Kir woke up to the smells of frankincense and sandalwood, occasional whiffs of pungent sage tickling his nose. Sitting up, he spotted a basin of water and quickly stood to splash his face, scrubbing the sleep from his eyes and bracing himself against the table as he looked around. He hadn't exactly been coherent when Anur had dragged him in here, after all.
Small, one room home but the materials used were high quality for the region – and the kitchen was well stocked with foodstuffs from what he could see. Their saddlebags were at the foot of the bed with his armor and robes draped over one of the chairs and it looked like Kalesh and Koshiro had found cots somewhere, though they hadn't been set up yet. There was a shelf by the hearth containing a copy of the Writ, a less-worn copy of the Rule and a few potted desert plants – in particular one he recognized as providing a key ingredient for burn ointment. There were similar pots on the windowsills throughout the house and Kir felt a pang of grief, of regret, that the priest who had cared for these hardy little things was gone, killed by those he called brother.
Bowing his head, he murmured a benediction and consolation for the dead priest, begging forgiveness for taking too cursed long to get here.
Letting the prayer drift in his mind for a moment more, he finally straightened and headed for the saddlebags. He should have some clean socks left at least.
It didn't take long for him to be wearing reasonably clean clothes and armor, pulling his vestments on as he walked out the door. The scent from the incense blend was much stronger out here, a faint breeze carrying the white smoke through the whole town from where twelve stakes had been hammered into the ground around the scorched temple, bundles of smoldering herbs tied to the top. Any questions about how Anur had managed to figure out the proper set up – he didn't think he'd been that thorough in their discussions on potential situations they'd run into – were quickly silenced when he spotted the distinctive robes of his Order.
Jaina and Colbern had come along with the supplies, it seemed.
Colbern was helping with the wind-chimes, checking they were the proper lengths and that the engravings that needed to go into each were close enough to accurate if his actions were any indicator. Jaina was hard at work on a barrier, etching configurations into the hard-packed dirt around the temple and connecting the twelve incense stands with her warding. Kir let his gaze slip into mage-sight as he headed for her, surprised to see that the halberd she carried was already infused with her power, transferring energy down the shaft to the metal capped base she was using to scrape the runes into the ground. She worked very quickly – craftings like that could take a full moon or two from what he remembered.
:Awake?: Anur asked, voice soft enough that if he hadn't been awake he'd have probably ignored it. Kir sent back wordless confirmation and query, his brother responding with, :You've been out five marks, it's nearly noon. I'm out staking windchimes around the oasis with some others – I think Jakyr is working with Anika to divvy up the incense herbs and the medicinal stuff Solaris sent along with and Devek is helping with food – Solaris sent food, by the by.:
:Excellent,: Kir replied, stopping a few steps away from Jaina's circle, examining the shimmering ward-line. :Colbern and Jaina are the only ones that came, right?:
:Right. Figured it couldn't hurt, having them here. Gives them something to do and more exposure to what Firestarters' duties are now. Also, Colbern was apparently driving everyone up the wall with his insistence that he ride out to hunt down the other three immediately.:
Kir snorted, :I can see that. Very well, thank you, Anur.:
:Of course!:
"Eldest!" Jaina looked up from her work and smiled brilliantly, looking truly happy, for all that her face was streaked with ashes and sweat, a scrap of fabric keeping flyaway pieces of hair from her face. Kir returned the smile, walking around the perimeter until he was standing next to her, "Very nice wardings," he murmured. "You always did have a knack for them."
"You mean I always had a knack for protective and healing magics," Jaina snorted, "Nothing of true use to a Firestarter, of course."
"Oh really?" Kir raised an eyebrow, smirking, "I recall quite a few arguments to the contrary!"
"Well of course you do, you helped me research precedent!" Jaina chuckled, inclining her head toward the half-completed circle and returning to business, "It should hold a full moon. I built in a purification web in addition to the incense and chimes Colbern's helping them finish up, so that should be more than enough to take care of it entirely. Of course, we should check in."
"Naturally," Kir nodded, "At the very least I'm going to ask that the replacement sent out has some ability with mage-sight, simply so they can monitor the situation for us as time progresses."
"Ah, good idea," Jaina agreed, giving him a thorough looking over and continuing, "How are you doing? Rode all day and night, we hear."
"It was necessary," Kir shrugged, "I've done worse."
"Of course you have," she sighed, "Very well, if you're recovered then would you mind starting a slow burn in there? You always were good at avoiding interference between spellcastings."
