July Short Story - The Birthday Gift

Hey peeps!

This short story is told from Fain's point of view, and has to deal with Adelgis's birthday. This is definitely more slice-of-life, so hopefully you enjoy!

Shami

The Birthday Gift

When I was young, my brother would celebrate my birthday by making rice pudding.

When my brother wasn’t around, I had nothing.

When I sailed as a pirate on the Third Abyss, the crew sang a merry song wherever I went.

I had never thought about whether these things were normal or good. Not until Gillie the apothecary took me in and made a big deal of giving me a birthday celebration. She had cake, and tea, and her caladrius eldrin sang me a song like only a bird could. It was off-putting at first. I didn’t know what to say or do. But she had so much fun organizing it, and carrying it out, that it became easy to relax.

Moonbeam’s birthday was tomorrow.

Everyone else was too busy with the Second Ascension or finding missing people to remember. But I did.

My wendigo rubbed his side against my leg. He was invisible—Wraith preferred to stay out of sight—but he always reminded me that he was near. I patted his fur. It was too hot in Regal Heights for him. Thankfully, he could evoke ice. My wendigo and I kept ourselves cool, even while everyone around us suffered.

At least we weren’t in the Amber Dunes. Those deserts had been the worst.

Regal Heights was still rather hot, however. Even at night.

We stood on the edge of Hydra’s Gorge, just outside the city. The people here reminded me of pirates. Friendly pirates. They shouted and stormed about, all confidence and smiles. Reminded me of the Third Abyss.

“Have you decided what you’re getting him?” Wraith asked, his voice a mere whisper.

I glanced down to the vastness of the chasm. The mist, and depths, made me think of death.

“I don’t know what he wants,” I said. “I’ve never been good at singing.”

“I can howl.”

I patted Wraith and half-smiled. “Moonbeam might like that.”

My wendigo sat next to me. The stillness matched the calm weather. No clouds. No harsh winds. When the sun came up, it brought life and energy. The birds on far off trees stirred. The hydra arcanist rose from their slumber, and chimneys throughout Regal Heights gushed smoke from the breakfast fires.

It was now Moonbeam’s birthday.

“Should you get him a gift?” Wraith asked.

I shrugged. “What would I get him? He doesn’t want much. And what he does want, the Frith Guild provides.”

My eldrin didn’t reply. When I patted his skull mask, his ears twitched. He didn’t like it when I touched his mask anymore. Not since he lost his antlers.

“Maybe there’s a gift in the shops of Regal Heights he might like,” Wraith offered.

“And what should I pay with? Gratitude?”

“They’ve been providing things to the Frith Guild for free. As thanks.”

I rubbed at my chin as I mulled it over. The townspeople had given us food, supplies, and shelter. And even beyond that…

“All right,” I muttered. “Let’s go to town.”

Wraith stood. Although he remained invisible, I heard the rustle of his wagging tail. I half-smiled knowing he was pleased with the decision. Before he headed towards the gates, though, I wrapped myself with invisibility. I preferred to travel in silence—in the shadows. I didn’t want anyone seeing me.

I hated when they stared at my black fingers and ears. They assumed it was frostbite.

Or whenever someone recognized the brand on my neck. They knew it was a mark of pirates.

I didn’t want to explain myself. Words were never my strong suit.

We walked into Regal Heights together, unseen and unbothered. The guards by the gates yawned as Wraith and I passed them. The city itself was alive with activity. Everyone gathered early in the morning to watch the fenris wolf and typhon beast practice their magic on the other side of the gorge.

It was an interesting sight, but I had seen it before. Instead, I turned my attention to the marketplace.

Wraith stayed by my side as we both ventured down the narrow pathways of Regal Heights. Bridges had been constructed that crossed over the gorge, but I didn’t enjoy venturing across them. Instead, I stayed to my side, and traveled in between buildings until I reached the shops.

Each building was a stonework marvel with giant windows. No glass—the point of the window was to approach the shopkeep and point to the item you wanted inside. The shop owners had everything on display behind them, often hanging their wares, or food, on hooks or placing them on shelves.

Before we entered the shopping area, I hid in a tight alleyway and allowed my invisibility to fade away. Wraith remained invisible as I strolled out into the shopping area. I kept my hands in my trouser pockets and walked with my head down, to avoid drawing attention to myself.

A few times, I tightened the bandana around my neck, to make sure no one would spot my pirate brand.

The shops mostly sold necessities. The tailor and the cobbler had seats for customers, but I wasn’t interested in anything they had to offer.

What did Moonbeam even like?

He enjoyed his eldrin, Felicity. He cared for his siblings, even if they were… questionable.

He enjoyed reading.

Ah!

Books.

Moonbeam would enjoy a book for his birthday. Unfortunately, I doubted I would be able to find one here. Regal Heights wasn’t flush with trees, and I hadn’t seen a place that crafted paper. They likely traded for such goods—probably from the Argo Empire.

Despite those facts, I searched around the marketplace regardless. Perhaps I could find something book related. I wasn’t sure what that would be, but hopefully something.

