//------------------------------// // 17. Oun-Drii Affairs // Story: The Trancer // by Ajaxis //------------------------------// The Cudonetor was an event traditionally held in the largest zebric cities, as it always drew in huge crowds of zebra, which of course encouraged trade and stimulated population growth, two things that were vital for the continuation of zebrakind in the deserts of the continent. Not to mention that they were the most exciting thing many zebra would ever see. The rules went as follows: two or more trancers were pitted against one another, and given complete freedom to use whatever trances they wanted, just short of giving their opponents a fatal injury. The eventual goal was to incapacitate all opponents currently in the ring, which was normally done in close combat. This was not a rule, but done for practicality; one trancer attempting to neutralize another with the same level of experience via trance was extremely difficult all on its own. The victor of one round would go on to face the next opponent, and so on, usually for twelve rounds per day. Ultimately, the trancer who won the final round would go on to fight in the concluding match, the Cudonevobe, which always took place in Otoul, and the victor would be named the yearly champion—a prestigious title. Zuri had seen several Cudonetors over the course of her fillyhood, marveling at the strength of the trancers competing, watching them hurl waves of sand and fire, become invisible bring down a large portion of the ceiling, even deafen every competitor (and nearly every spectator in the arena as well) with an explosion of noise. One reason she had decided to become a Sand-Trancer was because of her big brother, Mizul, who had started competing as soon as he earned his golden Trancer's rings. She recognized that he had power and skill, as she was supposed to have, both being Sara descendants. She also recognized, however, that she was the one with discolored stripes, with a little more to prove. And in Zuri's mind, there was no zebra worth proving something to more than her parents, and just as importantly, her grandfather. Vindulu Ban-Re Sara, Otoul's Premier Elder, tenth-forth Sara descendant, experience seconded only to Dunnur. The same grandfather who had made Zuri promise not to be seen trancing by ponies. This was the zebra who could make father—or anyone, for that matter—cower in his presence. Zuri was told that both of her older brothers and her eldest sister had incurred his wrath, only once each. They had never made the mistake again. Yet, despite this intimidating reputation with his grandchildren, Zuri could never remember a time when Vindulu actually raised his voice at her. Where he would growl at any of her older siblings, he was always more patient with her. Agilis once jokingly chalked this up to Zuri being the youngest, and once mother and father got to adding another member of the family, Vindulu would treat her just the same. But there never was another member to be added. And his abnormal lenience with her persisted to that day. This persistence was what Zuri was counting on as she walked past a pair of guards and into the Premier chambers. The chambers were an immense complex in the center of the city, around which all else was built and from which the city was governed. There was a gateway to the chambers in every district, allowing anyone with the intent and the permission to enter. Within its largest, most decorated hall, Vindulu sat, and addressed whatever issues came to him, whether they were an impending famine or an upcoming holiday. He cherished the bouts of seclusion his personal hall allowed him, and the intermittent periods wherein he could not find time for himself to ensure that the city around him ran smoothly. Where does my request of an audience with him fit into all of that? Zuri wondered to herself, as the wide double doors guarding Vindulu's hall slid open, the sound of the thick stone grinding against stone acting as an alarm. Elaborate murals covered the walls to either side of Zuri when she entered, depicted all the major zebric spirits, the Sara magician, a few other old, famous zebra whose names escaped her at the moment. They did not hold the same degree of importance as the aging, more pale-colored zebra standing before her on his own personal raised platform. Vindulu was peering down at his youngest granddaughter, his wrinkled face furrowed in an expression of great interest. If he was angry or happy, it was impossible to tell. He merely stared at her, before clearing his throat. "Well? You can't expect me to see how you're doing from over there. Come closer!" He beckoned her over with a hoof. "Come, dear girl, let me get a good look at you, my eyesight going and all." Zuri, a little more carefully, stepped closer still to the platform, hesitating for a moment before climbing onto it. Her grandfather stood not two feet from her. He was still staring at her, deep in thought. What could he be thinking about? Vindulu was often silent for prolonged amounts of time. He'd just sit there, staring at one zebra or another, obviously deeply lost in his own musings. Perhaps he was thinking on the one whom he had his eyes locked on, which made him staring at her all the more unsettling. How much thought could the old stallion put into all that silence. What could be so much better to simply be pensive about, so often? Finally, he stopped craning his neck, and straightened as much as his old body would allow. He beckoned her to come closer. "Come on, my dear, I don't bite, closer!" Shaking herself free of her unease, Zuri did as he said and closed the distance between her. He took a long, deep breath, letting it out again as he stared into her eyes. "Your face reminds me very much of your grandmother. It's your eyes. You share her bright, blue-as-day eyes." Finally, he smiled at her. "Just as beautiful eyes, too." Zuri returned the smile, bowing her head a little. "Thank you, grandfather. As you can see, I have returned from my journey." "Yes, that much is obvious, even to a set of old bones such as I." His smile flickered into a smirk for a moment, and his eyes glinted. "And do you remember the promise you made to me? The very day you left, you came to me, and I had you swear that..." "'I will not use the gift in front of ponies who have the mind to understand it. My power will not be seen by them, at all. They will know nothing of my potential.'" Zuri recited, with perfect memory. Vindulu nodded, still grinning. "Oh, something like that. You make it sound much better with that young voice of yours. Speaking is an important thing, enchanting and other practical uses aside, you'll use it to win minds and hearts. But all that comes later." The good humor dropped out of his voice, his expression's glimmer faded a bit. "Well then, have you kept your promise to me?" He would probably know if she were lying. It was the exact sort of thing that he could pick up on. No wonder he'd been made Premier Elder. "I have kept it, Grandfather." It came out a little less confidently than Zuri would have liked, but she'd managed to say it while looking him in the eye. Vindulu's pale blue, wizened eyes narrowed, the glint in them like a blade's sheen. It felt like he was trying to probe her mind, read