Episode 16: Children of Tardes
The first ti young Evie learned about her circumstances was through the priestess from Thienda.
One day, the priestess visited Evie's city.
Many people gathered in the square to see her, as she waved from her roofless carriage, smiling graciously.
Evie was among the crowd at that mont.
However, she didn't fixate on the kind priestess; her eyes were drawn to the girl sitting next to her.
This girl, who seed to be around Evie's age, also appeared to be from Thienda.
She bore a strong resemblance to the priestess, wore fine clothes, and received the crowd's admiration and cheers.
For so reason, Evie couldn't take her eyes off the girl rather than the priestess.
A pressing question began to consu her mind.
'Why is that girl so different from ?'
Amidst the bustling street, these thoughts suddenly hit Evie.
All her life, she had always struggled to stay unnoticed.
Why, then, was this girl so confidently standing in front of everyone?
Why were the adults, who usually shooed Evie away, so eager to greet this girl and act charitable toward her?
This pure curiosity gripped Evie, and she finally reached a realization by the end of the priestess's procession.
'Ah, so that's how it is.'
'A girl my age can also be treated as important, but it's not .'
'Has that girl ever felt hunger, slept on the street, or had to beg or steal? Probably not. Why?'
'Because just as I am not her, she is also not .'
'Her situation is different. I don't know why, but almost everything is different between us.'
Orphaned children from the slums naturally co to understand and accept their fate as they mature.
But Evie, instead, found herself filled with more questions.
It's truly strange.
If everyone is born different and lives different lives, why am I here, and why is she there?
And why, of all things, am I on the unfortunate side?
Evie couldn't find an answer.
Instead, every aspect of that mont etched itself into her mory, resurfacing from ti to ti, even as she ran breathlessly at twelve years old.
---
"There! Split up and chase!"
n's loud shouts and curses.
The barking of a large dog.
The countless footsteps pounding on the cobblestones.
Evie ran desperately to escape these sounds.
Even as her breath beca short, a thought crossed her mind.
'Ah. I wonder if, being so different from , you could ever imagine a mont like this?'
Erging from an alley, Evie spotted a collapsed wall and squeezed her body through the narrow gap.
Just need to get through here. They won't be able to follow.
"Ah!"
But sothing bit into her ankle.
It was the hunting dog following her and the n.
Evie struggled desperately, having no ti to focus on the pain.
Yet the persistent creature hung on, and a man chasing her dragged her from between the walls.
"Wow, this stubborn girl. Finally caught her."
"Let go!"
The man grinned unpleasantly, but when Evie kicked sideways, his expression imdiately turned sour.
"This little...!"
The man struck Evie, frustration evident as he raised his hand again.
At that mont, Evie wasn’t overco by pain but shock.
The intense force left her mind blank as if her body and spirit had separated, making her feel like a spectator watching soone else get beaten on the ground.
So Evie beca a naless onlooker, quietly observing the situation unfolding around her.
"Hey, take it easy!"
A different man shouted then, snapping Evie montarily from that strange sense.
"If you break a bone, it'll be troubleso. Why ruin sothing we caught with difficulty?"
Yet, the man's following words made Evie let out a sarcastic laugh before slipping back into that detachnt.
I knew it.
Everything seed ridiculous, her emotions oddly light.
While physically trapped, her spirit felt like it could take flight anywhere.
Ah, when I open my eyes, will I find myself behind bars?
If so, why would it have to be ?
If this continues, maybe it's better to just stop being .
While Evie mused in a daze, unfamiliar sounds rang near her ears.
The deafening crash of thunder.
n shrieking.
Dogs whining
Evie couldn't discern if these sounds were reality or an illusion.
The gentle hands lifting her felt equally unreal.
Thus, when she awoke again, it took a long ti for her to accept the warm, unrealistically soft bed she found herself in, facing the astonishingly kind mage.
---
In the eight years since that narrow escape, Evie found herself enduring a different kind of struggle for survival.
She faced a winged reptile on the windy hill of Thienda.
"Butler, please help out here...!"
Evie cried, uncharacteristically frightened.
Evie stood at the western cliff edge of Thienda, where the wind blew incessantly.
Dressed for an outing, she paled at the sight of a crimson dragon peeking curiously at her.
The dragon was about twice the size of a horse, its scales bright as the setting sun. Seeing Evie's stiff posture, Diez spoke.
"There's nothing to fear."
"You rember I was bitten by a dog once."
"That remark is quite offensive to the children of Tardes..."
As Diez quietly scolded her, Evie quickly shut her mouth, casting a nervous glance toward the group of dragons resting in the field.
In Thiendavis, those red dragons were known as the "Children of Tardes".
This was because they were the replication of the dragon Tardes, who had sustained serious injuries and was now in hiding.
Like Manyanya, Tardes was essential for the world's survival.
While Manyanya purified seawater for Thiendavis, it was Tardes who moved the air to draw water from the vast seas.
