our decisions now, are we?” Tuya teased, There was a mischievous gleam in her eye, a bit of her real personality coming through now. “And you were so excited before!”
“Leave me be,” Peri hissed, shrugging off Tsas’s crate so she could give her a piece of dried meat, narrowly dodging a nip as Tsas blindly grabbed at her treat. “I’m still excited. Doesn’t mean I won’t miss my folks.”
Tuya’s smile waned to something softer. “I feel the same. Papa was all sniffles and hugs this morning when he dropped me off.”
It was hard to imagine Elder Taimur, a bear of a man with a giant bushy beard and huge hands, being described as weepy, but where his only child was concerned he did tend to bend over backwards. When his daughter was first starting her training, the blacksmith went out of his way to obtain a special rare bird as cunning and intelligent as she was. With the help of Peri’s parents and their contacts in the birding community, Tuya was presented with a beautiful owlet to serve as her companion.
“And how is His Majesty this morning?” Peri asked, nodding to the covered cage that sat atop Tuya’s trunk. Her friend rolled her eyes at Peri’s nickname for her bird. It wasn’t as if it wasn’t true, the owl was a rather pompous creature in Peri’s opinion, screeching and nipping at anyone who wasn't Tuya.
“Sannan is sleeping,” Tuya explained, taking care to stress the owl's name. She carefully raised the cover of Sannan’s cage, revealing a large plain looking gray bird with black streaking on his breast and back. He peeked open a small dark eye as the light crept into his domain. Peri could have sworn he let out an irritated huff as Tuya covered him once again.
“Whoever is in charge of the mews will have a tough time with him,” Peri snorted as she closed Tsas’s crate once more to hoist onto her back. Tuya shook her head, hands firmly on her hips.
“You would be concerned for the Head Falconer, Corbingiin Peregrine,” she huffed. “Not all of the other amazing things the Academy has to offer.”
“I’m looking forward to the Academy overall!” Peri protested, though even she could acknowledge that was only a half-truth. Having grown up spending more time with birds than with people did admittedly skew her priorities, a fact Tuya was well aware of when she shot her friend an unimpressed look. By the grace of the Great One however, Peri was spared whatever verbal barb her friend was preparing concerning Peri’s peculiar primary concerns by a sharp whinny.
Elder Och’s cart came crashing into town like always, pulled along by a rambunctious bay gelding and laden down with bags of unprocessed wool to be taken to the weavers in Dolgoon. Peri and Tuya barely dodged being crushed under the horses hooves as the old sheep herder came to a stop. Pushing the brim of his hat back on his balding head, Elder Och’s gave the young women a gap-toothed grin causing the lines around his eyes and mouth to stand out on his tan face.
“Good morning young ones!” Elder Och crowed like he had done since Peri and Tuya’s first trip to Dolgoon for training.
“Good morning Elder Och,” the girls responded in tandem as they moved to gather their trunks and other belongings. Moving with the grace and agility of a man half his age, Elder Och helped heave the girls’ trunks into the back of the cart with the wool, his wiry arms still strong enough for manual labor. They made quick work of their luggage before everyone climbed into their usual spots - Elder Och and Tuya on the drivers bench up front while Peri reclined in the back with the wool and trunks. With a snap of the reins, the cart took off out of the town, a number of people narrowly dodging out of the way as they made their way to the road of Dolgoon.
A crisp winter wind bit into Peri’s face as they travelled towards the mouth of the valley, grateful for the many layers she was wearing. Elder Och and Tuya were making stilted conversation up front, the young woman gripping tightly to her seat. Not feeling like she wanted to yell over the stomp of hooves or the rattling of the cart to join in, Peri resigned herself to watching the landscape pass by at a steady clip. This far from the village, more herdsmen were on the move with their flocks of sheep or the rare herd of horses. The road they were on followed the River of Blessing through the valley, twisting and turning in tandem with the bends in the river. The mountains grew closer together, reaching for one another across the divide as the road became steeper and wider to accommodate the growing number of people travelling from the outer regions.
