The next day as the warm glow of the sun cast itself upon the small farmhouse, Axel, Ezmeralda, and little Eira made their way for the town. Ezmeralda rode her own horse, and Axel and Eira rode another. Eira was lulling between unconsciousness and the occasional waking moment, and therefore Axel held her close to him with one arm to keep her from falling off. With the other arm he guided the horse forward by the reins.

The snow on the ground was of little hindrance to the horses. The massive snowfall that Ezmeralda had been caught in a week prior was slowly vanishing into water and vapor. Ezmeralda hoped that this would be the last of the north’s snowfalls for the year, and that the sun rising before them in the east would bring spring soon. It was already spring back in Aruslan, her home, she was sure. The air would have smelled of blooming flowers and trees, and the birds would be singing. Here however, it was still crisp and cold, though the breeze carried a promising warmth.

When the snow melted, she would be able to continue her journey. She considered herself very lucky to have collapsed at Axel’s door. Had she not, it was very likely her horse would have died.

“When was it you said the winter is expected to end?” Ezmeralda asked, breaking the solemn silence of their trek. She knew that Axel’s thoughts were with his child, but she hoped that at least some conversation would ease his mind.

“Soon.” Axel responded, gripping his child just a bit tighter. She was weak. If the shaman couldn’t help them, it was truly in the star’s hands.

“Well, that isn’t very exact, but I’ll trust it.” She said with a smirk. Her eyes flashed to a raven alighting in the snow ahead of them. “Well, at least some of the wildlife seem to be out and about.”

“Not good.” came Axel’s curt reply.

Ezmeralda rolled her eyes. Of course he would be the superstitious type. Ravens were the servants of the darkness, omens of ill tidings. With their luck they’d see a wolf next, the fateful messengers of the moon, the goddess of destiny and time.

“How much farther do you think till we get to the village?”

Axel glared over at Ezmeralda. “You’ve become very talkative these last couple days.”

She scowled in return. “Well it seems like someone woke up and stepped on a demon today. I thought you wanted me to talk more, tell you about why I’m here, who I am, and if I’m some evil witch or something.”

He sighed. “Yes, yes. I’m sorry. It is just that she is worse this morning. You understand.”

The truth was that Ezmeralda did. She felt terrible about the poor child, who had been caught in the crossfire of a battle she wasn’t even a part of. The hope had been that talking to him would take his mind off it, but it was apparent the chatter annoyed him more than anything.

“See those hills and trees in the distance?” he said, indicating a few small bumps along the horizon, perhaps three miles away, with trees growing along their base and over some of them.

“Yes?”

“Behind those hills, at the edge of the trees, is the village. It is called Northstar, since you will always find it if you follow the north star in the evening from the capital. It is also the most northern village of Ursulam.” He explained.

“Ah, thank you.” Ezmeralda replied, and then became lost for words. What was she supposed to talk about to this man? It wasn’t as if he was a scholar she could speak too about magic and studies. For that matter, she didn’t know of anything that they had in common. He had asked her about her reasons for being so far north earlier, but it wasn’t as if she wanted to explain that too him. It was only necessary to explain if he insisted. Besides, if the talk stressed him, it wouldn’t be helpful anyway. Thus, they continued the rest of the way in relative silence.

********

It was late afternoon when the riders reached the small village of Northstar, nestled in a patch of hills and tree groves, just before the beginning of the northern plains and tundra. It was a welcome end to their hours of riding, and Axel’s little girl seemed to be holding strong. Ezmeralda was starting to wonder wondering why she had been asked to come along for the distance. Then again, it wouldn’t have been wise of Axel to leave someone who was a relative stranger in his house alone, especially since it seemed that they would be staying the night in the village.

“Northstar is smaller than I expected, is smaller than the village I lived in as a child.” Ezmeralda commented when they got closer. It was evident that the town was not rich or populous. They had no walls to speak of and it seemed that nobody guarded the roads in anyway at all. The only people Ezmeralda could see were to boys chopping wood beside a house.

“When you get this far north, the settlements are always this small. Few can live up here in this climate. As you can see from my daughter here, it is a harsh world.” He explained.

