Compis: Five Tribes (13 page)

“What if it's not meant to break us? What if it saves us? Who cares what the other tribes think? They're going to be doing their best to try and win her over. Why shouldn't we?”

“She's seventeen, Zyander. I hardly think she's old enough to make a decision like this, much less with her girlish feelings getting in the way,” said his father.

“I'm tired of hearing the same old arguments. I know the troubles of our tribe better than most. So does Nikka, for that matter. Believe me, father, I did my best to warn her away. If there is anything in
me
that appeals to her more than the bitter future that awaits all of us, I can't help that. Her feelings are her own.”

“All I want from you is to keep yourself scarce. Keep her at an arm's length. You'd be better off doing that anyway, in case she chooses a different tribe. Remember what happened with Samain.”

“I'll keep myself scarce, alright. Be surprised if you see me at all,” Zyander said and leaped upon his horse. Twitchfoot was eager to be away from the tense conversation, as evidenced by the jolt he gave Zyander when he bolted down the slope of ground where the Ignis had been camped and galloped through the market like it was an empty field and not a bustling marketplace.

Nikka led Jilli, as she insisted on being called in the most affable and friendly sort of way, back to the inn, dreading the scene she knew she was going to arrive upon. Before her own dramatic entrance into adulthood via purple robes, she had witnessed a heartbreaking scene of sadness in the form of her cousin May and her friend Luka being separated forever.

I can't imagine what that must feel like,
she thought, pushing Zyan from her mind with a tenacity that was one of her stronger traits. He'd made his feelings clear when he'd bolted away from her after watching her robes turn purple. Obviously he'd expected that she'd have a fine little romance with him this week, and then become a member of one of the four other tribes. She was bitter; it seemed he'd been toying with her.

Nikka left Jilli at a table sipping wine while she trudged upstairs to the room that she shared with May. She was just reaching for the doorknob, when Luka walked out of his own room down the hall and came towards her.

“Oh, Luka, I'm so sorry!” she said, throwing her arms around him to give him a tight hug.

He dropped the bags he'd been carrying and hugged her back, then pushed her away with a smile that looked almost as carefree as it had a mere seven days ago.

“I asked her to run away with me, but she's not ready yet. You know how she is. She'll change her mind,” he said.

Nikka didn't want to tell him how little May's choice had surprised her. May was not the adventurous type and Nikka doubted there would be any amount of time that would change her mind. Instead, she nodded.

“I'm sure she will, I'll put in a good word for you.”

“Thanks, Nikka. I'll see you at the next gathering, I suppose. Although I don't know if you'll be in any of our classes. I don't know what they do for the Compis.”

“No one has told me yet either,” she said. “But I'm sure I'll see you.”

They hugged again and Luka's heavy tread made its way down the stairs. Nikka turned back to the door and went in, shoulders back, ready for whatever might await her inside.

She found her cousin, already packed and sitting in a chair by her bed, staring at her hands. May glanced up and smiled—she looked tired.

“I was just waiting for you, to say goodbye,” she said, rising.

“May,” Nikka started, but May cut her off.

“It's no use, Nikka. I wasn't meant to be a rebel. I'll be with my family; I'll get by somehow.”