However, after suffering deep wounds in the war with Noche, Tardes could no longer fulfill its role.
It created its children to take its place.
The Children of Tardes not only stabilized the air and drew up seawater in their mother's stead, but they also carried people between Thienda and Vis on their backs.
Despite this, treating them as re livestock was forbidden.
Dragons were inherently sacred and wise beings watching over humans.
Thus, people had to respect the Children of Tardes, even if one of them was curiously sniffing and nudging at people.
"Please wait here, I'll find soone willing to carry us."
Leaving Evie, who seed uneasy, behind, Diez approached the dragons resting in the grass.
When riding a child of Tardes, one must politely ask for assistance and receive permission.
Left alone with one dragon, Evie reluctantly began to speak.
"Um, do you have sothing to say? Why are you so interested in ? Ah, could it be..."
Suddenly recalling sothing in her pocket, Evie rembered the large chocolate cookie.
She had packed it unconsciously as an ergency snack while heading to Vis.
When Evie took out the cookie, the child of Tardes's eyes sparkled.
Hesitantly, Evie offered what she held.
"W-would you like this?"
The mont Evie offered it, the dragon eagerly devoured the cookie in one bite.
At that mont, Diez called out to stop her from a few steps away.
"Evie, you shouldn't do that."
"Oh no, am I not supposed to give them cookies?"
"No, but offering it to just one will make the others protest."
"Oops!"
As soon as Diez said this, the other children of Tardes who saw the cookie began to converge on Evie, nudging her with their snouts, demanding more.
"Ah, p-please stop. I don't have any more. Ouch..."
Among them, so were tapping the ground with their wings or directly rummaging through Evie's pocket with their forepaws.
Evie nearly turned pale as the frightening dragons surrounded her.
But then, the child who had eaten Evie's cookie roared at its siblings.
The others, who had been pestering Evie, quietly retreated upon hearing the rebuke, although neither Evie nor Diez heard it.
Upon seeing this, the child of Tardes approached Diez and lay flat on the ground.
"It seems she's willing to carry us."
Whether it was to repay Evie for the cookie, the child of Tardes willingly lowered itself.
Gently, Diez placed the provided saddle onto its back, and after fastening the reins, both Evie and Diez climbed onto it.
The red dragon sprinted across the hill, leaped off the cliff, and soared into the air.
This motion caused Evie's heart to surge upwards, and just as she was about to scream, the dragon flapped its wings and ascended.
Relieved to breathe, Evie glanced upward.
Thienda, which had now beco a distant view, was visible from a great height.
The large yet tiny continent spread rainbows in several places due to the enormous streams and sprays of water cascading down to Vis.
Evie gazed at Thienda for a while before lowering her head.
Suddenly, the vast continent lay before her eyes.
It was Vis.
How long had it been since she'd seen Vis like this?
Revisiting the beloved yet loathed world evoked a flood of emotions in Evie.
Yet there was no ti for sentintality.
Just as Evie and Diez seed to have a smooth descent, the child of Tardes halted mid-air.
Hovering gracefully, Diez voiced their confusion.
"Is sothing wrong?"
Normally, they should glide down to the valley of winds beneath Thienda to disembark Evie and Diez.
However, the child began circling the sa spot at a perilous height.
Startled, Evie clung to the saddle, and Diez, surprised too, grasped her shoulders.
Tugging on the reins made the child shake its head unyieldingly.
However, its actions didn’t seem threatening.
Thus, with so doubt, Diez asked,
"Are you perhaps offering to take us to our destination?"
With an affirming nod, the child of Tardes flapped its wings.
Being personally escorted by a child of Tardes was a trendous privilege.
Thus, Diez promptly shared their destination without hesitation.
"We are headed southeast. Please take us to the junction between the border and the southern cities."
Acknowledging with a broad nod, the child of Tardes swiftly dashed southeast.
---
In just an hour, the child covered the distance of a two-day's carriage ride.
It was rare for Tardes's children to venture beyond the windward hills and valley, and gaining such favor for a re cookie was incredible.
"We've saved a good deal of travel ti thanks to this."
Musing at the southeastern junction, Diez realized they'd arrived extraordinarily quickly.
Though the swift, convenient journey was welcod, they originally planned to rendezvous with the ally on a set day.
Therefore, Diez resolved to stay locally, maintaining their schedule.
However, Evie saw things differently.
"Does this an we have about two days left?"
"Yes, we have until the morning of the day after tomorrow."
"In that case, could I visit another city? It's not too far from here."
Evie's expression was one of unmistakable longing.
In truth, Evie's heart had been restless ever since Diez' ally directed them southeastward.
It was because the southeast held mories of when Evie t the mage and spent so ti with.
"It should be alright if it's a city within the southeast."
Seeing Evie's expression, Diez agreed without objection.
Thus, Evie set out, her hopes contained and prepared for disappointnt, back to her hotown filled with mories both painful and fond.
And there, she encountered an unexpected person.
---
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