Kir decided not to mention that he hadn't used spells to craft his flames in years and instead simply nodded, crooking his fingers slightly and listening for that faint buzz of embers. He paced Jaina as she continued her circle, slow-burning flames soon crackling away across the entirety of the temple's remnant and dissolving it into ever-finer ash. The breeze kept most of it away from them, but he pulled the stole-turned-scarf over the lower half of his face to be on the safe side – the last thing he needed was to irritate his lungs and start coughing. Anur would be hovering enough with his recent bout with exhaustion, he didn't need to remind the man of the time he'd been knifed in the lungs.
Or risk Jaina finding out about it. He had always had his suspicions regarding Phyrris' conveniently accidental death, and technically speaking she had been the one he'd targeted at first. The men of the 62nd had apparently only just been ordered into leaving Nichter alone, he didn't want to set anyone else after the poor soldier.
Jaina finished the final stroke, raising her halberd turned stave and cracking it into the ground ground with a harsh command in archaic Karsite – ironically, it had become more common in the Sunsguard as a command barked at men to come to attention, rather than it's original purpose as a declaration of confirmed intent.
It had always been something of an idle amusement, to hear the ritual ending of most complex mage workings used to snap soldiers into parade formality.
A flare of light – visible even without mage-sight – and smoke no longer escaped the circle, instead spiraling upwards as though there were a wall separating the village from the smoldering remnants. Kir let his control of the fire vanish, there wasn't much left for him to urge to flames anyway, in favor of steadying a swaying Jaina. "Well done, sister," he said, Jaina giving a satisfied smile as she looked over her work, bracing herself with her halberd.
"It is rather nice, isn't it?" she agreed, "Thank you, Eldest."
He would get her to call him by name again one day, he swore. At the least when they were among only Firestarters; having Anur and Solaris alone speak to him by name would grow tiresome quickly.
"Well timed, too," Colbern spoke up, walking over to them carrying wind chimes and starting to hang them on the hooks of the incense staves intended for that purpose. "We just finished twelve. We have enough supplies for more so they'll continue to do so, they can always be hung around homes and the new Temple, when it gets built."
"More could always go to the oasis," Kir shrugged, "It is not too much of a risk, but water is always quicker to stain – quicker to purify as well, but still. That doesn't much help those taken in by darkened waters."
"The lothga," Jaina said thoughtfully, Kir nodding confirmation and she continued, "I don't think anyone has actually heard that full story – just that there was one and it led to Rodri's awakening."
"We shall have to tell it then," Kir said, before letting his tone become grim as he continued, "Later. Right now I want to know what is happening with that other group of blood-mages. They are heading for Hardorn still?"
"Last we heard, yes," Jaina nodded, expression darkening at the thought of any of witach's ilk escaping. "No idea why, of course, and at the moment the consensus seems to be to simply watch them run so long as they don't stop to practice their vile craft."
Colbern snorted, grumbling under his breath as he hung the wind-chimes villagers were bringing to him. No one seemed remotely perturbed by his litany of violence directed at these unnamed blood-mages, so it seemed it had been a common rant in his marks here. Kir sympathized, the matter was frustrating and not simply because blood-mages were being allowed to breathe a moment longer.
"What I want to know is what in frosted hells they think they're going to accomplish by heading to Hardorn," he finally said, raising an arm and returning Anur's wave of greeting, Aelius trotting up with Riva beside. Judging by the empty saddlebags thrown across his back, the horses had been carrying the windchimes and stakes.
"Whole thing is circled by twenty-one windchimes," Anur reported, nodding to Jaina as he slid off Aelius' back and clapped Kir on the shoulder, "Good to see you awake, Kir. Now what was this about Hardorn?"
"Wondering why the blood-mages are heading there," Jaina replied, her own brow furrowing, "I was under the impression they were simply going where their ilk were welcome."
"Welcome only so long as they work for Ancar of Hardorn – the entire point of their scheming was to gain power for themselves, I doubt they will bend knee for some foreign king," Kir snorted, reaching out to pat Riva's neck and started checking him over. Anur had ridden Riva before, he was in no way worried the gelding had been hurt during the ride last night – Anur would have told him – but it gave him something to do.
Riva blew into his hair while he checked his forelegs and he chuckled, waving a hand absently to keep the gelding from trying to chew on it. Hadn't happened in a long while, but he still tried every so often, no matter how short Kir sheared it.