Dolgoon sat higher on the steppes than the Valley of the Wind did, its terrain uneven with buildings stair-stepping up the mountain side. Being the largest concentration of people in the valley, all of its buildings were entirely permanent, made to last against the onslaught of wind, rain or snow. They had a small but well kept temple with an actual acolyte to perform rituals, preside over festivals and do general upkeep of the grounds. It even had a train station with two entire lines carved through the Talon Mountain Range to allow people to exit the valley and head into the interior of the kingdom. It’s how Tuya and Peri would be taking flight from the valley themselves thanks to the help and connections of their teacher Elder Davaa.
Elder Och’s overly excited horse huffed and puffed when their previous speed was brought down to a slower crawl as they joined the flow of traffic into town. They trotted past the town center, the temple and the merchant quarter where Elder Och would be heading after dropping the girls off. Where they would usually turn off and head to the outer limits to Elder Davaa’s small home and training yard, they instead continued up the mountain roads towards where the train station sat. The road was crowded with people either looking to catch a train out of Dolgoon or trying to sell their wares to passersby - everything from food to clothing, trinkets and even livestock if the squawking chicken that was almost shoved in Peri’s face was to be believed.
Peri pressed herself further into the scratchy unprocessed wool that surrounded her, trying to make herself small and unnoticeable. She had a love-hate relationship with Dolgoon. On the one hand, it was the place where she could practice her gift freely and hone it into something more. On the other, there were just so many people. Far more than there were in the village, and all of them were confined in a space that made her feel like if she were a bird her feathers would be puffed like a dandelion’s head. At least Elder Davaa’s place was on the outskirts, everyone smart enough to leave the old curmudgeon to himself. The train station however was in the thick of it and it set her entire body on edge with tension.
Tuya seemed perfectly comfortable with the crowd, leaning forward on the carts bench as she craned her head to and fro while looking for her target. It took her a few minutes, but eventually the young woman leaned over to give Elder Och’s arm a firm shake.
“Over there, Elder, by the aspen!” Tuya exclaimed. “I see Elder Davaa!”
Elder Och steered the card in the direction Tuya pointed him in. He pulled the cart alongside the aspen tree situated near the train station's entrance where a squat older man with a permanent frown on his face stood tapping his slippered foot.
“You’re late,” Elder Davaa told them in a clipped tone as Tuya, Peri and Elder Och started unloading the girls' belongings. It was only due to years of practice that kept Peri from openly rolling her eyes. They could have been an entire day early and their trainer would still have called them late.
“Sorry Elder Davaa,” the girls responded dutifully before presenting themselves to him, Peri flicking a stray tuft of wool from her tunic. Elder Davaa didn’t look all that impressed with her much like always while he gave Tuya a pleased smile. It wasn’t hard to decipher who had been his favorite in all their years under his tutelage.
“Well ladies,” he stated, clasping his hands behind his back. He was in a high collared silk tunic that went all the way to his feet so his slippers poked out, the blue fabric embroidered with gold branches and songbirds. What little hair he had was quaffed into a pigtail at the base of his head like always and his spectacles were balanced precariously on the bridge of his nose. Peri often wondered how he managed to keep them from falling off. “I trust you have everything you need for the big day?”
“Yes Elder Davaa,” the girls responded.
“Excellent,” the old tutor sniffed. “We best get moving then, if you want to have a decent seat that is. Say your goodbyes.”
Elder Och took that as his cue to quickly grab each of the girls in turn and give them a tight hug. While Tuya patted the old sheep herder on the back awkwardly, Peri leaned into it and took a deep breath. Elder Och smelled of home - of sheep, horses, long grass, sweat and hard work. His clothes were rough-spun, his hands calloused but strong like everyone back home. As if sensing how much Peri needed this last comfort before she left, Elder Och held her a bit tighter.
“Fly fast and strong, little Peregrine,” he whispered to her. “We’ll be here when you come back.”
Peri held back a sniff, leaning away to give the Elder a firm nod. He gave her shoulders one more firm squeeze along with his same gap-toothed grin before climbing back up into the seat of his cart. The teacher and his students watched him merge back into the traffic before disappearing in the throngs to drop off his wool delivery.
“Do you know where we can get someone to help with our things?” Tuya inquired, glancing over at her trunk, Sannan’s cage and her other bags.
Elder Davaa let out a contemptuous snort.
“Please, Taimurgiin Tuya,” he started, always insistent on using the girls full names when addressing them individually. “This is child's play for people like us.”