Ezmeralda shook her head and looked at him with pity. “Don’t blame yourself for this”

“It is my fault she is here to begin with.” He said, shrugging. “Why shouldn’t I?”

The teenage mage shook her head. “That is a stupid sentiment. You don’t have any control of her getting sick.”

Axel shook his head. “That is a cold response. Yes though, I’ll admit I blame myself for her situation. As I said earlier, I shouldn’t have brought her here. I’m unfit to be a parent anyways.”

“Who was her mother?” Ezmeralda asked, at this point too bored from the ride to be worried about the man’s potential sensitivities, even if she was his guest. Besides, it would be best for him to at least be in angry conversation rather than just brooding and anxiety.

Axel attempted to respond to her question, but was cut off by a snowball hitting him in the face. His horse jerked to the left as its rider became dis-balanced and confused. He quickly got his bearings however, and Ezmeralda had already spotted and pointed out the offender. It had been one of the boys chopping wood. They had stopped their chore and were standing a short distance from the road. The one who had thrown the snowball cupped his hands to his lips while the other prepared another projectile.

“Can the Veyorn whore lover not winter it out in the mountains?! Come back for more help?” he shouted.

Ezmeralda became visibly confused and angry, looking over at Axel and then at the boy. She spurred her mount forward just a little, riding towards the boy. He began to back away and became afraid as she bore down on him, but she stopped the horse short of running the child down. She shouted down at him, glaring. “What did you just say?!? Were you talking about me?! How do you even-“

“Who - who are you?” he said, his eyes wide and mouth a bit agape. A misplaced foot caused him to trip backwards and fall into the snow. His friend nearby dropped the snowball he had prepared and attempted to look uninterested in the situation, as if it would stop Ezmeralda from noticing him too.

“Who am I?” she asked, now even more confused by his earlier remark. “I thought you just called me a whore, didn’t you?! Don’t play stupid now, you-“

“He wasn’t talking about you.” Axel said, riding up beside her. He stepped down from his horse, careful to keep his daughter from falling. Rather than leaving her in the saddle, he carried her in his arms after dismounting. The middle-aged knight then walked over to the boy on the ground, he was perhaps just a few years younger than Ezmeralda.

“Does your father talk about me that way, Berthold?” he asked, cocking his head to one side. “I would like to know. I did business with him this past year. If you remember he sold me a dog which I hoped to use while hunting. It also died not long after. He wasn’t being dishonest with me, was he? Did he give me a sick dog, because he thought less of my choice of lovers, or of my child?”

The boy scowled, getting back to his feet. “No, my father’s dogs are the best around. He gave you one of the strongest pups.”

“I see. Then where did you learn to speak about someone whom I loved like that?” Axel asked, his tone deathly serious.

“I just recognize an idiot when I see one.” The boy shouted back, defiant.

“That isn’t what I asked. I know you didn’t learn who my wife was, and who my daughter is, from just anyone. You did not learn to say things like that on your own either. Hurry and speak up. I won’t beat you. I do not have the time. I need to get my daughter to Lissa soon.” He chided.

“It…it was Gundar, at the mill. His wife told him.” The boy sheepishly responded, turning his head to the ground as one foot played with the snow. His eyes snapped up to Axel’s again though, as he remembered his temper for a moment. “It doesn’t matter though. Everyone knows you’re a fool from the south that’s going to freeze to death up here soon.”

“We shall see about that.” Axel replied.

“What was that about?” Ezmeralda asked, when the boys had run off. She had observed the exchange with puzzlement. Much of it didn’t make sense to her.

“Neither that or your earlier question are questions that I want to answer.” Axel replied, before turning his horse off the road towards one shack like house. It was covered in dried up vines and sat under a few very large trees.

He stopped his horse outside the house and dismounted, again careful when he lowered his unconscious and exhausted daughter from the saddle. Her eyes drooped and her limbs flopped about like strips of dead meat hung up to dry. Ezmeralda felt sick at her stomach thinking that the little girl was going to die, and that the help the shaman could give wouldn’t be worth the toll that the ride would take on the girl. Most shamans in Ursulam were just out to scam superstitious folk.

“That may be true, but I told you I was Veyorn. You could have at least told me your daughter, and her mother, were Veyorn as well.” She protested, as Axel knocked on the door of the shack.

