War Moon

Samahabdira

Kira finds more people inside the plane: Akadje, Sarka, Cameron, Tao, Hideki, and Arman, his friends and companions from the hunting group.

"Guys, I am glad you came but what do you do on the plane?" Kira says with a frown.

"We come to leave you some things, gifts. We do not know how long you will be," Sarka speaks, coming down from the seat she was in with a gift in hand. "Promise at least that you will call from time to time."

"Of course! I will never be so busy that I won’t be able to talk with you in about 2 months time," Cameron claims with a smirke while he embraces her.

One by one her friends say goodbye, hugging her and giving her their gifts, before leaving the plane for it to depart for its destination.

Kira takes a seat on the right side, by the window, leaving the gifts on the table in front of her chair. Anastasia takes the chair on the opposite side. The girl looks out the window as the plane moves away from the hangar and toward the runway. She can feel her heart pounding against her chest, knowing she wouldn't be back anytime soon, perhaps for years.

As the plane picks up speed and soars, their hometown looks smaller and smaller before they pass through the clouds.

"Relax, Kira, everything will be fine and before you know it you will be back home," says her godmother.

"I know, even though they don't even know what's going to happen or what awaits me when I get there. Where exactly are we going?"

Anastasia pulls out her tablet, staring at the screen of it.

"We will go to Glasgow, it will be our first stop. Octavius contacted one of his acquaintances in the network of dragons of Scotland. Apparently, several relatives of the ancient clans live there, who can connect us directly with them."

"I thought we would go directly to the clan."

"Just like your father's realm, they have their secrets. Even their methods of entering their realms, is a secret . Dragons are no exception to this “rule”." Kira’s godmother gives her a little smile. "Don't worry. It will be a long journey, so open your gifts. Maybe they will help distract you."

Kira looks at the gifts as her godmother drinks the coffee while reading the newspaper on the e-tablet. The hostess had brought Kira a glass of ice and coke.

“Take a deep breath and start with the first one,” Kira thinks to herself. At the end she has a great variety of different things, including a laptop, a portable console, a tablet, and books. A smile draws on her face as she grabs one of the adventure books.

Time had been going fast without Kira har really realizing it. She only had had to stop reading to eat when food had been served, but if she could decide, she would much rather be reading the whole time. Starting a chat with her aunt while they are eating, the time seems to not move at all. It's hard to know what time it is without looking at the clock.

"Passengers, in a moment we will arrive in the city of Glasgow. Fasten your belts while we start the controlled descent," says the captain over the loudspeaker.

Kira keeps her new things in her backpack. They will be easier to carry that way. At the end she looks out the window as they are descending, crossing the sea of perpetual clouds that they have had during almost the entire journey.

The Scottish landscape begins to quickly peek out from under them, a spectacular emerald green. The city of Glasgow is illuminated near the mountains and among the trees. For a moment Kira is reminded of fireflies although the illusion becomes less obvious as they arrive at the airport. The plane touches the runway in just over half an hour after the announcement, thanks to there not being other planes in the sky.

"Ready to start the whole adventure?" Annie asks.

"I think so," Kira says as she puts her backpack on her shoulder and receives

The doors open when they arrive in the new hangar. Kira and her godmother go out to the cold winter of Scotland, although it is hardly cool compared to that of Russia, which is usually more crude and cruel. A couple of ushers are putting their bags in a van, which is going to take them to the terminal.

Kira looks out the window at planes from the other terminals, waiting to depart for unknown destinations. At last they reach double glass doors and get out of the vehicle dragging their suitcases.

"Welcome to Scotland," greets a man at the door and bows for them.

"Thank you," the two of them answer before entering the terminal.

Kira looks at the terminal with surprise when she sees that it is a little empty. Although it most likely is normal by this time of the day, almost twelve o'clock at night. She follows Anastasia silently, watching the different passengers, some asleep, others angry at the delay.

"Will we enter the country?" asks Kira upon seeing that they pass the customs entrance.