Elder Davaa, like most Southerners with the gift, was a Child of Wind. At one point in time he may have known the other three forms, but the wind was what he excelled at. With the flick of his hands, Sannan’s cage rose into the air, eliciting a loud angry caw from the owl hidden under his blanket. Seeing him use his gift so brazenly, where other people could watch him wide-eyed, thrilled Peri to no end. This is what she always wanted, a chance to express herself, all of herself, freely and without fear of judgement. They were the Great One’s chosen children after all, why should they hide?
Elder Davaa let Sannan’s cage float back down gently enough, though Sannan was still hissing and spitting beneath his blanket irritably afterwards. He gestures to the girls with the flap of his hands.
“Well? Go on! We need to get moving!”
Not one to be told twice, Peri flexed her fingers, feeling them prickle in a familiar sensation as the breeze slithered and twisted around each digit. She carefully coaxed the wind to follow her directions, spinning hurriedly around her trunk in a whirlwind that easily raised it up off the ground to float above their heads. The accompanying adrenaline dump from using her powers once would have left her comatose for a few hours following a stunt like this, but now it only left her feeling extraordinarily alive.
Tuya didn’t fare as well, her hands shaky and unsteady as she tried to coerce the wind into cooperating. After much squawking and shrieking on Sanann’s behalf, not to mention many sidelong glances from passersby, Elder Davaa let out an angry snort before putting her out of all of their misery.
“Corbingiin Peregrine always was better with the practical aspects,” Elder Davaa muttered, giving Peri one of his rare compliments. It wasn’t often he was charitable with her, preferring Tuya’s class and polite behavior over Peri’s constant questioning about the regimens and tactics he was teaching them. Their teacher once again called the wind unto him, levitating Tuya’s belongings with the practiced ease of a master. He started towards the train station determinedly, people giving him and his magicked luggage a wide berth. “Come along now girls, step lively.”
Peri followed after, her own belongings floating behind her like dutiful ducklings in a pond, while Tuya trailed behind looking downcast as they pushed through the crowd. Elder Davaa was quick to flash the two tickets he had purchased for his charges while the attendant was busy gawking. It wasn’t long before they were waiting on the platform of the little two track train station. Elder Davaa dutifully doled out the girls' tickets to the Capital while setting Tuya’s belongings back down on the ground.
“Please don’t lose these before the train gets here,” the Elder droned. “And don’t embarrass me when you make it to the Capital. I need to make a living and I won’t if people believe I turn out reprobates instead of decent trainees.”
“Yes Elder Davaa,” the girls responded. Deeming them both suitably warned, Elder Davaa offered them a small nod before turning abruptly on a slippered heel to march off the platform.
“Well, he always was a charmer,” Peri whispered with a snort.
“Don’t insult him, Peregrine,” Tuya scolded, pointing in her direction as she wrapped her arms around her slender frame.
“Tuya,” Peri groaned, circling her friend in an attempt to catch her eye. “Don’t be like that. I’m sure Elder Davaa didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I’m fine, Peri, just drop it,” her companion bit out. Peri let out a weary sigh, resigning herself to taking a seat on top of her trunk to wait for their train. Tuya never was one to share the spotlight where their teacher's attention was concerned. If she kept pouting like this, it was going to be a long trip.
After a long moment of people watching, Tuya’s sulky disposition finally relented. She took a seat on her own trunk, looking down at her hands where they were twisted up together in her lap.
“He’s right, you know,” she muttered in a monotone voice. “You excel at the practical and combat exercises.”
“And you’re the brightest when it comes to beginners prediction, history and theory,” Peri quickly retorted without any heat to her words. “It suits both of us and what we want to do. I don’t want to spend my time in the archives or the Predictor’s Hall.”
“And I don’t want to spend my time getting pummeled by the elements while sparring or going out on patrol,” Tuya offers, her gaze finally raising from her hands to look hopefully up at her friend. “You’ll make a great Storm Warden, Peri.”
“By hook or by crook,” Peri confirmed proudly, her grin crooked as she swatted at Tuya’s shoulder. “You’ll make a great Predictor too. Together we’ll rule the Storm Warden General’s ranks on the field and off. The nobility won’t know what hit them.”