her through her cyan pupils. "You know, you don't keep up as stony an expression as Mizul or Lebowa, nor do you try to distract me with your humor or your stories, like the twins do. You just stand there and quiver, like you're afraid I'm about to give you a beating! Do I look like I am going to be giving any beatings, child?" Zuri swallowed before answering. "No, grandfather." "Not just because I'm growing weak. I wouldn't lay a kick upon you if my life depended on it, you know that?" "I do, grandfather." Vindulu's expression narrowed again. "Then why do you act so afraid? You've nothing to hide. I believe you when you say you did not use your gift. There were once ways to find out for certain, but I very much doubt Tambana himself would agree to let a zebra of any kind see within his cave of the past. He doesn't just hand that sort of present out." Zuri found herself swallowing quite a lot. Surely he knew something about that, to bring it up. "I'm sure of that, grandfather." "Just because I say it, hm? You're still so afraid. Your legs are shaking! Come here, Zuri." He wrapped her in a tight hug. Despite his unusually wiry limbs and old, thin form, it was not uncomfortable. The affection more accommodated for the Premier's aged body. "You have nothing to fear of me, so long as you break none of our laws. I supposed you're still a tad young for that to have really sunk in. It'll take a few more years, I'm sure, but you'll get there." Zuri managed a real smile now. "Thank you, grandfather." "Now, there's one more thing," Vindulu pulled away to share the smile with her. "I do hope you're planning to compete in this upcoming Cudonetor!" "I am, grandfather! 'Tis my first." "Hmm, the first is always the hardest." His voice took on a sour tone, as if suddenly recalling a mix of good and bad memories long ago. It soon passed, replaced by his affable smile. "I know Giza and Mizul are competing, if they haven't changed their plans. You ought to practice with them and, well, this goes without saying, Dunnur." "I was going to visit him after you, grandfather. I might as well have something to do every day." Vindulu laughed in sympathetic understanding. "Then I shan't keep you any longer. I've got business of my own to take care of, anyway." "But there is one more thing," said Zuri, remembering what her mother had advised her to do. "In my travels, I came upon a Scal-Re in dire need of a new owner." Vindulu raised his eyebrows, inclining his head. "You swore a Scal-Re unto you? Where did you find them?" "In a pony city, in a small zebric district. She wears the rings of a fully trained slavegirl." "In a pony city! Stars, that's odd. Was she without a master when you found her?" "No, she had one," Zuri grimaced, getting a little sick of having to talk about Barxie again. "He didn't deserve her, and he's as good as dead now." "Did you kill him?" "I said as good as dead. I don't know for sure. He isn't in any state to own a Scal-Re now anyway." "Hm," Vindulu sat back, rubbing his chin in thought. "I'm guessing you came here to be sure you could do this without facing consequences. Stealing a Scal-Re is a good way to face trial. If you really say he did not deserve her, and he is in no state to keep ownership of her now, I believe you, but..." Vindulu straightened a little, his brow furrowed. "I may have to get rid of her?" Zuri asked, worried. "Well, no, I don't think..." He sighed. "You may want to be careful who you give details about this Scal-Re to. Bad things could come of wrong words spoken. We Sara descendants have a lot of trouble with naysayers. We have money, power, and rights to things many zebra, many Oun-Drii have sought after, for as long as Viva Sara has been painted on the walls. Your grandmother, after all, faced a group of Oun-Drii intent on ruining us, and gave up her life for her daughter's family—your family. There are others like those Oun-Drii, and they'll come crawling out of the cracks in the walls if they can even smell something that can be turned from word, to rumor, possibly to vilification." His expression was black, and rueful. Zuri stepped back, unsure of how to respond. Vindulu blinked, and sighed again. "I don't mean to frighten you, I started rambling there, an old soul worrying for his granddaughter's future. Just... Be careful with things like this Scal-Re's background." His old face bent into another kindly smile. "So this is my long winded way of saying, yes, you can keep her." Zuri beamed at him. "Thank you, grandfather." Vindulu leaned in, looking expectant, and Zuri gave him a kiss on the cheek and a brief, tight hug like she often did when she was only seven, stepping away and departing at a relaxed pace. After Grandfather, Dunnur would be a cinch. ——— Dunnur was a different story than Vindulu. Zuri often thought of her teacher as a parent who showed their love through wanting to see their child improve constantly, yet were also in a profession that they enjoyed, and would therefore put their heart and soul into it. He lived in a smaller section of Otoul's respected Elder district, so it was a short walk from her grandfather's place of work to the Dunnur's humble living space and personal training gym, modeled to be a scaled down version of a Cudonetor ring. Zuri knocked on the right side next to the door, which was actually a veil of wooden and sapphire beads. Dunnur's home was small; a little dome with enough space for a single bedchamber, kitchen, and living room. Connected to this was a much large dome, able to hold a dozen or so zebras combating one another. There was a short silence, and Zuri knocked again. This time she got a rather angry voice acknowledging her. "Yes yes, patience! Wait a moment, I am schooling!" She heard hoofsteps—surprisingly fast for their age. Dunnur's old, well-used, but still strong voice carried out again as he stamped from what was obviously the larger dome to the small one and making a beeline for the from door. "What could be so important that you can't just be patient and..." He finally stuck his head out of the wall of beads, causing them to rattle together musically. The Dunnur, who had snowy white stripes with grey stripes and milky orange eyes. He squinted at her for a moment, not breaking eye contact. "...have come back. Glo'Dei above, girl, come inside, tell me where you've been." His head disappeared behind the veil of beads, and Zuri followed after him. Dunnur's home was just how it had been when she was still his student: enough space cleared and few enough fragile objects to allow for a little error without any harm. In this main room was where Zuri had received many of her early lessons, such as when she'd succeeded in freezing water in under a minute. She could even spot the shallow bowl used for that particular lesson, stacked atop a shelf of scrolls. Now it held what was obviously water frozen a moment after something was dunked into it. Zuri's old teacher settled down on a long cushion, and began rubbing his temples. "I could use the break. The seven I'm training right now, they have no concept of focus. I've got a brand new gout in one of the walls from one of them looking the other way while trying to trance a boulder into segments. They're a lot like you, only, it's good they're stopping and gouts as opposed to burning