"No, not here it is. Do you remember that I told you that here we would connect with the clans we are looking for?” Annie answers.

"Yes, someone would wait for us."

"Well here we will see, we just have to find the right place." Anastasia looks in all directions nervously, passing the food court and several closed restaurants.

Kira does the same until she sees something unusual. An aged carousel in the middle of the food court, around it seems to have what was once a fair, where children could wait impatiently for their flight to depart.

"What stranger place, why would there be something like this on this site? It seems so out of place." Approaching the area dragging the suitcase behind. "Who would put a fair in the middle of the airport?" approached the ticket entrance.

This is a kind of chameleon-shaped animatronic, old and even rusty. A cordon tightly in good condition with a little sign that says: feed me.

"What a weirdo. What do you want me to feed you, aren’t you a robot?"

"Kira, there you are!" Annie says. "I was starting to wonder what you had gotten into."

"Godmother, what is this place?"

"Our entrance." Annie is looking for something in her bag.

"Entrance to where?"

Kira sees her godmother pull out a golden coin with a dragonfly marked on it, although on a closer look it looks more like a token.

"I don't think it's going to work, even if you kicked it."

"A little faith, Kira. Sometimes things are not what they seem."

Annie puts the token inside the mouth and pulls the cord

Kira waits. And waits. She becomes a little frustrated because nothing appears to happen, just a very distant noise that seems of little importance - until it begins to increase. She recognizes it as the music of a circus, those ancient ones that roamed all over the country. Kira jumps in surprise when suddenly the animatronic comes to life and begins to move, fully illuminating before speaking.

"Data Sheet A46BZ212. Correct without damage or fake copies for direct access to The Fairy Fair."

"The what date of what access to…what? What is this thing talking about?"

But he is silent at once when the floor begins to shake, and covers everything in multiple colors and smells, making the rusty fair disappear in front of her eyes. Now everything is occupied by bright fabrics and beads, people of all races and classes walking among the shops and street stalls.

"Welcome to Samahabdira, The Fairy Fair," says a chameleon man right next to them next to the wall of where the airport terminal should be.

Kira looks with amazement at the place. She has heard of places like this, streets and shopping districts hidden from everyone's view, rooted in older and stranger customs.

The streets are filled with color by the fine fabrics hanging on ropes, serving as the ceilings of the commercial stalls, reminding her a little of the old stories of books like the Thousand and One Nights. The fragrances of incensus permeating the air, people of different species walking back and forth using a language she doesn't understand because of how fast they speak.

"This is amazing, godmother," Kira says in surprise and awe.

"I know, honey, but here we will have to be very careful, remember the training we started before the ceremony, right?"

"On stealth and protecting your identity, always a shadow using secrecy and darkness to survive."

"Right, let's go. We have to change." Annie turns to see the host chameleon. "What is your nearest bathroom?"

The chameleon man bows his head sideways, curious at the strange comment she made to the girl.

Kira sees her godmother pull down her blouse on the left side, exposing her shoulder. She is well aware that her aunt has a strange tattoo: An awen with two snakes intertwined around the three lines forming a wuivre. The two ancient symbols of Druid and Celtic culture, although nobody has ever explained to Kira why her godmother has it.

The reptilian man pales before bowing his head respectfully and points to a side passage to the gate of the district.

"Come on, Kira," Anastasia says as she loads her suitcase. Kira does the same.

The two advance through the alley that goes through the shops, until they reach the public baths.

"Change for the training clothes, the new ones I gave you before leaving the castle."

Kira nods before entering one of the private cubicles, locking the door. She immediately opens the suitcase. It is not very big; despite being an indefinite time trip, she was given access to the cards that were in her godmother's hand. Inside her luggage there are only a few clothes for a week, but what stands out most at the top is her ninja training suit.

After about ten minutes, Kira leaves the cubicle with her new suit. What changed the most are the leather gauntlets on her hands and the almost knee high boots. She walks to the mirror. She can only see her head but that is enough to check her braids. Everything seems in order.

Kira puts her half-cloth mask on to partially cover her nose.

