The Longest Day

When Tahni woke the next morning, she wasn’t sure how she felt.

Part of her wanted to cry with the knowledge that she was about to leave her father and brother and put herself in very real danger. Another part of her wanted to scream at whatever cruel being had cast this fate upon her. A third part wanted to simply curl up in a ball and hide away where no one would be able to find her.

But she couldn’t do any of those things. She had to be strong. She had to hold herself together.

Throwing her legs over the side of her bed, she sighed and pushed the thoughts from her mind. She refused to let herself dwell on things she couldn’t change.

She dressed quickly and did her chores, borrowing a large map from her father’s desk before she made her way to the clearing for the third time in as many days.

She and Vita spent the remainder of their morning hunched over the map to figure out the best way for them to get to the Rohnalian Mountains and stop Slay. Later, they spent their afternoon with their toes dipped in the shallow stream as Vita explained to Tahni exactly what her gift was and what it meant she could do.

Late that night, when Tahni lay awake in bed, she silently mulled over everything she had learned. She already knew that Vita could make images float on water and put visions in Tahni’s mind, but what she hadn’t known was that prophecies were the essence of the Seers’ powers—the main reason they were given their gifts, in the grand scheme of things—and that each individual Sister or Brother of the Sense would eventually receive their own unique one.

Vita told her that some Seers were known to have waited over 40 years to receive their prophecies. She was considered lucky in that sense, having received her own at the age of only twenty four.

And, as with anything truly extraordinary, Brothers and Sisters of the Sense were few and far between. While Vita had spent her time at the Seer’s Seminary—the place her mother had taken her when she was only thirteen to develop and nurture her gifts—there were only two other Seers there: a boy and another girl.

But while prophecies were the focus of their powers, that did not necessarily mean it was all they were restricted to.

Vita’s gift allowed her to do almost anything regarding visions or images. She could show anyone anything in any way. She could paint pictures in a person’s mind to convince them they were in a different reality. She could make someone who had never even laid eyes on a coastline believe that they were swimming in the ocean.

What was more, was that although her gifts were more or less limited to tricks of the mind and making images appear where they shouldn’t, Vita had a particular connection to Tahni over other people.

Because Tahni was her prophecy’s victim—the person whose fate her prophecy had claimed—Vita was able to feel Tahni’s presence, and the general nature of her thoughts. It was almost like a sixth sense that Vita could access when she needed to.

Tahni had spent the afternoon with her mouth hanging open in awe as she listened to Vita explaining all of this, the breeze playing gently in her hair.

Now, as she lay in the dark thinking about Vita’s gifts and the journey they were about to embark upon because of them, she drifted off to sleep, waking only a few short hours later to bright morning sunlight pouring through her window and the familiar sound of Kobi outside, chopping wood for a fire.

‘Well-rested’ was certainly not the term she would have used to describe herself as she tried to remember if she’d collected everything she would need when she and Vita left later that day. The thought itself made her stomach churn uncomfortably.

She still wasn’t ready for this.

It proved difficult for her to act normally around her father and brother as she went about her tasks for the day. She may have been about to leave them, but she still wanted to do her part in their household before she did.

Time passed slowly and Tahni knew deep down that she was stalling. Eventually though, she ran out of chores to keep her busy.

A lump in her throat, she sat down at the edge of her bed with the intention of writing a letter to Hank and Kobi. When she tried, however, she couldn’t seem to find the right words to say.

She knew that if she tried to explain, they would go looking for her; try to convince her to come back home. They would never let her put herself in so much danger. They would never risk losing her when they’d already lost her mother.

But if she couldn’t explain, then how could she ever apologise for disappearing like this? The answer was simple: she couldn’t. She knew she had to at least try, though.

With a deep breath, Tahni dipped her pen in the inkwell she’d borrowed from her father’s room and put it to paper.

Dad—

All I can say is that I’m sorry. There’s nothing I could ever do to justify this, but please believe that I’m sorry. If I could stay with you and Kobi, I would. I just can’t. Please don’t go searching for me, it won’t do either of us any good. I promise I’ll be safe and I’ll come home as soon as I can.

Please take care of yourselves for me. I love you, always.

-Tahni

Folding the letter in half and trying desperately to stop the quivering of her lip, she felt a tear roll down her cheek. It would never be enough, but it was all she could do. Tahni knew that if she didn’t leave now, she wouldn’t be able to leave at all.

She gathered her rucksack, placed the letter on her father’s desk, and rushed out the door before she could change her mind.

Hank and Kobi, thankfully, were both near the chicken barn behind their home, oblivious and out of sight.

Tahni sprinted.

Harder and faster than she ever had. Her resolve was faltering more and more with every passing second, every step she took further from her home.

The sooner she and Vita left, the better.

Tahni burst into the clearing and found Vita waiting close by, wearing an outfit almost identical to her own—light brown trousers, thick-soled boots, and a button-up shirt tucked neatly into her belt—and somehow she still looked breathtaking with her hair tied in a long braid that fell to her waist. A rucksack of her own sat at her feet.