through my carpets and nearly choking themselves on the fumes. You are, after all, the reason I stopped buying expensive things for my students to practice around." Zuri swallowed, and smiled awkwardly. "I remember that, sir teacher." "I'm sure you do," Dunnur continued, straightening up a bit. "Your mind's eye is just as important as the two in your skull. If you let any of them wander, you lose focus, and when you lose focus..." He stopped, and raised an eyebrow at her. "You lose control," she answered. Yes, of course I remember that. You might as well have branded it onto my leg. "And losing control of a trance is one of the most interesting ways to get yourself killed," Dunnur continued, nodding. "You rarely made such a mistake after that. Tell me about your journey abroad. I assume with the oath you made to your grandfather, you were just as vigilant. You smell of a fresh bath, I take it you needed one?" "Oh, desperately!" Zuri said, happy for the topic change. She immediately delved into her story, the same edited version she had given her family. Dunnur only interrupted when she came to her fight with Barxie. "Now that is interesting." The elder muttered. "Power, skill, and obvious experience. Where do you think he got the knowledge to control his power thus?" Zuri nodded. "I was asking myself the same question. I can't think of any teacher with a right mind to train an edrecht like that." "A teacher who is just as much of an edrecht, of course." Dunnur said with a deadpan. "Which, if I am not mistaken, narrows the possibilities quite a lot. Anyone who is willing to let a filthy-minded ruffian like that practice the mans should not be teaching anyone—or living. Now, I know many other teachers that may have the knowledge and skill required to train someone so, but none with either such blind eyes or such a dark heart. At least, if this Barxie, so you call him, was in the pony city, perhaps his former teacher is still there, and therefore far away from here." Zuri wasn't sure whether to be comforted by this or not. Someone wih the power and knowledge to train Barxie may also be able to gain access to Gau-Aer, and reach the zebra cities with very little trouble. Dunnur looked towards Zuri with intent in his eyes. "Speaking of teaching the mans, I anticipate someone's told you of the Cudonetor this year. I was expecting you to be a bit more excited." "I guess it hasn't exactly sunken in yet, and I was just talking with my grandfather about other subjects." Dunnur quirked an eyebrow. "So you weren't ever thinking on it, eh? Think on it now: this is the first Cudonetor that you will be participating in. This is where you will prove yourself, to all of the desert zebra. Has it sunken in now?" Zuri wasn't sure what he expected her to do. Jump up and down like a five-year-old, and squeal about how she was going to win? She was a newcomer to the ring, a child, still. She didn't like to admit it but full-on adulthood was still to come for her. She supposed she was excited, but that excitement was quelled by fear: complete failure would immediately lead to disgrace. Sara descendants always lasted at least four rounds, and no less. "I... Guess I'm a little scared, Sir Teacher." "Of losing? Everyone loses at one point or another, in the ring. I don't think anyone expects you to win when your own brother and sister are in it as well. They've known more, for longer. Power can help you, so can experience and knowledge. None of you children seemed to have found a good amount of all three." "Don't think I don't know that, Sir Teacher. I need experience, I have knowledge, and apparently I have power. What I don't have, unlike my elder siblings, is the common zebra's favor." "Ahhhh," Dunnur's eyes flitted towards Zuri's uniquely striped body. "Demonstration of ability to accommodate for your stripes. Honestly I think the blue will be easier to see in the ring than white." Zuri winced. "That's partly what I'm afraid of." "Well, I know for a fact your family gives you plenty speeches about that subject. I'm not touching it. I am here to teach, and ensure you ultimately enter a Cudonevobe and win. You're a Sara descendant, Zuri, it's bound to happen sooner or later." Zuri wasn't so sure. ——— "Now that is what I call a yarn," Zivandi muttered, sipping the warm, mild tea that Datroi had brought for her. "So few zebra have come back from the pony territories... Who was the one who taught you their language again?" "Kunravi, the same Gau-Aer who mentored Agilis and Giza," said Zuri. "I wandered into a lot of their lessons when she was teaching them pony language, and so I started picking it up." The guard leaned forward, curious. "Can you try some for me now? I've never heard it. Say something like... 'My friend Zivandi doesn't obey any rules she doesn't have to.'" "Well, let's see, um..." Zuri smacked her lips, trying to think of something she could explain easily. She smiled, and spoke in the same mangled accent she and Druva had when in Paradise City. "My friend Zivandi doesn't obey any rules she doesn't have to." Zivandi blinked, and shook her head. "It sounds so heavy and slow." "Probably because I was saying it," Zuri spoke in zebric once more. "It's very hard, the sentence structure is the same, but their inflections sound so different, and so varied. It was a miracle I could speak clearly enough to be understood." "But the friends you made—this Uzul and Druva, they could both speak and read it with ease, it sounds like." "I at least know that Druva had a lot of experience speaking it. Uzul I'm not so sure about, but still. I relied on them for much of the talking. They taught me pony numbers, and how to read it, which not even Kunravi knew. But I did manage to get by, mostly intact." "And with a brand new Scal-Re right beside you," Zivandi regarded Datroi, who sat quietly and patiently inna corner of the sitting room they occupied in the Sara estate. "What was her name again?" "Datroi Talas. She said she came from Otoul, originally." "Hm..." Zivandi kept her eyes on the slave, who shifted nervously. "I swear I've heard her family name somewhere before. I guess I'll look into it later, uh, and she is yours?" "She is mine. Grandfather said so with confidence," Zuri decided that was the best option to go with, as opposed to saying that he was hesitant to say it at all. "You are so lucky to have the Premier Elder as a grandparent. That's like if Gibraxin suddenly popped out of the ground with a gold offering in his jaw, or Sibulla descending from the plain of the stars just to see you!" Zuri choked a little on her tea, spilling it in the process. Melose. I'll never keep any sort of cover up if I just keep doing that. Datroi move in quickly between the mats they sat upon, wiping up the spilt drink with a thick, absorbent cloth she had at the ready. "Would you like a replacement, my lady?" She asked when she had finished. "Uh, no, thank you, Datroi," Zuri nodded and smiled awkwardly, clearing her throat. Zivandi peered at Zuri with curiosity, but must have detected that she said something wrong, because she immediately changed the subject. "So, are you competing in this year's Cudonetor? I sure am, it's the first year for both of us!" "It's a rite of passage for me, you know that," Zuri sighed, eyeing the spot