Tuya let out an uncharacteristic snort, raising up a hand to return Peri’s push with one of her own as they settled in to wait for the train that would take them away. Before the hour was out, they could feel the rumble of the train coming along the tracks, the sound of it echoing through the mountain tunnel it traveled through long before the girls could catch sight of it. Peri had never been on a train or anything powered by something other than a horse her entire life. Tuya’s father, because of his trade, often rode the train out of Dolgoon to other parts of the kingdom in order to acquire material or sell his own wares, meaning that his beloved only child often accompanied him when it allowed. While Peri was wide-eyed and gawking as the metal monstrosity came careening out of the tunnel belching smoke and steam, Tuya was calmly gathering up her things and double checking she still knew where her ticket was.
While Peri gathered up her things with the twist of her fingers and the whisper of the wind, Tuya flagged down one of the uniformed porters who had hopped off the train to check for valid tickets. Half distracted by Peri’s trick with her luggage, the porter quickly stamped both girls' tickets before hauling Tuya’s trunk across the platform, Peri’s belongings floating weightlessly behind them.
Once inside the train compartment, maneuvering with her power became far too cumbersome, leaving Peri to drag her trunk across the wooden floorboards behind Tuya and the porter while her friend perused the quickly filling seats for an open spot. Eventually she found a booth with enough room for both girls and their birds, immediately placing Sanan’s cage down on the seat and motioning for both the porter and Peri to follow suit. With both trunks shoved hastily under the bench seats, and two bronze coins palmed by the porter, the girls promptly collapsed onto their respective bench seats with a sigh of relief.
As Peri pressed her face close to the window, eager to watch the train pull out of the station, Tuya’s quizzical gaze turned toward their fellow passengers as they fought to find their own space. Farmers, tradesmen and even a visiting acolyte or two bustled about the crowded compartment, readying themselves for the train to depart. Amongst the laymen though were a group of people who caught Tuya’s eye.
She reached across to Peri’s bench to tug quickly at her friend's tunic sleeve. “Peri! Look, it’s the Salhi’s!”
Peri pulled her gaze away from the window to look at the newest arrivals to the travel compartment. It wasn’t hard to spot the Salhi’s - their clothes were shiny silky and newly broken in leather with fine fur lining. Their trunks were pulled by footmen wearing the Salhi crest - a black embroidered Saker Falcon on gold silk tunics. Bird cages with intricate metalwork and fine leather bird hoods sat waiting as people clamored out of the entourage's way.
Tuya let out a soft sigh, her look full of admiration at the children of the Southern Nobility while Peri let out a more contemptuous huff. Their clothes were new and they had access to private tutors but Peri could spot the calluses on their hands, dirt still crusted under one or two of their fingernails. While other nobles may have everything catered to them, the Salhi’s still had to work hard like everyone else in their grass covered, mountainous territory. Their herds were large but they still herded them themselves and while their name carried weight, Peri doubted it struck the same fear as a noble might in other regions of the kingdom. Their obnoxious and clattering presence duly noted, Peri turned to her bag instead, fishing out the bundle of food her mother had sent her with. Inside was a stash of dried meat and fried bread, even two meat pies that Peri was sure her mother had made specifically for her daughter and her friend to share.
With a wide grin, she shoved the meat pie into Tuya’s hands, effectively distracting her friend from further ogling the Salhi’s entourage.
“Fly fast,” Peri started, raising her meat pie in a toast, her look expectant.
Tuya broke into a grin, raising her own pie. “Fly high-”
“- the Storm Guard rules the skies!” the two girls declared, giggling as they toasted their meat pies together, the other passengers slightly jarred by the loud declaration of the Storm Warden Academy’s creed. The two girls couldn’t care, too busy now finishing their snack while excitedly talking and dreaming about the future as the train finally pulled away from the station.
The small train raced along the tracks, diving in and out of the Talon Mountain Range’s many tunnels. The land rose and fell in flashes outside of the compartments window, with glimpses of towering peaks with silvery veins of river and snow etched into them. Aspens soon gave way to unfamiliar pines, birch and spruces dusted with snow that blanketed the landscape as the train climbed ever higher from the Southern Plains and into the heart of the kingdom. The train stopped once or twice along the way at the increasingly bigger towns and cities. Farmers and tradesmen were replaced by richly dressed merchants, haughty councilmen and even other students on their way to the kingdom's premiere training academy. The compartment filled with the irritated chuffs and squawking of various caged birds that were jostled about along with their human companions. By the time they reached the capital's central train station, the travel compartment was standing room only. Peri was grateful for the uncomfortable bench that she and Tsas occupied.