“I am careful what I let strangers know.” He replied. It was obvious to Ezmeralda that he was annoyed, and that the chance encounter had given her the information without his approval. “It wasn’t that I kept it from you, I simply didn’t think it was important for you to know.”

“That may be true but-“ Ezmeralda began, indignant, before the door of the shack opened.

An old woman popped her head out. Her face looked like someone had pinched all her skin towards the center of her face, and it had stayed that way. She squinted out at Axel.

“Ah, sir knight, what have you come here for?” she asked, seeming disgruntled.

“Ma’am, it is my daughter. She is very ill, and I was hoping that you could help her. I have no medicine, and even if I did I think that my skill would not be sufficient to heal her.” He explained, the sentence spilling out of his mouth like he was gagging the words out as fast a possible. The anxiety of his daughter’s condition was starting to get to him.

“Ah,” she exclaimed, her tone still even and her demeanor calm. “,that explains why you journeyed here at dawn. Waking me when the sun is rising.”

“Yes, we left as soon as we could. I – excuse me? Ma’am, forgive me but it is near evening. I left as soon as morning broke.” He said, now confused. “Please, help me!”

For a moment the woman just squinted. Then she raised her hand to her forehead, as if shielding her eyes from the sun. Then she smiled. “Ah, Dawn. I see. Come inside, both of you.”

Ezmeralda gasped, and became suspicious. That was not a name that Ezmeralda had been called in a long time. Soon, both she and Axel were inside, and the shaman woman took a oak staff from its place leaning against one of the shack walls and began drawing upon the dirt floor with it.

“Please place your daughter on the ground.” The woman said.

Axel did this, placing her down at his feet, despite the strange demand.

She scowled but continued drawing upon the floor. “No, not there. In the middle of this.”

The concerned father couldn’t hide his annoyance but did as he was instructed.“Lissa, please -” he begged, after placing his daughter in the middle of the intricate dirt drawing. “- tell me what it is you’ll do to help my daughter. What afflicts her?”

The old woman shrugged. “Something unusual. I’m not sure. I think she has been cursed.”

“What?” he asked, concern flashing across his face at the idea. “Then what are you going to do about it?”

Lissa did not answer Axel’s question, but instead continued her drawing. It was a drawing of a raven, wings outstretched. Its head was above Eira, and the little girl rest upon its bosom. Then, the woman walked over to a row of poorly pottered clay jars upon a rickity and rotten shelf. She began looking through them. The unlabeled jars caused her some confusion, but soon she found the one she was looking for. She spread the powder inside across the entirety of her dirt art piece, and sprinkled some onto Eira as well. She was ran out and shrugged while looking into the empty jar.

“It seems that this will have to be enough.” She said, sighing.

“What…what are you doing?” Ezmeralda asked. Even though she preferred the shaman to talk as little as possible, she was curious about what sort of magic was being used.

“I knew you’d ask that of all people, “ the old woman responded. “, I’m lifting the curse, you silly mage.”

“Well that answers my question in part.” Ezmeralda protested.

Lissa sighed, and began searched through a sack in a nearby corner. She pulled out a crystal from it. “By reminding her soul that it has a foreign thing upon it. I will bring out her truth.”

Ezmeralda shook her head, before examining the drawing upon the ground. She placed her hand on the spice, scooping up a bit onto her fingers. Sniffing it, she smiled a little. “I don’t follow. Why did you sprinkle her with ground cinnamon? For that matter, where did you get cinnamon from? Is this not excessive in value? It has to be shipped all the way from South Sukarram, and then carried here all the way over land.”

“I was wondering about that as well, but for different reasons.” Axel said. “Her mother used to love cinnamon, but I have never found any in Ursulam, not even in the capital.”

Before Lissa could answer Ezmeralda’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, you said her mother loved cinnamon? That makes sense. You’ve placed something that her soul is connected to around her and on her. If you channel your presence through that it resonates with her soul and dispels the curse placed on it. Will that be enough though? A curse powerful enough to kill a child like this shouldn’t be so simple.”

Lissa shrugged. “I suppose that is an explanation. I don’t really know though, because you’d have to explain what resonate means and what ‘presence’ is.”