The denizens of Regal Heights chatted at thunderous volumes. Laughing, patting each other on the shoulders, talking about mundane things with the enthusiasm of schoolchildren. Their boisterous conversations hid my footsteps well. I wasn’t invisible, but that didn’t matter. They were too busy engaging in their conversations to deal with me.

The sun made its trek higher into the sky.

I wanted to be there for Moonbeam, and wish him a good day when he woke, but that wouldn’t be happening anymore.

“Are you going to make this a surprise?” Wraith whispered.

“Moonbeam will know everything as soon as I get to him,” I said, keeping my voice low.

“Perhaps we can do something to prevent that.”

“How so?”

“When we find a shop… ask the shopkeep to give you something random? That way, it’ll be a surprise.”

A wave of heat caught my attention. I stopped walking and turned toward the source, my arm up over my eyes. The heat… Once upon a time, all I wanted was heat. Now, after having bonded with Wraith, I didn’t want it. I wanted the ice—the cold security of cold weather.

I used my magic to lower my own temperature even further.

At first, I thought the heat was coming from a blacksmith, but I was mistaken. A shop near the edge of the gorge was busy with a furnace used in glass making. I didn’t know much about the art, but I recognized the warped and discolored globs of fresh glass being formed by the smiths.

They were crafting windowpanes, but one craftsman had an orb of hot glass on the end of a metal rod. The glass was the shade of amber and hot enough to be molded. The man used a set of tools to shape the hot, malleable glass. He spun it around, poked it with his metal tools, and eventually shaped the glob into a simple little horse.

Afterward, the craftsman removed the glass from his rod and then placed it into a cooling oven. I assumed it would stay there for a while—that was what they did with pots, after all.

I wanted to offer to cool the glass for him, by evoking ice, but from my past experiences, rapidly cooling hot objects tended to result in… explosions.

Despite the heat, I walked over to the glass workers. Most of them continued their work without glancing in my direction, but one older gentleman came forward. He had a small gut and barely any hair, but his face was wrinkled with laugh lines that reminded me of Gillie.

I like the man a little more already.

“Oh, an arcanist with the Frith Guild.” The man smiled wider. “What can I do for you?”

“You make… glass figurines?” I motioned to the far cooling oven.

“That’s right. It’s a specialty of ours.” The man nodded once while he said, “We strive to make all manner of mystical creatures. Mostly hydras, mind you, but after seeing the fenris wolf, and the typhon beast, I think we have a whole new project ahead of us.”

“Do you have any for sale?”

“Oh, yes. Let me fetch a few.”

“Actually,” I said as I held up my hand. “Do you mind if—”

The man noticed my blackened fingers. He grimaced and backed away, his eyes wider than before, his smile lines gone. The reaction wasn’t uncommon, but I had appreciated it more as a pirate. As an arcanist of the Frith Guild, I was supposed to be an upstanding and respectable member of society. Having frostbite-fingers didn’t give people that impression.

They looked at me like a walking corpse.

Or worse.

With pirates, it was welcome. Fear and respect went hand in hand.

But that wasn’t the case with people like Moonbeam and Volke. So I tucked my hand back into my pocket and forced a grin.

“It was the result of an accident,” I said, even though I didn’t sound natural saying it. “Nothing to worry about.”

The man relaxed, his hands a bit shaky. “After the arcane plague… I always fear weird changes in appearances.”

That wasn’t a thought that had occurred to me. Best I wear gloves from now on.

“I wanted to tell you… I don’t have any coin.”

The man’s smile returned. He nodded once and then turned to fetch the glass figurines once again. But I sharply took in breath, and the man sensed my hesitation. When he met my gaze, he had a questioning expression.

“I don’t want to know which figurine it is,” I said. “Can you just pick one? As a surprise. A gift, for a birthday.”

“Who is it for? The Warlord? The Hunter? Or perhaps, the mighty typhon beast arcanist?”

“It’s for Moon—er, Adelgis Venrover.”

The man stiffened, his smile disappearing all at once.

Then he nodded again and disappeared into the glass working area, far beyond the workers crafting the panes and figurines. He had said nothing, which worried me. It was only then that I noticed a woman in the back with an arcanist mark on her forehead. She was bonded to a salamander—a creature of pure fire. Her eldrin was deep in the furnace, keeping it hot.

No wonder they didn’t need billows, charcoal, coke, or some other kind of fuel.

The woman—who looked a lot like Hexa—waved at me, her fingers fluttering.

I didn’t wave back.

The man’s reaction to Adelgis’s name continued to bother me. It was all I could think about.

***

As the sun started its descent, I headed for Moonbeam’s room inside the fortress house that had been lent to us. For whatever reason, Moonbeam preferred the evening. I assumed it had something to do with the fact everyone was asleep, and their thoughts weren’t as intrusive. Or perhaps it had something to do with dreams.

Either way, this was the best time to speak with him.

I climbed the massive stairway to the building, taking my time to remain quiet. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the fenris wolf howl. The roar of the typhon beast responded.

I entered the fortress building. The stonework on the doors and walls were near perfect. Gargoyle magic had likely been used.