"Are you ready?" the woman asks as she comes out of another cubicle.

Her godmother's costume is somewhat dark silver, which simulates her fur quite accurately, while Kira’s is white with slight bluish parts.

"I think so," Kira puts her hood on as she watches her aunt press a complex button display, which consists of a numerical combination.

In an instant the suitcase creaks and complains before minimizing its size until it looks like a matchbox. She puts it in her pocket before repeating the same process with the other luggage, which she also places in the pocket .

"Let's go then."

The two leave the bathrooms, entering the streets of the shopping district.

Kira feels the vibe of ancient magic and the power in the air that people emanate as they pass. It looks a bit like her country; even if the weather and people are different. Some people stare at both of them but immediately look in another direction, causing her to start wondering if anything in her suit has to do with it. Her godmother had gotten it and she had given it to her when she started her workouts with the woman.

"Don't fall back, Kira, Samahabdira is a labyrinthine site."

"This site is amazing, godmother.

"Here you need to call me something else. Remember: we need to protect our identities. Call me Golden Bird, okay?"

"And what do I call myself?"

"Bluish Crow."

"But I'm not blue nor are you gold."

"That is why they are false names. They will serve us while walking around here."

Kira doesn’t say anything more and follows her godmother. She doesn't know exactly what they need to hide for, but in her time training with her godmother she has learned to trust her judgment, although not totally blindly. She starts looking at the different stalls, taking a look at what they offer there, from different exotic foods or pets to jewelries and even furniture of all sizes.

Kira notices Anastasia stop between a street intersection before turning right, ensuring that there was no one in that direction. Although she finds it difficult to see with all the number of people or large animals like elephants or rhinos passing between larger corridors with their riders, transporting things.

"Godmother..."

But his aunt made a quick wave with her hand, demanding a little silence. Causing Kira a slight growl, but obey.

After a few minutes, both stop in front of an old building apparently made of mud and metal with the door made of fabrics and beads. It has no signs; except for an engraving on the metal in the shape of Anastasia's tattoo, although it is barely visible to the naked eye.

"Come on, don't say anything unless they ask you directly," says Annie, but instead of entering the door she begins to climb the wall, leaning on some boxes and a vine.

Kira frowns before following her up the same path. They reach the ceiling after about five minutes. She immediately spots that there is an opening in the roof, although this one seems purposely made because it led directly to a small internal courtyard.

Anastasia jumps inside and Kira follows. The courtyard is quite simple and ornate with a Greek looking design. Kira follows her godmother into a different room, where a man in a similar looking greener toned suit is waiting for them.

"Golden Bird. A long time has passed since we've seen you last," says the man behind the bar without looking up from a great book he is reading. "You come back from the shadows of who knows where and this time with company."

"Goat of Oblivion, you with your sarcastic tone and mocking, always describing the obvious."

"Has your mysterious new apprentice come to the end of their training?" The man stops looking at the book and looks directly at Kira. "Do you have a name?"

"Bluish Crow," she replies, keeping the seriousness as best as possible. Raising an eyebrow by not perceiving an identifiable smell in man.

"A pleasure for now, to see how hard this site."

Kira growls although now she has more questions that need answering.

"You won’t scare her so easily if that is what you're looking for. I need to find some answers," Annie growls.

Goat of Oblivion stopped seeing Kira to focus his attention on Annie.

"You know the rules imposed by the Oracle. Or has family life made you forget things?"

Annie hits him hard in the face, splitting his nose. The man roars holding his face, the cloth mask fills a little with blood.

"It was a joke, woman! You have no sense of humor."

"It's not that, but when you have kids there are some things you endure and some you don't."

"It's okay, it's okay. What do you need?"

"We are looking for an entrance, called Hijakaryan.

"The door of the twin dragons. Looking for it will not be easy, nor do I know it’s exact loation," the man says while looking at Kira. "I think you can do the two investigations, separately."

Kira frowns as she feels her godmother's gaze. What investigation does this man refer to?