They hugged and May gathered her things and left Nikka to her work.

~~~~~

Nearly an hour later, Nikka had changed, freshened up and gotten all her things gathered into the bags that she'd brought with her. She dragged them down the stairs, wondering where her father had ended up, then remembered that he'd said his job would be to tell the Initiates where to meet. She sat at the table with Jilli, who had finished the last of her drink. The woman's long pale green locks seemed to move like they were alive.

“All set, then?” Jilli asked.

“I was to meet my father here to say goodbye, but he had to help with the Initiates.”

“Oh yes, one of the Duor, if I remember. That's fine, I'll just have another of these delicious goblets of wine. Do you want anything, my dear?” Nikka shook her head and Jilli ordered another drink.

While they waited, Nikka found her thoughts drifting back to her Initiation. The more she thought about it, the more certain she was that Zyander hadn't been running from her, but from himself. The truth must have hit him hard when he realized that she
would
be able to choose her tribe. She remembered his words from a few days ago.

“
Would you choose Ignis? It would be a mistake. We have nothing to offer. We're poor and almost without magic. Any other tribe would be a better choice.”

Zyander had denied that there was anything other than a simple interlude between them—fleeting. When he'd seen her up on that stage and watched her robe turn deep purple, he knew that if she wanted to, she could choose his tribe. He must have seen that he was drawn to her much more than he had been willing to admit. In the face of that overwhelming emotion, he had fled, like the coward that he was.

He
is
a coward, and I should tell him so,
she thought. Just then, her father walked into the room, out of breath and rumpled.

“Sorry, I came as soon as I could, but there were many Initiates for our tribe this year and all of them were in such shock about the unveiling.”

“Yes, they might have mentioned that in one of our many Initiation sessions,” said Nikka.

“It's part of the process. We need to shake up your world view a bit so you're more willing to listen to all the boring prattle you're going to hear over the next year. It will get you through all the elementary spells you'll have to learn,” he said, smiling.

“Your wings are quite lovely,” she said to her father. They were indeed lovely, pearl colored and feathery, with a line of silver glowing through them. They stretched across the width of his shoulders and nearly brushed the ground. “What do Mother's look like?”

“Ahhh.. hers are glorious, like a pink and purple butterfly,” he answered. “Nikka, how are you feeling?”

She made room for him on the bench. She glanced at Jilli, who was staring into her glass of wine.

“Excited, scared, nervous,” Nikka said. “I still can't believe this is happening. This is only the second time a Compis of my gender has been chosen. I feel much pressure weighing on me—like I'm supposed to do something important, but I'm not sure what.”

“Don't worry, Nikka. Your mother and I couldn't have predicted this, but you are a strong girl. You've known your mind since you were old enough to speak it, and your sister can attest that once you put your mind to something, you never sway from it.”

“I just don't want to let anyone down. I don't want to make the wrong choice,” she said.

“Remember to trust your judgment and don't forget to lean on Iam. You've been chosen, don't forget, so there must be a reason why the Five Tribes need you right now.”

Jilli finished off her wine and stood.

“I'm sorry to cut this short, but we must been getting along,” she said.

“I understand. I have my own work to do yet, as well,” said her father.

He and Nikka stood and embraced.

“I love you, daughter, and I'll see you in a few months,” he said.

“I love you, too, Father,” she said. Then gathering her things, she followed Jilli out of the inn and into her new life.

As he made his way back through the market, Luka noticed several Initiates, bags full, winding through the crowds as he was. He wondered what their stories were and who they'd left behind. The market was especially raucous this morning, vendors and merchants were vocal in their desperation to unload their wares before the end of the day. He winced as he remembered the small turtledoves he'd bought for May. She'd probably thrown them away in her haste to wipe him from her life.

Don't think like that, Luka. May will come around,
he told himself.

“Luka!” he heard behind him. He turned and saw Ryd, standing by the road. He waved Luka over to him.

“I was hoping I'd catch you,” he said, when Luka made his way past the people who were also walking the dusty path. The crowds were chaotic this morning.

“Hi, Ryd,” he said, “Looking for recruits, are you?” He didn't mean to sound so cynical, but the tribeless had been open with everyone about their two reasons for coming to Gathering: selling merchandise and inviting others to join them.

Ryd blushed and looked down at his feet. “There are some people we ask, to be sure, but most come to us. We thought you would be one of them, after what happened at Initiation this morning.”