When the tiny train finally pulled into the platform, Peri couldn't help but press her face to the window. Where Dolgoon’s train platform had been mostly open air, the capital’s station was completely enclosed except for the openings for the trains to enter and exit through. The marble building and high arching ornate windows with towering support columns with their capitals covered in elegant carvings of resting cranes and feathers. Iron benches were spaced out on the platforms that ran along much larger trains whose traveling compartments were two story and spitting enough steam to fog the entire Valley of the Wind. The most intriguing thing to Peri however were the multiple lamp posts and pendant lights that hung from the walls and columns. Peri knew about electricity - she’d used it to shock her fair share of sheep and bullies in her limited years - but there wasn’t a way to store it to make lamps a viable option in the Valley where fire worked just as well if not better. Here though, they seemed to have an abundance of uses for it and the infrastructure to support it, soft yellow lights filling the cavernous space where sunlight could not.
In awe of what she was seeing, Peri missed the mass exodus of travelers from the travel compartment until Tuya gave an impatient tug to her tunic.
“Come on, Peri!” Tuya impatiently motioned for her to get moving, her trunk and Sanan’s cage already in the aisle and waiting. Peri scuttled to her feet, shrugging on Tsas’s travel crate with a muttered apology when she shook her bird too much. Hopefully she would be able to let her out soon. She shifted her trunk out from under the bench before hurrying to follow Tuya onto the platform.
Out in the common area of the station, people rushed in various directions. Much like Dolgoon, people were selling various items though this time in permanent stalls instead of out of packs on their backs. Here they had fresh food being made, strange aromas filling the air. There were an array of clothes, boots, even books and what Tuya called newspapers being sold along with little trinkets. One stall claimed to have feathers that came from the Great One, an act of blasphemy back home but here people ignored the stall in their race to their next destination.
“There!” Tuya exclaimed, squeezing Peri’s wrist where she firmly held it. She pointed into the throng of people headed for one of the exit doors. Mixed in with the people in strange Capital fashion was the familiar gold and black tunics of the Salhi footmen they had traveled with. “Surely they know where to go!”
As loath as Peri was to admit it, Tuya probably hada point. Just from the way people rushed and pushed past her, Peri was feeling like the walls were closing in. The quicker they got to the Academy, maybe this feeling of being surrounded would go away. Twisting her hand in Tuya’s so she could properly hold onto it, Peri raised their trunks up off the ground so they could move faster through the crowd with the wind swirling under their luggage.
Outside was not the relief Peri was expecting. Instead of the fresh air of home, the smell was thick with too many bodies, countless smells mixing with the hot steam that came from the horseless carriages that puttered down the maze like byways. High above them, buildings many stories high climbed into the sky, their multiple windows gaping down at her like a watchful, many-eyed creature. Laundry lines, wires and flags with the kingdom crest on them criss-crossed between buildings, blocking the sky the way the shake of the train station blocked the sun. Even the wind here was different. The playful gentle breeze of the Valley of the Wind had been replaced by a cold wind that came with teeth, tugging at her clothes and biting into her exposed skin. It howled angrily between the buildings, the cold it carried settling into Peri’s bones despite the crush of warm bodies around them. Every inch of the road was covered in people or machines, their many sounds and voices a cacophonous roar that made it hard for Peri to hear herself think let alone pay attention to whatever it was that Tuya was rambling about as her friend pointed at the road.
“Peri, they’re leaving!” Tuya cried as the Salhi’s along with their entourage climbed into two of the many horseless steam carriages waiting outside the train station. They quickly disappeared into the throngs of people and further into the labyrinthine city. Tuya clicked her tongue with a huff. “We’ll never catch them now. We need to ask someone for directions.”
Can’t we just stay here? Peri thought, her breath catching in her throat as the streets closed in more and more. It was too loud, too cramped and for the first time in Peri’s life there wasn’t enough air. Her panicked spiral was abruptly interrupted when a hand came down heavily on one of her shoulders.