Wraith stayed close, and once we entered the building, he allowed himself to become visible. The sunset lighting gave his skull a reddish hue. As pirates, I appreciated anything that made us look more menacing. Now, I almost wished I could close the curtains.

I wandered our temporary home until I reached Moonbeam’s room. The door was ajar. I slipped inside without opening it further, hoping to be as silent as possible.

Moonbeam knew I was here, though.

He always did.

Wraith slipped in after me, just as quiet, as just agile.

Moonbeam sat near the window. His black hair, tied in a ponytail, seemed limp and uncared for. Not usual behavior. When I walked over, Moonbeam briefly glanced over his shoulder to acknowledge my presence, but then his gaze returned to something beyond the window.

I stared outward, to the other side of the gorge. The typhon beast and the fenris wolf were practicing their magic. Was Moonbeam interested in their studies?

Although we never spoke much when we were alone, I cleared my throat. Moonbeam lifted an eyebrow, probably already aware of my desire to give him a gift. When I glanced around, I noticed a little table in the room at the foot of his bed.

Several gifts were stacked on top.

The others had remembered.

There was a book—who had gotten that?—an elegant cape, several sweets, an empty journal, an inkwell, and even several feather quills. The cape had a spiral shell sewn into the design. An ethereal whelk. Someone had given the gift plenty of thought, it seemed.

It made my gift seem silly.

“Don’t fret,” Moonbeam said as he slowly stood and offered me a melancholy smile. “You’re the only one who attempted to make your gift a surprise. Everyone else thought about it extensively, or outright spoke to me about it.”

I huffed and half-shrugged. “Is a surprise worth that much?”

“To me, yes.”

My face heated. Moonbeam had a way with words. No one else spoke like he did. Wraith wagged his tail. He enjoyed the way Moonbeam spoke as well.

I reached into my trouser pocket and withdrew the wrapped glass figurine. The brown cloth kept it from my sight. Not only that, but it had been wrapped so many times that I couldn’t feel its shape. What was it?

Moonbeam held out his hand.

I placed his gift in the center of his palm.

With delicate motions, Moonbeam carefully peeled away the cloth wrapping. I held my breath, hoping he would enjoy whatever he found, but not quite sure if a silly figurine would even hold his attention. I should’ve given this more thought.

Moonbeam finally opened the gift.

He found… a broken glass figurine.

It was shattered into three pieces. Perhaps on purpose? I leaned forward, confused.

The figurine had once been a relickeeper—a type of dragon made from the discarded parts of old artifacts, trinkets, and materials. Normally, relickeepers appeared to be eclectic collections of junk, but this one was junk. Why had the glass worker given this to me?

“Most citizens of Regal Heights know what happened in Thronehold,” Moonbeam stated as he carefully wrapped the glass up again. “My father… People have been discussing him lately. Especially about how he killed so many people. He was famous, after all. His work was shared across many nations.”

“Why?”

“I am my father’s son. Everyone knows it.”

“Wait,” I muttered. I snatched the gift out of Moonbeam’s hand. “This was a reference to your father? Meant to hurt you, because… Because… They partially blame you for what happened?”

Moonbeam slowly nodded. “Yes. I believe it was.”

I turned on my heel, angrier than I had been in a while. My vision tunneled a bit. Even Wraith growled as he followed me. That scumbag thought he could hurt Adelgis with this trash? I’d ice over his whole shop. Him and the salamander in the furnace.

They thought they could hurt someone I cared for and get away with it?

They’d never make glass again.

“Wait,” Moonbeam said.

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder.

“Don’t bother. It’s not worth it.”

“You shouldn’t be lumped together with you father,” I said, more heat in my words than I normally allowed to slip. “You aren’t to blame for whatever he did.”

Moonbeam shook his head. “It’s fine. The citizens of Regal Heights are just confused. They don’t get much news. They don’t know what’s happening. Let this go.”

“But—”

“You didn’t even pay for it,” Moonbeam said with a small smile. “The man thought he could upset me with this figurine, but he’s done the opposite. It just reminds me that… I need to make a name for myself. If I do enough—work hard enough—I can bring more good to the world than my father took. I can set things right.”

I rubbed at my arm, a little worried.

I sometimes thought… all my evil deeds as a pirate could never be made right. The task daunted me. Yet Moonbeam wanted to make the sins of his father right, even though it wasn’t his responsibility. It seemed admiral. More than anything I had ever done.

“I’ll help you, ya know,” I muttered as I turned to face him. “Whatever you need. I’ll be there for you.”

“I know.” Moonbeam’s smile only grew as he spoke. “That’s why yours is the best birthday gift of them all.”

His words…

My face grew hot again.

Wraith sat at my feet and wagged his tail.

“What did you want to do for the rest of your birthday?” I asked.

“I was hoping to spend it with you.”

I crossed my arms and nodded. “Here? Or somewhere else?”

“It doesn’t matter. As long as we’re together. I just… don’t want to be alone.”

I forced myself to smile. “The good stars will be out tonight for your birthday.” That was a common saying for people who sailed the waves. Moonbeam must’ve known. He seemed to enjoy it.