where her tea had spilled. "I'm looking forward to it, I'm just nervous." "About losing? Good, so am I. Here's a groundbreaking idea: let's be nervous together and practice! We're at the same skill level, and I'm sure we can find some spot that can do with a good spar-induced makeover." "And where do you think we should go to practice, Ziv? Dunnur's dojo?" "Not something so cramped. It was good practice for when we were learning, but now we need to practice, for a real Cudonetor. Dunnur's miniature ring isn't the real one. The floor is solid, there is a ceiling, two things the real ring doesn't have." Zuri raised an eyebrow: "Well, if you're so keen on keeping to the same state the ring is in, why don't we practice in the ring?" "Can we?" Zivandi leaned forward with interest. "The idea struck me before but, I didn't ask anyone if anyone else had thought of this. I was betting it was either a popular way to practice or that it was assumed that you knew not to try it." The Oun-Drii put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Mizul told me once that that was something a lot of competitors do. That way we'd practice in the same space that we would compete in." "Stars, really? Did your big brother ever say if it was, you know, legal?" "No... He never mentioned anything about that," Zuri smiled nervously. "How about a little experimentation? If you, as a city guard, don't know anything about it..." Zivandi frowned a little, but then shrugged. "I can't exactly agree with that logic, but it's worth a shot." Zuri dispensed Datroi and departed her estate with her friend by her side. The Cudonetor ring stood opposite the Premier chambers, just outside of the Oun-Drii district's walls. From the balconies around her family's manor, Zuri was able to admire the huge circular building from afar and dream about what it may be like to step into the ring to do battle with as many trancers as she could. It all seemed a little less amazing when she knew she would be walking into the ring and competing against other trancers within the year, and would likely be out-shined by her more experienced brother and sister. Zuri and Zivandi began a stroll towards the ring, passersby bowing their heads and making way for the Oun-Drii and her guard companion as they went along. Zivandi uttered a chuckle. "I should go on walks with you more often. How useful it is to have a zebra by my side who just clears the way with the symbol on her clasp." "So you say," Zuri replied bashfully. "I'd rather a lot of them didn't keep their eyes on me so long. Are you so sure it's my clasp they notice first, Ziv?" Zivandi's smile faded. "I wasn't going to mention that." She glared at Zuri with exasperation, bumping against her playfully. "Rite of passage, huh? Come on, Zuri, don't work yourself into another rut about this right after you get back. I need my best friend focusing on the Cudonetor, remember?" The guard jostled her playfully again, and she, rolling her eyes, jostled back. "You know if I actually hit you, I won't get in trouble for it." Zuri glowered at her, only half-serious. "Save it for our practice!" Said Zivandi with a laugh. "We shouldn't waste energy fighting with just hooves." Not long after, the pair finally approached the high walls of the Cudonetor ring. They were both very familiar with the entrance that many Oun-Drii used, but where there would normally be an opening, there was instead a thick, smooth stone slab occupying the space. Both of them pushed at the stone, but it wouldn't budge. "I've never seen this here, before." Zuri remarked. "I have only been down here when a Cudonetor was on, with the rest of my family." "I guess it's some sort of security," Zuri remarked. "Maybe Mizul was seeing how gullible I was." "I don't think it'd be very smart to keeping trying to move this rock with so many other zebra around." Zivandi gestured to the shifting crowds about them. One pair of zebra gave them a suspicious glance as they passed by. "Let's find another entrance." They began walking around the ring, looking for an entrance that didn't have so much traffic all around. It was at least an hour later when they finally found a doorway where there was not a zebra in sight, in the middle of a residential area, with tall, old worker's lodgings flanking the blocked entrance like the walls in a long sandstone hallway. "This will do," Zivandi decided, and looked at Zuri with a smile. "I'll have a go at it, huh?" She stood before the door, and suddenly her eyes began to glow. Her expression was intense, and in a few more seconds she was shaking. The glow from Zivandi's eyes stopped, and she gasped, stumbling. Zuri caught her, and she could feel that her friend was extremely cold. "M-m-melose!" Stammered the guard, getting back on her own hooves, recovering quickly. "There's definitely a rune there. You can feel it." "Should I give it a try?" Zuri asked. "You look like you're about to freeze over." "Yeah, you'd better. Otherwise I might turn the same shade of blue as..." Zivandi stopped the joke when she saw Zuri's look. "Uh, nevermind." Zuri fixed her eyes on the door, irises beginning to glow immediately. The stone door became illuminated with the hue of her eyes, as it began to vibrate, dust shaking off of it. Heat drained out of Zuri's body like an upturned bottle, and her legs started shivering. There was resistance to the trance, she could feel it. Her power was pouring into the stone, yet it was evident that there was a counteracting trance just sucking it up like a sponge. Zuri's teeth were chattering. Come on, come on... Break already! Almost on cue with that thought, the stone door crumbled into a pile on the floor, allowing access to a long hallway into the center of the Cudonetor ring. The two of them exchanged a anxious look. It didn't seem like any form of higher authority was coming down upon them right that moment. No one shouted, "hey!" anyway. After a few experimental steps inside, and finding that the walls did not in fact collapse on them, they struck up a quicker pace, until they found themselves stepping off of smooth stone and onto layers upon layers of sand. The different perspective was, for both of them, very unusual. They were near the edge of a huge ring, filled up to half its height with sand. The ring itself was encircled by rows and rows of seats, that went up another tier, looming over the two zebra like the mouth of an enormous carnivore. "Well?" Zivandi looked at Zuri expectantly. "Shouldn't we be, you know, doing something? Such as this, maybe?" That was all the warning she gave, before her eyes glowed brilliantly, and a plume of sand shot up between them, right up against Zuri's front and neck. She staggered backwards, reeling for a moment and spitting out sand grains while she glowered at Zivandi, who was laughing. "I'm guessing we're not bothering with bowing first?" Zuri asked, her own eyes lighting up. She used the same mans; forcing an area of sand upwards and away—only hers was aimed directly beneath Zivandi's right side. She was thrown several feet into the air, spinning counterclockwise with the force of the push, before she landed with a softened thump on the bed of the ring, scrambling to her hooves. She didn't bother with returning banter, instead summoning up a pillar of sandstone