“Well-“

“I didn’t say to start! I certainly don’t need you to.” she sharply replied. It was clear she was somewhat exasperated by Ezmeralda. She took the crystal she had dug from the sack and placed it as the raven’s eye in the drawing. Then, she stood back from the drawing, and held her staff out to it.

The crystal began to glow with a purple-white colored light, and then hum. Then, small particles of cinnamon began to glow and rise from the ground into the air. The flap of wings was heard outside. Ezmeralda’s green eyes sparkled excitement. The light glowed from every portion of the raven and from the particles of cinnamon in the air. The cry of ravens and the flapping of wings outside became louder and louder.

Axel looked concerned. Conversely, Ezmeralda was enthralled, watching Eira in the center of the circle. Then, all fell silent and the light vanished. The particles of cinnamon in the air swirled for a moment, causing the three adults to begin coughing as the dust settled. A fourth cough soon joined them. It was Eira’s. She sat up in the center of the room.

“My, my, little Raven. You’ve bested it.” Lissa said between coughs, as she approached the little girl.

Axel followed, wrapping his arms around his daughter and squeezing her tight. He then looked at her face and eyes, examining her for injury or sickness despite there being no reason to. “Are you alright?! Do you feel faint or tired still? Is the pain gone?”

She rubbed her eyes and pushed her father’s hands away. “It doesn’t hurt anymore…but I’m tired still.”

“Well then rest. Rest here with Lissa.” He said, glancing to Lissa for approval, and she nodded. Then he looked back at his daughter. “We won’t leave the town until you feel well enough to do so.”

She smiled, and then hugged her father. “I love you dad.”

He returned the embrace. “I love you too.”

Ezmeralda’s mind wandered during the touching moment, whirling around the strange and new magic she’d just seen. As it did so, it caught onto something.

“How did you know my name, and hers for that matter?” Ezmeralda blurted out.

Lissa shook her head. “I did not become an old woman, separate from the world, without gifts my dear. I can see things that others cannot, and sometimes things which they can in different ways. You appeared at my door, burning as the sun breaking upon the horizon, and this little one as a fallen raven. You are both Veyorn, yes?”

“Yes, actually.”

“Then those names are a part of you, the Veyorn ceremonial names are not given lightly.” She said.

“I suppose that I appear no different to you then?” Axel asked, looking away from his child a moment.

“No. It isn’t as if the Veyorn are special. Their names just give guidance to my visions. You have not fought in a war for many years, yet you still are a man clad in shining silver armor.” she said, smiling mischievously. “Now, I can’t go on revealing all of my secrets. One must remain mysterious in this line of work. You two should go, and I’ll attend to little Eira here.”

“What about me?” Ezmeralda asked. “Is there anything else to it? You mentioned the dawn, but you don’t see anything else special do you?”

The old woman shook her head, and looked confused. “It is hard to see you to begin with darling, what else am I to supposed to see? You burn.”

Ezmeralda scowled, and then stared the old woman in the eyes. It was hard to see, through Lissa’s constant squint, but her eyes were golden. As expected. Ezmeralda backed away from the old woman, her steps slow and deliberate. “What are you? Who are you?”

The old shaman seemed to no be offended by the question, but concerned by the way Ezmeralda was acting. “Child, I’m just an old woman who sees things. Nothing more. Do you think I am one of the fae?”

Ezmeralda breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head. “No, no, it was just that I thought you were a...well yes a demon of sorts, that I heard about in a fairy tale once. They walk the earth looking like people, but they aren’t people. They have, erm, golden eyes. I saw on once too, and so I thought that maybe you were one of them.”

The old woman smiled. “Well, there is much truth in fairy tales, though many do not believe. I do not blame you for being scared. However, the fae are not harmful. Why, I would be surprised if you did not have a few fiery fairies following you around soon, with the spring beginning and the aura that surrounds you. They’ll think you’re the sun rising.”

“Maybe I will.” Ezmeralda said, smiling back. Whatever this old woman was, she was not a threat. Besides not having a violent reaction to Ezmeralda’s question, this woman was missing a few other key descriptors to be like the being Ezmeralda was thinking of. She was old for one, and was diminutive for another.

