The Vandraren Short Stories:
Life on the Road and beyond the Horizon (2022)

by Arwan

It isn’t often that one encounters a road such as the one I encountered that late, cloudy and humid evening in July. Cloudy being an understatement; the air becoming so heavy you can feel the clouds graze the skin during momentary wind gusts. Air so heavy, one could take a bite out of it and taste it, saving the rest for tomorrow’s burdening leftovers. 

Yet, the moon was high on a perch in the sky, burning portraits of silhouettes amongst a blanketed canvas of muted stars. I suppose this road before me must look quite different in the daylight, for on this evening it appears to seem like a formidable road, full of dark turns and twisted embankments of unknown direction, riddled by the shadows of ferns and pine needles that line this hallowed pathway. This was my first time on this particular road, with anxiety blinded by the reflections of dewdrops that have collected on partially tanned grass stems within the vast fields that seemed to engulf and entrench the path that would ultimately take us away from all of this. 

The fields were barren, yet life was all around; crawling and existing in microcosms that would rival any large-scale modern suburban infrastructure. The heavy air was stifling; muting all outside interfering audible interference while amplifying the most delicate of songs - ants carrying twigs, trees swaying in the breeze, the delicate sound of owls gliding in the air, and hedgehogs crawling out to see what all the commotion was. 

I had never seen such a hedgehog until that night, and I assure you, that hedgehog had never seen me until that night either. But it was a strange hedgehog, slowly hobbling its way across the road with monocle and cane. I suppose this was typical for the region, but marveled at the idea that this hedgehog was truly independent, amongst a complete society of other creature-dwelling inhabitants bearing characteristic traits that would rival a bowling squad. I, for one, can recall how its tiny fingers left tracks in the gritty dirt road that quickly materialized to clay once the prints had enough time to harden from the relentless humidity. 

“How does a hedgehog find its way through such thick air and hazy mist?” I would have stopped to ask him but he was on his way, probably with the sole purpose of avoiding any owls flying overhead, looking to rain on his parade. And speaking of rain, so it became, as this dark road turned to mud for the torrential rains decided to crash this naturally sophisticated party. And with the rain, the song of the trees was muted, along with the song of ants carrying twigs, owls gliding in the air, even the frogs had to take cover for fear that their song would be muted too by this awesome commotion of thunder. Lightning erupted, but only brief, to provide a snapshot into the distance of the external surroundings. My connection to this suspicious road was quickly hampered when the lightning quickly revealed the silhouette of a figure, sitting many kilometers down the road just as I was sitting, writing into a leather bound notebook with the quill of an ostrich just as I was. My last image before the lightning subsided was a silhouette of a hedgehog, hobbling down the road with monocle and cane towards this figure that was sitting many kilometers down the road just as I was sitting, writing into a leather bound notebook with the quill of an ostrich, just as I was.

As the image faded, I slowly got up and sighed. With a last glance into the darkness before me, I turned away and left. A split second later I re-appeared in the living room of a nondescript and apparently completely normal house in Cardiff, Wales. The room was dark and on the first glance one could have thought it was empty. After the commotion I had just experienced, it was shockingly silent. So silent, one could have heard the tiniest speck of dust settle on the vintage furniture, if there had been any dust being this daring. Glancing around, I walked a few steps towards the door on the far side of the room. 

“What are you doing here?” All of a sudden a voice behind me boomed.

Slowly, I turned around. Lights flashed and I had to blink in order to focus my gaze. One could have thought this scenery to be spine-chilling, to be the perfect setting for a horror film, to climax to what would turn out to be one of the scariest movies that has ever been produced. Only, that things are seldom what they seem.

“And why for god’s sake are you RUINING MY CARPET?!” My cousin Sadwyn got up from his favorite armchair, where he must have sat when I had entered the room. Now that the lights were turned on, one could clearly see that the room was everything but empty. I looked back to my cousin, who accusingly stared down onto the puddle of water that had started appearing around me. But as we were Vandraren, things that other people might have considered weird just barely made us shrug; he wouldn’t question why I looked as if I had jumped into the sea with my clothes on, just as I would not ask why he had been sitting in the dark, doing whatever he had been doing. 

“Tamina wrote and asked whether you had a moment for her,” Sadwyn now informed me. As he saw my obviously puzzled gaze, he broke into a grin. “Your smartphone. You forgot it and I was just too curious.” He handed it over to me, and with this clear reminder of that I was living in modern 21st century, the experiences of this dark road I had walked only moments ago faded.

“Whatever, I’m off. See you later. And dry my carpet.” Sadwyn added and disappeared.

Biting back a smile, I read Tamina’s message, did as my cousin had bid – well, ordered actually – put my leather bound notebook and the quill of an ostrich on the table and off I was again. My next stop took me close to a small cottage. My young fellow ghostchaser Tamina was currently on her annual vacation with her family, which had taken them quite a bit away from their beloved Ore Mountains. Writing a short message, I glanced around. Luckily, it wasn’t raining here.