from the floor. The guardsmare kicked the pillar's center, and thick, jagged chunks exploded in the direction of her opponent. Zuri reacted by forcing the chunks into the ground in front her with her will, and she leapt forward, boosting her movement by carrying herself on a moving mound of sand that grew with her movement, smashing right into Zivandi like a crashing wave. The guardsmare reeled back, returning the blow with a ring of fire, which Zuri had to jump backwards to avoid. The fire rose, and Zuri wondered momentarily if Zivandi had lost control, as she and Barxie had. The flames died, and Zuri saw that Zivandi had shut herself in a vertical tube of thick glass, and was pressing her muzzle against the transparent surface to make faces at her. Zuri snorted, her eyes still aglow. "Mistake!" She called out, her will putting intense pressure on the glass, which began to crack. Zivandi stumbled back, turning around and scrambling over the edge of the other side of the tube. Zuri allowed her enough time to get free, they were friends after all, and the Cudonetor disallowed inflicting severe injury anyway. The tube shattered, falling in on itself a second later, and for good measure, Zuri continued adding pressure, her trance rapidly crushing the glass to dull dust and pushing it deep beneath the surface. Once this was finished, she looked around, wondering whether or not Zivandi was going to take advantage of her distraction of safety. Sure enough, she did. Zivandi came rushing in, moving twice as fast by shifting the sand around her hooves as she went. A hoof flew at Zuri, but she deflected it, only to find another jabbing into her side. She moved with the blow, curving to the side returning a hoof to Zivandi's throat. She reeled back, and Zuri tackled her into the sand. They began wrestle in the sand, but it was obvious that Zivandi was starting to get more playful about it than competitive, rolling around and yelling exaggeratedly at Zuri about improper behavior within the ring, in a good imitation of Zuri's eldest sister at her most uptight. After that, it was hard keeping up a practicing demeanor. Laughing, they wrestled on the floor with one another, imitating exaggerated kicks and gestures they had grown up seeing other competitors perform. Zivandi also did an excellent impression of Dunnur whenever he was waxing poetic about moving the sands directly via the mans. "'Bind yourself to Palosol's surface,'" she recited, pushing herself off the ground with one jet of sand beneath each hoof, hovering about two feet in the air. "'Keep yourself with the grains you touch! Caress the ground as if it were your greatest love, and it will be as gentle in returning the favor.' Because hot sand is so gentle, especially when it gets in where Glo'Dei refuses to shine." She landed again, and made a show of waddling in discomfort and squinting. "'Make love to the desert winds', and they won't sting your sensitive parts so much. Legends say that even stormrunners like to have their eyes full of dust!" Zuri was in stitches—Dunnur did say things a lot like that, minus the humorous (but very true) additions of her friend. Ziv always did a good job of bringing laughter out of her friend—a good reason why they were friends, anyway. She was always so kind and upbeat with Zuri, so jovial and playful. Given her familiarity with the blue zebra, she was much more open with Zuri than she was with other Oun-Drii. This sometimes lead to serious misunderstandings, but hey, Ziv still had her body intact and had always been a paid guardsmare, so she had always gotten off fairly easy. "Thank the stars Dunnur isn't here to hear you say all that," Zuri chuckled, sitting up and looking at Zivandi, relaxing in the soft, cool sand of the ring. "He's fine with being teased, so long as you do twice the amount of your daily mans regimen in half the time." Zivandi sat up as well, nodding a little in thought. "That isn't a bad idea, to get into ideal condition for every match." Zuri snorted. "Or just to keep in condition for any situation. I could've used some time to warm up before I started melting locks and catching boulders." The guardsmare laughed and nodded in agreement, then abruptly stopped. Her eyes were focused on something behind Zuri, and whatever it was, it had suddenly robbed Zivandi of her good mood. She stood up quickly, her stance cautious and her expression wary. Zuri could heard a couple sets of hooves moving through the sand towards them, and she guessed it may be a couple of guards, come to see who had broken into the ring. Turning to look revealed no guards, but instead a brother and sister, whom Zuri knew only as being trouble. Tielre Oun-Drii Brikea, and his sister, Vaezi. As far as Zuri was concerned, Tielre was a bully who often called out Zuri's coloration as a reason for her not being true Oun-Drii, or a Sara descendant of any sort. No one, so long as they weren't either Zuri's or his own parents could stop any of his verbal abuse, and he had learned quickly not to let any of them hear him say anything so unkind. Vaezi was a snotty, excessively obsequious mare, who made a policy of building influential relationships with those in places of authority, so she wouldn't have to work her way up social circles the conventional way. She could just butt herself in, and hide behind bigger zebra than she to look like she belonged. Barxie's use of "slug" was much more applicable to the lackadaisical little nag who huddled close to her big brother. Now, if Zuri remembered correctly, there was a third member of the current Brikea generation within the same age group—one who wasn't so vile, most notably, and whose name currently escaped her. Whatever his name was, he wasn't here right now, but his siblings were. They seemed to want to ask the same question she did, only they got to it first. "What are you doing here?" Tielre asked, holding his head high and pursing his lips in distaste, glaring at the Oun-Drii. "Training, of course," she answered, keeping her tone level and cold. "For what, the Cudonetor?" Tielre scoffed at the idea. "So you got Granddaddy to let you in, or have you not even tried to apply yet, belthidma?" The slur for birth defect rolled off his tongue so casually, that it seemed he had forgotten the severe implications of the word. Zuri sure didn't, though—she flinched at the insult as she always had, her expression black. Vaezi sneered at her, standing a little straighter next to her brother. "No, we haven't tried applying, yet," Zuri answered begrudgingly, giving Zivandi a critical look. Next time, one of them would have to remember what preceded getting their hopes up. "You shouldn't bother," Vaezi put in, imitating her brother's arrogant expression. "The officials wouldn't accept an undisciplined guardsmare and a freak into the Cudonetor. Have you ever heard of a zebra with colored stripes winning, in any year, let alone competing?" "No, but that doesn't mean I can't be the first." Zuri's voice faltered partway through her retort, as she tried to adjust in response to the two siblings' jeering. "Why do you care?" "We don't think you should bother wasting the energy, belthidma." Tielre answered, examining one of his hooves in exaggerated gesture of uncaring. "Maybe I ought to say it simpler to