“Maybe so.” Lissa replied. She looked over to Axel. “Well, unless this mage of yorus has more questions, you should go into town to find lodging, I won’t keep you.”

The shaman then scooped up little Eira and smiled. “But I will be keeping you, safe and sound till your father comes back for you in the morning. We’ll get you some good medicine.”

Eira scowled. “Will it taste bad?”

Lissa chuckled. “Oh no, I make medicine that tastes good. Like candies!”

The little girl gave a hopeful smile and held her hands to her mouth.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about this?” Axel asked, surprising both Ezmeralda and Lissa. Ezmeralda, for her part, felt a pit in her stomach. She had hoped that Axel would not ask questions, and that the danger to his daughter as well as the rushed way in which Lissa had dealt with the situation would have kept him from thinking about what Lissa had said too much. “People place curses don’t they? Magic like that doesn’t just happen. How did this occur?”

For a brief moment Lissa fiddled with a thread coming loose from her clothing, before shaking her head. “No, no I cannot. It was powerful, so only a great evil could have done it. I do not believe she was the object of the curse however. It seems to have...well, I guess the right way to put it is that it went astray. It just happened upon Eira. Curses are like stray spirits after all. Pieces of a malicious soul. Parts of a beings hate.”

“Then who-“ Axel began, before snapping his head towards Ezmeralda and glaring. The sixteen-year-old cast him an annoyed glance.

“We need to talk.” He demanded. “Lissa, thank you for tending to my daughter. Ask for any payment you wish tomorrow, and I will provide you with anything that I can.”

Lissa shook her head, and placed down on the floor. “If you can one day get me more cinnamon, that is all I ask. I am sure there is much you both have to discuss. I shall see you in the morning.

Axel then motioned for Ezmeralda to follow him, and walked out of the shack. The teenager scoffed. Who did he think he was, acting like he could order her around with a wave of his hand? She first walked over to Eira, who stood looking groggy. Ezmeralda wanted to apologize to the child, since it had indeed been her fault that Eira had been harmed. The child’s bright blue sapphire eyes stared up at Ezmeralda’s emerald, and she looked quizzical.

“Miss Ezmelda, did you get your name from your eyes?” the little girl asked, quizzical.

Ezmeralda nodded. “Yes. My mother gave me the Veyorn name ‘Dawn’ because I was born when the sun rose, but my father was Aerician, and called me Ezmeralda. That is a long name though.” She said, seeming annoyed by it. Then, she smiled. “I told you that you could call me Ez if you want.”

“No, that sounds a bit weird. I don’t like that name”

Ezmeralda chuckled. “Alright then Raven.”

The little girl squirmed at the sound of her Veyorn ceremonial name. “You should go and talk to dad now. He will get annoyed if you make him wait.”

“Well, alright, I’ll go in a minute. First though…well, I know you don’t really understand it, but you got hurt because I was around and - and just wanted to let you I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause that.”

Eira seemed to think about it for a moment, before she nodded. “Its fine. You said that last night too. I remember, when you did magic. As long as you didn’t mean too.”

Ezmeralda rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, trying to think of a way to explain to the situation to the little girl. It wasn’t as if she could explain the complex magic of curses to a child, much less how the spell had ricocheted off of her and attacked Eira. Then again, it wasn’t as if she had to. For now, this apology would be enough. Someday, if Eira ever understood, she would at least know that Ezmeralda had apologized for it.

“Alright then, I’ll see you tomorrow Raven.” Ezmeralda said, before standing up and walking away.

“Bye, Dawn.” Eira replied, looking triumphant at getting the last word in on name usage.

Ezmeralda smirked. That little kid would grow up to be a very annoying adult. As she walked outside, she contemplated how terrible it would be if she were to ever tell her uncle that she had a soft spot for children. Already she’d had a couple suitors try to approach her, and he was always encouraging her to accept them. She didn’t want any children herself, since there were far more important things she had to do in life related to her studies, and she disliked the idea of marrying a man and being chained to someone. However, children themselves could be adorable and wonderful creatures to a point. They rarely had the ulterior and disgusting motives of adults. They were also curious about the world and adventurous to a fault, just as she was.