Tahni wondered vaguely where she’d gotten all of it.

“Tahni!” Vita exclaimed. “What—Are you… Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Tahni huffed, doubling over and bracing her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Still shocked from Tahni’s sudden entrance, Vita just nodded and slung her rucksack over her shoulder.

“Follow me. There’s an empty cabin about half a mile away where I’ve been keeping my things. I’ve got two horses there, waiting for us.”

“Wait, what? How in all Heavens did you find horses? And what do you mean you’ve been keeping your things in a cabin? What are you talking about?” Tahni said.

Vita chuckled. “Where do you think I’ve been sleeping, Tahni? Here, in the clearing? With no bedroll and no shelter? Not even a change of clothes?” she asked.

“I… I never even thought about it, honestly.”

“Yes, I suppose you would’ve had other things on your mind,” Vita said knowingly. “Come on, we should get as far as we can before nightfall. It’s going to be a long journey.”

Tahni’s gut twisted painfully as she followed Vita from the clearing, winding their way through the trees until they came across a tiny wooden cabin, hidden well within the dense woods.

With only one room, containing a bed against one wall and a small fireplace against the other, Tahni wasn’t surprised by the fact that there had been no one living there when Vita arrived.

Vita walked around the side of the small hut and returned after a moment with two stunning mares—one chestnut, the other dun.

“Where did you get them? And, now that I think of it, how did you get them to stay here without wandering?” Tahni asked in awe as Vita handed her the reins to one of the horses.

“I knew that once I convinced you of the prophecy, you would need one as well, so I took them from the stables at the Seer’s Seminary before I left to come and find you,” she explained, mounting her horse. “As for how I got them to stay here, were you not paying attention yesterday? Tricks of the mind are a powerful thing, Tahni. All I needed to do was convince them that it was dangerous outside this area and they stayed right where I wanted them.”

All Tahni could do was shake her head.

She mounted her own horse as well, and they were officially on their way.

It took all of Tahni’s strength not to indulge in one last glance towards her home. She wondered quietly to herself if her father had found her note yet.

~

When the sky was set ablaze and the temperature began to drop, Tahni and Vita slowed their mares to a halt. Staying within the cover of the trees, they laid down their bedrolls, and Tahni pulled a small hunting knife from her rucksack.

“If you start a fire, I’ll find us dinner,” she offered. Her father had taken her and Kobi out hunting when they were young.

Glancing at the blade, Vita nodded. Where at all possible, she avoided killing. Animals were no exception.

Doing her best to ignore the unwelcome feeling of guilt settling deep in her gut, she thought grimly to herself that Tahni would need the practice, anyway.

While Tahni left in search of a rabbit or perhaps a possum, Vita secured their horses to a nearby tree and started collecting dry wood to use for a fire.

***

Surrounded by hundreds of his troops on the Rohnalian Cliffside, Mortis Slay paced in his enormous tent.

“They’re ready for you, my Lord,” Dalton Everett, one of Slay’s most trusted admirals, murmured as he entered his master’s quarters with his head bowed low.

He wore a simple black battle uniform—minus the armour and chainmail—with a crest depicting the severed head of a wild boar embroidered on its front in silver twine. It was Slay’s own design.

“Send them in,” came a brusque reply.

With a quick nod of his head, Everett turned and pulled aside the thick canvas flap that was the entrance to the large marquee. Of course, Slay did not need all the space that it provided, but, being the greedy man that he was, he demanded it.

Two men entered his quarters, each dressed the same as Everett and each carrying an air of nervousness about him.

“What is it?” Slay demanded. “What is so urgent that you had to pull me from my duties?”

“My Lord, we’ve come with news from the Seer’s Seminary,” one of the men explained in as brave a voice as he could muster.

Slay’s face tightened. “The informants I sent, I assume?”

The two men nodded in earnest.

“Well? What do you have to report?”

Exchanging a quick glance with his comrade, the first man spoke again. “One of the Sisters of the Sense… Vita, her name was… She received her prophecy, my Lord. I overheard her speaking to one of the Sage’s, seeking advice. The prophecy,” the man continued, “was that of a young girl destined to defeat you. She left the Seminary just hours before we did. She will have already found the girl, and there is no doubt in my mind that they would be on their way here now. We ran two horses into the ground to come and warn you as soon as we could.”

Slay was tense and silent. Slowly, he turned to his admiral.

“Dalton, collect four of my men and send them after Vita and the girl. Make sure they strike to kill, and make sure they catch Vita by surprise. I trust you remember what I told you about her and her gifts.”
Everett nodded and left the marquee as Slay turned back to the two informants standing before him.
He looked at the man who had not yet spoken. “You will follow the admiral and tell my men where to find those little wenches. I assume you found out where Vita could find the girl.” The man nodded and all but ran from the tent.

“And you,” he continued as he turned to look at the other, “will stay here with me and tell me every detail of what you know.”