be sure you understand—stop playing around in the sand and get out of here. My sister and I came to practice for the Cudonetor we're actually signed up for." "We were here first!" Zivandi shouted, somehow managing to make the childish assertion sound more mature. Maybe it was all that time in barracks. "You want to train, go somewhere else. Zuri got herself special permission from her grandfather to be here." Zuri resisted the sudden impulse to shoot another glare at Zivandi for the lie. Why not, maybe it'll hold up. Vaezi's eyes narrowed, and she took a step closer. "Right, so your granddaddy let you break down one of the security doors, then? That sounds like something a premier elder would allow, especially if their own granddaughter is the culprit. Maybe we should let him know in advance..." Her eyes met Tielre's, and they made a few steps towards the same door they had come in. That was all the incentive they needed. Green and cyan eyes glowed brightly, and a circle of fire surrounded Tielre and Vaezi. Both of them leapt back towards one another, each of them scrambling with their own trancing to disperse the hovering flames. By the time the fire was smothered, Zivandi had taken up a guard's fighting stance, and Zuri had moved several steps around, to cut off their direct exit. Vaezi, though obviously intimidated, took up a stance mockingly similar to the guardsmare's, and Tielre crouched low, his lean muscles tensing. Oh, what a rotten fight this will turn into... "That's quite enough!" Someone yelled from behind Zuri. She turned, her brain sluggishly working towards recognizing the voice. It didn't work as fast as her eyes did, seeing her big sister fuming behind her, flanked by two city guards. If only it was the nicer big sister, then maybe she wouldn't have that uniquely angry look on her face. No, this one was older, had a more prim mane style, and sharp purple eyes that pierced with the intense intelligence behind them. Lebowa Oun-Drii Sara strode towards her little sister very quickly, anger on her face and purpose in her gaze. The two city guards stood tall, ordained with their own cloaks that matched the style of Zivandi's, only they wore plates of armor beneath theirs, making them appear larger. "You will desist from this little spar immediately, fellow Oun-Drii, and vacate the premises at once." Her eyes traveled absentmindedly over Zivandi, Tielre and Vaezi. Lebowa being the Premier Commissioner, the Premier Elder's right hoof, evidenced by the low-hanging earrings she wore and a locket containing the written laws of Otoul in runes around her neck, they obeyed immediately. When Zuri began to move, however, Lebowa's hoof held her back. "You, little sister, get to walk with me." "Of course," Zuri sighed, now able to predict where this would be going. Zivandi waved meekly to her as she passed by, before being urged along by one of the guards. The two Sara sisters walked side by side, last out the door. "I would think you'd know from the enchantment on the stone that you weren't supposed to go in there." Lebowa began the chastising quite calmly, speaking to Zuri in that condescending tone so native to elder siblings. "There's a rune placed on all the stones that stand in the doorways. When any part of the stone breaks, the rune activates, and the Premiers know immediately. What sort of stupid idea were you and Zivandi doing this time?" Zuri flinched at the word 'stupid'. Lebowa had perfected saying it in such a way that easily needled her little sister. "It wasn't entirely stupid," she argued. "We figured it would be the best place to practice for the Cudonetor." "Of course, why else would you be there? Sport, pure sport." Lebowa sounded exasperated by the idea. "Not much else you'd be interested in, the day of your return." "Hello to you to," Zuri retorted, eyes grumpily downcast. "I was going to say the same thing to you," Lebowa intoned, keeping her own gaze confidently upward and ahead, carrying her authority with her posture and expression. The Premier Commissioner took every opportunity to radiate her presence, to be sure no one forgot her position. Zuri was oftentimes glad that she had been the one born with the Gift. "You didn't seem to want to stick around home, or Grandfather's chambers, so I was about to give up when that rune came to my attention. Ordinarily only guards come, but Grandfather said he had mentioned the Cudonetor to you, and we came to the same conclusion. I—we suspected you intended to do something much less honorable." Shocked, Zuri's step faltered, and stopped, her disbelieving glare directed at her big sister. Lebowa took another step, turning her head and raising an eyebrow, her expression unapologetic. "Well? Just because you're family doesn't mean you're excused from suspicion. What I walked in on in the ring didn't seem like a friendly little fight." "It wasn't," Zuri mumbled, starting to walk again. "You know how I feel about Tielre." "He does seem to get on your nerves more than most, yes. I couldn't imagine why." "Oh yes you could," Zuri snapped, her face burning. "I know you've heard him insult me and our family before." "So insults constitute fighting, now?" Lebowa asked airily. "You aren't nine, Zuri. You're an adult now. Actions have consequences. You're very lucky I came in when I did. Had Zivandi so much as swung a hoof at that scrawny little Brikea girl in there, she would be executed, and you know that. You wouldn't get off free, either. Grandfather may be generous but he can't stretch all the rules in the favor of his descendants. That could get us all in trouble, and you-" "I know, I know," Zuri growled, glaring at the ground again. "I need to learn this before it's too late. You've said all this before, Lebowa." Her big sister sighed, still walking at the same pace. "Evidently it needs to be repeated many times, otherwise you wouldn't be breaking into a Cudonetor ring under the impression that the walls were there to keep out those unfit for practicing." They reached home without seeing Zivandi or the Brikea siblings again, and Zuri was sat down to a similar talk with her parents, only it was more of a gentle lecture. Zuri almost never talked back to her parents, though the urge was painfully high this time around. Lebowa stood all loftily beside them, glaring down at her little sister as if it were her job to try and make Zuri feel small and just brimming with mistakes. It felt just as rotten as it had when she was younger, and she came off feeling as if she hadn't learned anything new from their "talk". Maybe that was because nothing really new had been said, just a few words had been tweaked by her parents to accommodate for her age. She didn't feel like an adult after talks like that, and the feeling lingered for some time. She was a little too used to breaking the rules from spending time in the pony territories. Two weeks earlier she would never have let herself and Zivandi act on an idea like that. Now it seemed obvious how stupid and reckless it was, breaking into the ring. Whatever rumors the guardsmare had heard were obviously wrong, and may have been from someone trying to get her in trouble. "Would you like something to snack on, my lady?" Datroi's young, small voice disrupted Zuri's thoughts, as she lay on her expansive bed