Wizards and Pirates by Cynical Cecilia Nightingale
Note: contains spoilers for wizards that haven't completed Azteca
Haley MoonHeart was riding to Hametsu Village. It's not like she had any particular reason to be there. She'd helped everyone and anyone who needed it in MooShu, but she'd grown tired of the gloomy scenery in Khysalis.
The bamboo forest to one side if the road caught Haley's eye. It was strange, she thought, how it was impossible to see more than a few feet into the forest. Maybe there was something over there.
Well, there was certainly more to MooShu. Haley had heard more than a few villagers mummer of other regions and skyways, whatever those were.
Haley pulled her chestnut pony to a stop. The pony, being quite the contrarian, kept on trotting to Hametsu. He, having accompanied Haley from the time she was just a magus, was quite sick of his master's antics. Haley pulled the reins tighter. The pony stopped, and took its time turning around.
Haley dismounted. Her Ice Hound, Sadie, hopped down from the pony's saddlebags to join her. She tied up the pony and scooped up Sadie. With one faithful look back at the road, Haley jumped over the fence and headed into the forest.
Meanwhile, in the Ashen Roads of MooShu, Ivette Xavier was lost. She pulled out the map, brushing her blonde hair out of her face.
Ivette twisted the map around. Then around again, wishing she hadn't left her crew on the ship. After all, she didn't need to do this alone--
Ivette's thoughts were interrupted by a rustling in the bamboo forest behind her. Startled, she flipped around.
Standing behind the barrier that separated the road from the bamboo forest, was about the strangest figure Ivette had ever seen.
The figure was wearing a helmet with two black goat's horns twirling out of it. Her robe feature a flowing cape and spikes sticking out of the shoulders. On top of that, the whole affair was dyed bright red and blue.
The figure put her hand on the barrier that separated the forest from the road, and jumped over it. She was carrying a small blue dog in her other hand.
"Hiya," she said.
"Hi," Ivette said, carefully.
"I'm Haley--Hails MoonHeart, promethean thaumagture, pet warlord, grandmaster gardener, transcendent crafter, extraordinaire. Except that no one actually calls me Hails. I mean, this one guy did, but that was only because he didn't know how to spell Haley. It's not like it’s even that hard to spell. H-A-L-E-Y." Haley said.
Ivette had no response at first.
"That's nice. And to be perfectly honest, people have misspelled my name more times then I can count." Ivette responded.
Haley nodded.
There was a bread awkward silence before Ivette asked, "what brings you to MooShu?"
"Nothing much really," Haley said, "I'm supposed to be in Khrysalis, but, I don't know, it's kind of gloomy there, you know? I mean, infiltrating the Umbra Queen's legion has a certain pizzaz to it, but I wish she'd based her operations someplace nicer. Like MooShu."
Ivette nodded, "MooShu's always been one of my favorites."
"Oh!" Haley unexpectedly said, "I forgot my manners. Why are you in MooShu?"
"Oh, I've been looking for my foster parents," she stuttered.
"Why?"
"To bring them up on what's happening in my life, of course."
"And what's that?"
"Well," Ivette paused, unsure how to phrase this, "currently I'm trying to become a Royal Navy captain for the Marelybone navy."
"Cool," Haley said. Another awkward silence.
"So," Ivette said.
"So," Haley replied.
Ivette thought back to why Haley had said she was there.
"Where's Khrysalis?"
"Far from here, on one of the outer arms of the Spiral. It was lost to the rest of the Spiral for a long time, but Ambrose recently sent me there to stop Morgathane."
"Who's Morga-Morgana-whatever!"
"She's the Umbra Queen. Like, the evilest person in the Spiral right now. Wants to remake the whole thing in her image. How egotistical is that?"
Ivette thought of Deacon, and then of Kane.
"Never heard of her,"
"Huh," Haley said, "that's strange, given she destroyed Azetca and all."
"Never heard of Azetca, either,"
"Land of the Azetcasaours? I'm not that surprised actually. It's an old place, and it was shut off from the rest of the Spiral for a long time,"
"Well, we have Aztecasaours, but there in a world called Skull Island,"
"Never heard of it,"
"Newly formed Pirate nation? I live there now, actually,"
"Wait, you live in a Pirate nation?"
"Yes?"
"Why is a self-respecting naval captain living in a Pirate nation?"
"Hey, the naval captain thing is still waiting,"
Haley's already-wide blue eyes grew a little bit wider. "You're a pirate?" she exclaimed.
"Yes,"
Awkward silence.
"With good reason," Ivette said.
"What good reason?"
"My parents were pirates. And I was captured by the Armada … and I had to turn to piracy. There wasn't another way,"
Haley didn't see her point. "But …" She then realized that Ivette had said something that didn't make any sense. "Who are the Armada?" she asked.
"How could you not know who the Armada are?"
"Same way you could not know who Morgathane is,"
"I suppose so,"
"Well, who are they?"
"Self-governed evil robots? Where do you live? A hole?"
Haley flustered, "Ravenwood Academy of the Magical Arts,"
"Never heard of it,"
"Good,"
"Good?"
"I suppose we should go our separate ways now,"
"I suppose so,"
Haley jumped back over the barrier.
"Wait," Ivette said.
Haley flipped around. "What is it now?" she asked.
"You uh," Ivette paused, "wanna be friends,"
"Sure,"
"Really?" Ivette smiled.
"Only if you stop being a pirate,"
"Oh," Ivette's face fell, "that's not likely,"
Haley waved, "goodbye,"
"Bye,"
Just before Haley reached the shadows of the bamboo forest, Ivette called out to her, "you’re a wizard, aren't you?"
Haley turned around, "yeah,"
Ivette nodded, "your nicer than I thought you would be,"
Haley paused, "you are, too,"
Haley started to turn around, but Ivette stopped her, "you know, I practice a bit of magic myself. I'm a witchdoctor,"
"That's nice," Haley said. She paused before entering the shadows of the forest.
She called back to Ivette, "you know, I'm rethinking the whole, 'let’s not be friends' thing."
Ivette smiled.
Haley continued, "I'd like to show you my house sometime,"
"Me too," said Ivette.
Just as she was walking into the bamboo forest, Haley called back to Ivette, "by the way," she said, “you're holding that map upside down."
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