Luka shrugged. “May isn't interested in leaving her family and everything she's known to join up with some band of ruffians.”

“Ruffians! Is that what you really think of us, Luka? I thought we were friends!”

Sighing, Luka dropped his bags and plopped to the ground. After a moment, Ryd joined him.

“I'm sorry, Ryd,” said Luka, “Today was a disappointing day for me, as you might imagine. May is so stubborn sometimes.”

“So join us yourself, Luka. We will come back to the gathering during the next Initiation week. You can try to get through to her before Induction. At least then you wouldn't have to be, you know, Terris.”

He was tempted, just for a moment. It would be better to be with people he liked, that he knew, than to be with the Terris, who he couldn't help disliking. How could Iam have thought he should be a part of that tribe? Just because he might be adept at that type of magic? He didn't want to be a beast man.

“Do you think I'll look like Duor Hama, with tusks and such?” he asked.

“It's my understanding, from Keran, that each person in the tribe is adept at a single animal, and spends their life transforming into it, until they are changed irrevocably. Keran doesn't talk about being a Terris often, though. In that way, he is secretive about his past.”

“I can't join you, Ryd. Not yet, in any case. I have to try to convince May to join, too, and I can't do that if I'm not an Initiate. As an Initiate, we'll be in all the same classes. She'll be forced to see me, there are only a couple hundred Initiates every year. I have a better chance of winning her over the more I see her.”

“What if you can't convince her? What then, Luka? Will you join the Terris, be Inducted?”

Luka hadn't thought that far ahead. He'd only thought about the next few months. Years were not something that had entered his mind.

“I honestly don't know, Ryd. I don't feel any loyalty to them right now, but who's to know how I'll feel in another couple of seasons?”

“So you reserve the right to think about it and decide later,” Ryd said.

Luka stood, saying, “Yes, that will have to do as an answer for now.”

“Well, it was good meeting you, Luka, and I sincerely hope we will meet again in the future. Until then, good luck to you.” He bowed and clasped Luka's hand in his own, giving it a squeeze.

“Thanks, Ryd, and the same to you,” said Luka, leaning over to heft his bag up over his shoulder.

The noon bell chimed by the time he made it to the Terris display tent, which was as far on the other side of the market as it could possibly be. Luka wasn't surprised and he once again questioned Iam's sense of humor in sticking him with this tribe.

Everyone turned to look at him as he walked up. He heard the midday bell ring its last chime and Duor Hama said, “Ah, Luka, you do join us then. I was beginning to wonder. Well, Initiates, come with me and I will lead you each to your assigned wagons. It is a long journey, but take heart, by the end of the season you'll be using the Praete Lines.”

He walked away from them, expecting them to follow.

One of the boys turned to Luka and said, “What's a Praete Line?”

Luka shrugged. “I have no idea, but somehow I think we're going to find out.”

“This way, Nikka, dear,” said Jilli, walking with quick pace toward a place north of the Citadel that Nikka had not seen yet.

It's easy for her to walk like that, she's not dragging a life's worth of belongings with her. The least she could do is offer to help, even in the interest of buttering me up,
she thought.

Nikka followed her down a worn path that wove its way through the edge of the territory known as the Citadel, and passed through a gate in the outer wall. Jilli plowed ahead as though she walked several miles a day and was likely to do so tomorrow as well. Finally, when Nikka was ready to throw her bags on the ground and herself down on top of them, she stopped, standing inside a wide circle of stone, formed into a sort of platform near the river.

She turned to Nikka, smiling. “Now normally, it would be the whole journey back to Mokar that you would learn about Praete Lines. By the time we got to the end of
Polya Nimba
, you would be ready to attempt what I'm about to tell you with a partner, and it would probably be another season again before you were able to do it yourself, if you were a quick learner.

“Without getting into too much magical theory, there are two different types of magic: tribal magic and common magic. Tribal magic comes from the Five Sacred Elements and common magic comes from the Praetra—which is the land where Iam dwells. All magic itself comes from the Praetra, but it is the places where our world touches the beyond that magic is made. The elements are direct channels to the Praetra and outside of that, there are places here in this world that intertwine with the beyond and they are called Praete Lines. We use the power in Praete Lines to perform common magic. We can light lamps, send letters, and travel more quickly.

“It is the traveling we will speak of today,” she said, “Now, come here, Nikka dear.” Jilli waved her over.