in her room. She gave a slight nod, "something light, please, Datroi." The Scal-Re vanished from sight quickly, and Zuri was left alone again with just her thoughts. Her eyes traveled across the trappings on the wall, several mementos on thick alabaster shelves, ovular dressers decorated with family jewelry and a few products of Zuri's training. A hexagonal pyramid made of crystallized glass, a large candle that never stopped burning a bright blue flame, a pearl necklace held on a little red pedestal... She'd need to find a place to put the dress Rarity made, which for the moment lay upon her bed covers. Zuri stared up at the illuminating ceiling, wondering how to get rid of this sullen feeling sitting in her stomach. She didn't want to be berated like a little filly. Therefore, don't misbehave. Think a little more clearly next time, and you probably ought to try applying before training for anything. At least when she was traveling with Druva and Uzul she was treated a little more like an adult. Where's a talk with Sibulla when you need it? ——— The rest of the day just sort of drifted away in embittered listlessness, and the next morning began very slow. Zuri rose from her bed, putting on her rings with little energy in her movement. First morning back home from a trip she took on her own, and she already felt sullen again. Lebowa did a fantastic job of casually jabbing at her with her own mistakes, and she always felt those jabs later on. Of course she knew why her big sister was often so cold to her. At first Zuri liked to think it was out of sheer jealousy. The eldest child of the Sara family in this generation, and she was not born with the Gift. Along came a younger brother with the gift, and then a sister, and then yet another sister, who was thus proclaimed to have the Gift the strongest out of all of them. Of course it'd be directed at the youngest. Zuri knew the envy in her sister's eyes so well, yet there was more than that. Perhaps Lebowa was angry, or doubly critical of Zuri, because of her color. She, the eldest and the brightest, received no trancing magic, yet here was this little discolored zebra, who somehow deserved the Sara family's largest claim to greatness more than she did. Must have been a mistake somewhere. Lebowa strove to make herself valuable in ways other than being a Trancer or an Alchemist, like her parents or her grandparents before her. She aimed for positions of authority, and always got them. She earned every step up the chain she got; not wanting to seem pitied by mother and father for her lack of the Gift inherent to her lineage. Tall, lean, and brainy as could be. She reveled in her own mental superiority, and had oftentimes stated that she would marry the stallion who could keep up with her in a conversation for more than an hour. At one big party, she found a stallion which she talked with for upwards of six hours, then spent another fifteen months being courted by him. They married on the last month, apparently very happy with their union and everything it brought them. Assertive, confident, smart, married, powerful, intellectual, knowitall, condescending, overly critical, invasive, unfeeling nag... Zuri could come up with a dozen more descriptors of her sister than anyone else could. Lebowa irked her in ways unique to overbearing big sisters. Rings once more on her ears and neck, Zuri turned to the arching door that lead out of her room. Descending a flight of curved stairs took her into a wide hallway, where voices could be heard coming from the main hall. Unlike when she had come home, these voices were raised, their conversation clear, and as Zuri approached, she could put names to each of the speakers. "If they never turned up yesterday, where would they be? Didn't they say anything to either of you prior to their departure?" Vindulu's old, ragged voice was filled with a concern and urgency that Zuri had never heard from him before. Her unhurried trudge picked up to canter. What could have gone wrong now? "They... They gave no details," Xoda sounded as if she were coming down from a bout of hysterics. Stars, what could have set mother off like that? "They only said they were going out to try to find Zuri and make some trades at regular stops. Then they left on the sled with no one but that Frogirn fellow alongside them. I never trusted that little oaf..." Realization of what they spoke about hit Zuri akin to Macintosh hitting her in the chest: Agilis and Giza had disappeared. She skidded to a halt in alarm as she realized that she was the last zebra to see either of them—and she had no idea where they might be. Father's voice rumbled with agreement. "Perhaps we ought to try to find him, then. He might know of their business dealings." "Um..." Zuri tentatively entered the room, finding her eldest brother, both of her parents and her grandfather huddled close together upon a wide, luxurious settee. "Frogirn stayed behind at the pony cities. I took his place on the sled, on the ride home..." "You're awake, good..." Vindulu began, beckoning for her to come closer. "Can you remember anything Agilis or Giza might've said about where they'd be going?" "No; they only told me that they'd come home later, after they took care of some business..." Zuri approached, and was immediately pulled into the all-inclusive embrace. "Oh, stars..." Xoda's voice cracked, and she sat back on the settee, her face ashen. "S-surely some other Gau-Aer knows of them, knows where they may have gone..." "Not a hope..." Mizul's tone was somber, eerily similar to that of Vindulu's cool, quiet tone. "I've already been around asking for any clue where they might have gone. All the Gau-Aer who know them say their sled was only in its spot until midday, before vanishing along with them, yet they told no one where they may be going. I'm guessing you don't know, either?" He looked at Zuri hopefully, but all she had for him was an apologetic shake of the head. Xoda broke down into tears, Gainu holding her and rocking back and forth with her. She probably cried just the same when Zuri didn't show up in any city. A rotten feeling of guilt welled up in the youngest's bosom, quickly squashed, however, by more important things. I can't just shuffle around in self-ridicule. Agilis and Giza are missing! Shouldn't we be doing something about it? "Why not start searches in other cities?" Zuri asked, trying to take charge without sounding too firm in front of Xoda's sobbing. "Lebowa is already off starting that." Vindulu informed her, "she and her husband left for Nussu just an hour ago." Well, that explained her absence. Zuri bit back further thoughts in the same vein; it wasn't the place for them. "So then, what do we do now?" "Hope to hear good news from Lebowa within another day," answered Mizul, shrugging. "We've already searched for them thoroughly here. All we know is, unless they are hiding from us in the slums, which I doubt, they aren't in Otoul." "So, sit around and do nothing," Zuri summarized bitterly. "Why? You and I, Mizul, we could-" "No," Xoda's voice was trembling, but managed to reverberate through the room with its force. "You are staying right here, young lady. I f-forbid you to leave this house, and the same goes for you, Mizul." Zuri blinked at her red-eyed mother, who was glaring