"I agree. What do you need?"

Goat of Oblivion gives her a rolled parchment. Annie leads Kira to the courtyard and kneels down to her height.

"Listen to me Kira. I know this seems confusing and somewhat strange. I will explain a little: This is a special creed, where mercenaries receive special missions in exchange for other favors or information."

"Do you have to follow their rules?"

"Only the three main ones, but don’t worry. You passing as my apprentice will not demand anything difficult from you. I won't be able to go with you as I have my own assignment. I have no doubt that you can do it and don't leave Samahabdira, okay?"

Kira nods and watches her godmother climb back up the wall to the ceiling, giving her one more look before leaving. She immediately feels a bit nervous, grateful that her aunt has so much confidence in her abilities that she has allowed her to take care of this task. Kira takes a deep breath before returning to the man with a determined look.

"I see that you are ready. I have seen that kind of looin in a few apprentices." The man pulls something from under the counter and shows Kira a sheet of paper, which seems to have the crude drawing

"That's Gurken Maldey. It has been doing some problematic work of dubious provenance. But to get to it will not be so easy. You have to figure out everything that it is planning. Start with the food court in the west. There you will find more information."

Kira nods and leaves the building through the roof. She looks around at the thousands of ceilings made of fabrics. A smile is drawn on her face. “The adventure begins sooner than I thought,”she thinks.

Kira begins to run through the rooftops looking for the place that the Goat of Oblivion had told her about, although she ends up descending through the fabrics when the buildings run out. She walks in silence. Not even the flexible sole of her boots resonate against the ground. You can see the different things they sell in the stalls.

People ignore her, since everyone is busy with their own affairs. Kira advances until she reaches a huge square with a fountain in the middle that to get there she must go down a hill. She can see several traveling carts full of food.

"That man said that here I will find some information. The question now is where to start?" she thought before she started descending.

Smells permeate the area with a lot of power: There are strong meals with a heavy load of spices, lighter foods and desserts. It seems as if all possible varieties of food in the world are found in that square.

Kira stops in front of one of the sites, where they sell paninis, Italian sandwiches with different ingredients inside. She is somewhat hungry and the smell of food does not help her at all. She starts looking in one of her bags attached to her waist, looking for her wallet to buy something.

"It’s Maldey. He just won’t keep himself calm. And of all days in the year, it has to be when those dates are approaching," the annoyed voice of a man passed behind her.

Kira looks up before looking behind her. Watching as two men pass by in tunics of fine fabrics and olive skin. She curses in her mind and leaves the post to follow them but keeps her distance. She uses the people on the street to hide herself from being noticed by the men.

"That man never misses the Great Festival of the Logs, you know how he loves it. He knows that they extract honey then," speaks one of the men. "Take the opportunity to do your business under the table."

"I hope they will recreate those gelatin-like sweets, the artisans make them better every year," the companion says. "I've wanted to find out where they get their ingredients from, but they're not so easy to trick into talking."

"Leave them alone, you never get anything anyway. And I doubt you can replicate them. Just enjoy them as you always do every year."

"It's easy for you to say, you already have a business."

"Do not say such nonsense. You have a good business even if you have just started. Be patient."

"I wish I had Maldey's luck. He always has something special for the festivals."

"Haven't you heard the rumors?"

"What rumors?"

"Maldey has ordered a barge from Listothia. "

"The land of the high elves? It's rare to have dealings with them. Are you sure?"

"It's what they say in the artisans' market. Garzón, the one in the magic glass workshop, says he has lots of letters from the orders, maybe he's just bragging."

Kira stops her chase and smiles, letting them walk away as she got some important information and doesn't need them anymore. She just has to find out where the artisan market is. She returns along the path she went and goes back to the sandwich stand. Luckily they had not left the food area.

"Can I help you?" the owner of the premises asks, a man of small size.

"A panini wit meat and cheese, please," Kira speaks as she opens a leather bag attached to her belt and pulls out several gold coins and a 10 note. "Some juice too."