“You can’t loiter here,” a uniformed man said. He was much taller than Peri, taller even than her own father, with a large nose protruding from a heavily bearded face. His hair was iron gray along with his thick eyebrows and dark eyes. He was dressed in a thick long coat that brushed the tops of his slush crusted boots, a wool cap on his head. He had a sword on one hip and a pistol on the other which immediately distinguished him apart from any member of the Storm Guard. A civil guard then, one who relied on weapons rather than the powers she and Tuya were gifted with. That didn’t make the gloved hand on her shoulder any less terrifying.
“Get moving,” the guard said gruffly, his accent thick and stilted in Peri’s ears. Unsure of what to do, her head whipped toward Tuya who instead of looking as scared as Peri felt, she appeared to be… relieved?
“I’m sorry officer,” Tuya said diplomatically with a small bow. “We’re new to the city and unsure of where to go. Can you please direct us toward the Storm Warden Academy?”
Like all adults, the guard seemed to melt slightly in the face of Tuya’s overwhelming decorum. He removed his hand from Peri’s shoulder, placing his meaty hands on his hips instead.
“New Academy novices, correct?” The guard tilted his head in question. When the two girls nodded in agreement, he pointed a finger down the street in approximately the same direction that the Salhi carriages had taken off in. “Go down this street until you see the guard barracks then turn left. Go until you hit the grand temple before taking a right. Keep walking and the gate will come up on your right. You can’t miss the seal on the gate.”
“Thank you officer!” Tuya answered brightly, bowing low. Peri mimicked her a split second later, making Tsas squawk on her back. The officer nodded before turning back to the mass of people milling around them. Tuya quickly grabbed Peri’s hand again, muttering the directions under her breath like it was a ward against evil. Peri meanwhile lifted their trunks on instinct more than anything else before stumbling after her friend.
They were jostled about on either side as strangers moved in hundreds of directions around the two girls. Person pressed against person, too many people brushing past Peri & Tuya, the former pressed as close to her friend as possible. Sounds layered on top of one another in a din of noise that made Peri’s ears ache. There were thousands of different voices shouting over another, the nervous whines of spooked pack animals, the rattling of the steam carriages and the angry howling of the bitter wing, why was it so angry - ?
Tuya pulled Peri suddenly to the left onto another side street. Right, the officer said to take a left at the barracks. No not right, left -
There was the overwhelming smell of refuse now as they zig-zagged through people and passed narrow alleyways. Why did it smell so bad here? Why was the snow and slush gray, the snow was never gray at home -
Bells rang out above the noise, the sound almost bringing Peri back into herself. If there were bells that meant the temple was nearby signaling midday services. If they were close to the temple they had to be close to the Academy. How long had they been walking - ?
A sharp right now, Tuya leading them across the street and through the Grand Temple's shadow, the steeple topped with a large effigy of the Great One with its wings spread wide. It was bright shiny gold, nothing like the statue back home with its modest stone, incense and seed offerings. Peri thought she heard Tuya say something, or maybe it was Tsas or Sanan getting restless? They wanted to be let out - let them out - let her out -
Tuya came to a sudden stop, Peri running into her back. Her concentration lapsed enough for their trunks to clatter to the ground behind them. Passersby glared as they continued around the two girls and their luggage like a river flowing around a rock. It took a moment for Peri to reorient herself back into her own body. They had passed the barracks and the GRand Temple which could only mean -
Towering to their right and taking up the entire right side of the street for several blocks was a castle-like structure surrounded by a thick wall. Peri could make out the birds circling one of the towers while men and women in flight suits walked the high walkway of the borderwall. Stamped into the sidewalk where the two girls stood gawking was a highly polished circle made of white marble with the gold silhouette of a bird with long tail feathers curled into it.
You can’t miss the seal on the outside, the guard had said. He wasn’t wrong. At Peri’s side, her normally demure and controlled friend was practically shaking with excitement.
“We made it!” Tuya exclaimed, jumping slightly up and down as she gripped Peri’s arm.
Storm Guard Academy, Peri thought in awe, feeling her earlier panic melt away in favor of an almost overwhelming disbelief. Tuya was right - they were here, the place they had been dreaming about since Elder Davaa first told them stories of its hallowed halls. Here they would be more than they could have ever been back in the Valley of the Wind. Here they would be great.
Peri flicked her wrist and their luggage rose up from the ground obediently. She held tightly to Tuya’s hand and for the first time since stepping off the train from Dolgoon, Corbingiin Peregrine took the lead as she pulled her friend across the threshold of the Academy’s open gate and into their new lives.