at her despite the tears on her cheeks. "But, why? You let Lebowa go to try and find them. Why should Mizul and I not get to leave?" "At least I'm aged, mother. I can take care of myself." Mizul muttered, ears folded downwards with indignance. Zuri flared up at this. "So am I, so can I! I'm plenty old enough to manage trouble." "Your little stunt yesterday at the Cudonetor ring proves otherwise," Gainu pointed out, giving his daughter a disapproving expression. "I am not letting another child of mine out of my sight until the rest are back home and safe." Xoda announced with finality. "No buts, no exceptions. You two are staying right here. I can't lose my children. Not again..." Her expression was pleading, as she focused on Zuri again. The youngest could not bear to let her mother look at her like that. Her insolent fury cooled quickly, and shame boiled up in her again, showing as a reddening of her face. "I'm going to get breakfast." Zuri sniffed and walked away with a pointed gait. She felt her parent's eyes on her as she turned the corner, like burns in her side from a fire. It wasn't five seconds of walking in the halls before Zuri heard hoofsteps behind her, and then the voice of her big brother. "I'm sorry, Zuri, I didn't mean to suggest that you weren't of age. I still forget, sometimes..." He sounded truthful, and a little embarrassed about it. "I suppose it's easy to, then?" Zuri grumbled, her pace slowing. "I don't give many hints to say that I am, in fact, an adult?" Mizul trotted up next to her, his face gentle but his tone patronizing. "Your birthday was hardly half a year ago, sister. Your behavior and mind don't just become adult the day you become of legal age." Zuri hung her head, brooding. "It certainly doesn't help if zebra don't ever treat me like an adult, much less a normal zebra..." Mizul backpedaled a bit. All of her family tread very carefully around that subject. "Well, give a reason for why they should treat you like a normal adult! Breaking into the ring like you did sure isn't one. In fact, it sounds like exactly the sort of thing you'd pull if you still needed to mature a little, rationalize a little better, learn to reign in your friend." Zuri's face was still burning red. "Maybe so. But what else am I supposed to do? Go on a lone journey and end up getting swept away to the pony cities only to come back safe and sound? Oh, wait, that already happened. I attended a grand gala of the ponies, and stupefied half of them with my Oun-Drii training." Mizul was surprised at that, but he pushed forward, not letting her change the subject. "That certainly helps, but that's not all. If you want to be treated like an adult, then you ought to impress other zebra with your stories of how well you handled yourself on your journey, and then follow that up with proving what you say, hm?" "I'll give it a try, when I'm next allowed out of the house," Zuri conceded, looking around the house a little more. "Stars, this feels a lot like being grounded." Mizul, smirked, nudging her gently. "I often found myself reading and getting much better at more precise trances when grounded. You've already got free time through the roof, and a personal Scal-Re to bring you snacks. Take advantage of that!" "I know I should try to relax, but I feel useless, just sitting here with Agilis and Giza missing! I want to go out and... I don't know, look for some sort of clue, or do something helpful." "I understand the feeling of restlessness, but it can't be helped. Grandfather's lackeys already scoured the trade district for information. Nothing there, no one talked. If someone knows something, they aren't sharing, and there's no sign of Agilis or Giza anywhere. You'll just have to wait and see." ——— And wait she did, not having much other choice. Vindulu quickly returned to the chambers of the Elders, as his job warranted persistent attention. Xoda and Gainu remained at home, but mostly to ensure that their youngest and second oldest stayed there too. Zuri spent most of the first day in the manor's gardens, practicing her trancing with causing several flowering plants to lose their barbed leaves, then reattach them. Yet even with how lackadaisical and lazy she tried to look, she caught one of Xoda's hoofmaidens peering at her out of the corner of her eye more than once, and heard a few conversations going on behind her. She didn't bother with listening in or turning around; the exchanges were often short, and hushed, and likely consisted of one servant conveying to another a message to carry to Zuri's parents to let them know that yes, she was still pouting in the garden. At least they could have let her enjoy the city some more, but Zuri supposed she really lost that privilege when she'd gotten into the Cudonetor ring. This may be for her protection, for her parent's peace of mind, but it also conveniently doubled as a punishment. That was fine. Zuri was trying to be more mature, and she didn't need anyone to tell her that part of that was being responsible for mistakes. She did deserve it—she did something stupid, she'd pay the consequences. In hindsight, the utter stupidity of breaking into a cherished, public structure was plain as day. "How childish I must look, to my parents, to Lebowa," she complained to the bright pink flower before her. "Why is it that coming back to my family suddenly took away any sort of growth I had during my journey? They definitely won't let me into the Cudonetor now..." She stared at the flower in silence, her expression bitter. Come on, you silly spirit. This would be a fantastic time for you to pop in with your "advice". Something so that I don't just sit here and torment this foliage. No voice interrupted her thoughts. She was still totally alone, save for the occasional servant clip-clopping by in the most nonchalant way, their careful eyes only on Zuri for half a second before they moved on. Maybe Sibulla was still off cavorting with other pony stallions in that huge, metal and glass city of theirs. As she looked over the artful array of flora, all warm colors and pointed leaves, Paradise City seemed even more far off. Her bored, lidded eyes shimmered as she righted a thick, sprawling cactus arm that had bent, before letting her magic rest. She wondered how Uzul and Rainbow Dash must be doing, and if they were still here, or had taken off in one of those huge, rumbling starships to the ponies' homeworld. She saw herself aboard one of them now, peering out of one of those tall windows on the side, her vision getting lost in a starry expanse. Zuri snapped awake, finding that she had started to drool on her own mane. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was, only to find that she was still lying on the lounge, in her manor garden, deep within the Oun-Drii district of Otoul. With an exasperated groan, Zuri stood up and pushed aside a startled Scal-Re who had not expected her get up so quickly. She had to have something to occupy her time aside from tormenting plants. She found Datroi inside, and instructed her to find a Guardsmare standing post outside the gate into the Oun-Drii district. I can safely say I learned one thing from Ruby and Rainbow... Breaking the rules a little is just fine, so long as it doesn't get out of hoof. Stars, what a tall order.