The man wraps the sandwich in a brown paper before handing it to her with a frozen glass container. It has an orange drawn on its label.

"Excuse me," Kira catches the man's attention again as she keeps her things in the bag. "Do you know where I can find the artisan market?"

"It’s quite a walk away from here. it is almost on the other side of Samahabdira," says the dwarf with an apologetic smile.

Kira curses through her teeth, snorting a little. She doesn’t know that place, and it will probably take her all day to get to the other end.

"Are you an apprentice?" the dwarf asks again.

Kira looks at him with a pucker, somewhat confused when she remembers her suit and what her godmother told her.

"Don't worry, here most of the owners are allies of the creed. If you do me a favor, I can give you a shortcut to get to the artisans' market."

Kira takes a deep breath. She has no choice.

"What do I have to do?"

The man gives her a bundle tied with a rope and an address written on a piece of paper like a map.

Kira nods, holding the package in one arm, and begins to walk the road following the map. She advances through small alleys, managing to stay away from the crowds and most of the owners thankfully ignore her.

After a long time she arrives at a building. The shop outside is open towards the street and made with a fabric roof and walls. There are rice paper lamps hanging from ropes here and there, giving the shop a slight mysterious vibe.

"Is anyone here?" she asks, entering the premises. It is a bookstore with large antique scrolls and worn books.

"Give me a second, I’ll be with you right away," she hears a voice in the back.

Kira looks around after storing the map in the bag, but without letting go of the package. ‘Things here are quite interesting’, she thinks, while looking at some book covers.

"Here I am, forgive the wait," says a young woman coming out of the back.

"Okay, don't worry. I brought him a commission from the dwarf Djorn" Kira speaks, giving the shopkeeper the package.

"Thank you very much!" The woman smiles and unties the box to see inside. Although Kira discreetly tries to, she cannot see anything in the bag.

Kira looks around again as the owner reviews the contents. She sets her sights on a small book that is a lot more worn out than the others. She goes over to take a better look at the old cover.

The name is written in elvish runes, something she cannot read; although that is not the most striking thing about it. It is only a cover made of scaly skin, engraved with golden thread. There is a tall and impressive tree on it, holding between its branches nine spheres, forming a staircase along its trunk and the upper part.

"That's the Yggdrasil."

Kira turns to see the owner of the place.

"The what?"

"The tree that holds the nine realities, the tree of the universes."

"What do the old Nordic legends say?"

"Every person believes in whatever they want, but some things can be real."

"Yes, of course, a gigantic tree that holds our universe," she says with a sarcastic tone. "Why is it in that state?"

"It's quite old and almost forgotten, I guess you must have recognized the elvish runes, right?"

Kira nods.

"Here is the curious fact, young one, they are not any elvish runes, They are from the ancient ice elves, those who come from Niflheimr."

Kira frowns. She knows that a piece like that could be worth a lot of money but it can also be an important piece of history, if it happens to be real that it comes from those extinct elves.

"How much do you want for that?" She pulls out a small wallet from her bag.

"Are you going to buy it?" says the woman with a surprise startle.

"That is my intention. It is the reason as to why it’s on the shelf, is it not?"

The woman tells her a somewhat ridiculously expensive amount, but perhaps after all she knows what value it has. Kira frowns again. Even so, why did she give it to Kira so easily?

She bought some books, other legends and Nordic tales. She is soon running out of money in hand. She will have to be careful until she gets to an ATM.

"If you still want to go to the artisan market, take a map and your change." The woman smiles, handing things in her hands, next to her shopping bag.

Kira leaves the store, moving a little through the streets, keeping the books in her backpack on her back. It is the same color as her suit, which makes it difficult to notice from a distance. She sighs,relieved that she is back to her original mission. Although she has a nagging curiosity to read everything she bought, she has to wait. She wonders why that book caught her attention so easily. She is sure that it’s thattree, the Yggdrasil. She has seen it somewhere.

"It will be discovered later."

She starts to eat her sandwich while walking down the street, using the less traveled alleys. On the way to the artisan market.