After a few seconds, I heard steps. Then the figure of my companion became visible in the dark and only moments later she stood beside me. “Why did you ask that we meet outside and …” She examined me closer, which was a little difficult, as it was pitch black around us “… what have you done? You look like, I don’t know, someone emptied a bucket of water over you or …” She stopped and started to giggle.

I chuckled too. 

“Did you just think of the same as I?” She asked. It wasn’t necessary to confirm she was right. Still chuckling, my thoughts drifted back into the past. It had been only a few weeks ago that we had made a short trip to the sea together and …

“You threw me into the sea. Completely. With my clothes on.” Tamina scolded, but obviously she wasn’t really annoyed, for she quickly added with a bright smile: “That was awesome. Can we do that again?”

I shook my head. “A)  I didn’t throw you, but I merely gently dipped you, B) I got as dripping wet in the process as you and C) before we do that, can you tell me, what in the name of anything that’s holy we are doing out here? Not that I personally would mind, but it’s past midnight and as I see it, you should be abed, and well … asleep,” I replied, getting serious again.

Tamina grinned sheepishly as she explained: “I couldn’t sleep. And thanks, I know how late it is. I just thought that we might practice a little magic together, if you like. It’s been a while since we last did that and I’m curious to learn more, especially after …” Her voice trailed off.

I sighed. “You mean our last mission? When I got under the spell of this White Lady?” 

Tamina nodded.

“Well, sounds plausible. Okay, let’s go.” I stopped and thought. I hadn’t planned this training session, so what could we do? And where could we go? The image of the dark road welled up within me again, of the commotion and the intriguing pictures it had created. But a short glance at my young companion made me think better of that. It had been way too rainy, and I didn’t want Tamina to catch a cold. Then a thought struck me. I took Tamina by the hand and we translokalized.

Now we re-appeared at a beach.  I could hear the waves softly washing up to the coastline – after the heavy rain I had experienced, this nearly sounded gentle. We walked a few steps, so that we stood close to the water. Then I sat down onto the dry sand and Tamina sat next to me. For a moment, we both looked out onto the sea. In the distance, one could see a tiny spot of light erupt for a split second. Then everything went dark again. About fifteen seconds later, the process repeated. It was the lighthouse of the neighboring island and currently it was our only reminder that we weren’t alone in this world. The moon above us shone brightly and as the sky here was nearly cloudless, one could clearly see that it was a waning moon. Fortunately. I didn’t need a full moon this quickly again.

Tamina looked around, before she locked eyes with me. “What next?” She asked. 

“Wait a sec.” May it be for the darkness that had been settling around us like a thick blanket, or for the peacefulness of this moment, but now we both unintentionally were whispering. “Can you sense it?” I added after a moment.

My young companion looked around. Her gaze became puzzled. “Sense what?” She whispered back.

I smiled. “Everything.” When Tamina still looked confused, I continued. “Maybe it helps you to close your eyes. Focus on your surroundings. What do you hear? What can you feel?” To illustrate my words, I scooped up a handful of sand and let it pour away.

Tamina closed her eyes, obviously concentrating hard. I could see how she was clenching her jaw.

“Relax.” I whispered.

Tamina opened her eyes again and sighed. “But I don’t feel it.” 

I tried to bite back a little smile. “You’re too impatient. Slow down and try it again. Open your mind. Take your time.”

After a moment she added slowly: “Why are we actually doing this?”

I looked around for a moment, searching for words. Then I smiled tenderly at her and explained: “Magic is not only about speaking some dubious words or trying to change the world with one move of your wand. In order to perform magic, you first need to feel it. The possibility of the unknown. It’s beyond the horizon of what a normal eye can see. But it is here. Around us. Everywhere. And you can feel it. From the tiniest ant on the ground carrying twigs right up to the owl gliding high above in the skies. Magic itself is not just about sending, but also – or even more – about receiving, about listening. Opening your mind and your body for this is as important as learning the correct wording of a magic spell.”

Tamina slowly nodded. Determined now, she took my hand, sat up straight and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. Everything around us became silent. It was like the world, too, was holding its breath for a moment. Then she exhaled and the moment broke. I watched her for another second, before I too closed my eyes. Slowly, I let go, until I didn’t notice the visible world around us anymore. Instead, new impressions arose. It was like a tingling feeling that began to prickle though my veins. I opened my eyes again. I noticed that Tamina had also opened her eyes again. For a moment, we looked at each other. Then we glanced around. Apparently, it had become foggy around us. 

“What the …” Tamina started, but then stopped herself again. At this very moment, I saw it too. 

The lightning of the lighthouse of the neighboring island quickly revealed the silhouette of two figures, sitting many kilometers away at the seaside just as we were sitting, gazing into the night just as we were. Suddenly, they looked into our direction. Two pairs of ruby red eyes stared at us. At the same time, an odd, shining blue glow began to surround those two figures. From above, a flying ship, entirely made of clouds, drew close to them. The last image before the lightning subsided was a silhouette of two figures, many kilometers in the distance, slowly getting up, boarding the ship and magically disappearing.