"Ha – no," Colbern agreed, walking over to them after the last windchime had been hung and sharing a nod with Anur. "Not that lot – I ran into them a few times before this and I can guarantee they wouldn't bend knee to any but a mirror."
"So if flight isn't their goal – what is?" Jaina frowned, "This lot was intending to march on Sunhame, correct?"
"Indeed, one of them boasted as much," Kir confirmed, having heard that much from Anika Brersi during the clean-up they'd managed in the night, straightening from checking Riva's hooves. "And the only thing I can think of that Hardorn has a dearth of is blood-geased soldier-farmers."
"You think they've actually allied with Ancar?" Jaina demanded, aghast, even as Anur nodded grimly, saying, "Makes sense. Even if they didn't ally with Ancar officially, the occasional border knowledge-swap happened before the war, they may very well have had… acquaintances on the other side that might be able to arrange a few units-worth of soldiers to march over. And if they should happen to have the control of the spell… wrested from them, well, Karsite priest-mages. Who knows what strange things they're capable of, in their insular ways?"
"We're not letting them get that far," Colbern said flatly, raising an eyebrow at Kir's thoughtful look and continuing dubiously, "Are we?"
"There aren't any settlements that close to the border," Kir said slowly, feeling the thought out at he spoke, part of his mind noticing that Devek was approaching with wary-edged respect, Kalesh tucked in behind him
"Leiutenant Kalesh, the border with Hardorn is deserted at this point, correct?" Kir asked, knowing the answer but wanting them to be involved in the discussion. Jaina and Colbern needed to get used to accepting input from common soldiers that didn't have a crimson sash to aid them.
"Essentially, yes, Father," Jakyr shrugged, "No solid settlements within a day's ride of it at least, nothing truly permanent for two or so. There's always those desperate that venture closer or smuggle, but not many. Apparently if you get too close to the border down here there's a tendency to wander across and not wander back."
Kir grimaced, wondering how that bit of trickery was pulled off, "We'll have to discuss that," he said shortly, "It may be something we can ward against – haven't heard of anything like that in the north."
"No, it was new to me too, sir," Jakyr agreed, "And it's really a bare scrape of a rumor, don't know anyone who knows someone who's vanished like that or anything along those lines."
"You're thinking of letting Hardornen soldiers cross the border?" Devek tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing, "With all due respect Father, why would you want them to set foot in Karse?"
"Because they're farmers," Kir shrugged wearily, remembering the ghosts of Aulch that had been so desperate to escape their former masters, so utterly furious at the idea of Ancar having a scrap of influence over them any longer – so terribly hopeless, convinced of their damnation. "They're innocents who have been torn from their homes, from their lives, their families tortured and killed before their eyes and mages reaping power from that slaughter to bind them to their will – and that's if they weren't forced to participate in the horrors themselves. If they come across the border… we know these lands. We can at the very least grant them clean and quick deaths, but if we could break the geas…"
Anur let out a low whistle, rocking back on his heels and nodding slowly, "That would be damn clean. We'd take strength from Ancar and damage some blood-mages in the backlash of broken geas spells – if we could swing it to send some of that damage Hardorn's way… Ancar would never know what happened to the troops he sent towards Karse. As far as he was concerned, they'd just disappear and those mages that had been in charge of them would be damaged, if not dead."
"Dead would be easy enough to arrange," Jaina said lowly, "Backlash is nasty, the more power saturating the spellwork the better – and to enslave the minds of enough men to make up a decent fighting force? Power would not be lacking, not in the least."
"Can geases be broken?" Devek asked, brow furrowing, "I'm assuming so, since you mentioned it, but how difficult is it to do?"
"Depending on the mages in question, not at all or far too much," Kir gave a wry grin at Koshiro's unimpressed look. He was adapting well to the two unfamiliar Firestarters at least – Kalesh still looked on edge, which was perfectly understandable, "Which is why burning them quickly enough their spirits don't have time to be reeled back in by those bastards would be a secondary plan."
"Lumira is quite good at unraveling enchantments," Colbern commented, "Laskaris made a study of coercion webs at one point too, between the pair of them they'd be our Order's best bet. Don't know about the rest of the priesthood – Karchenek might be a decent bet."
Anur snickered at Karchenek's name and Kir winced slightly, Jaina groaning and muttering, "I don't even want to know how you could have possibly gotten on the man's bad side – he's the next High Heirophant, really Eldest?"
"It's more Riva's fault than mine," Kir insisted, "Horse doesn't like blondes, apparently."
Jaina eyed him, and then eyed the rather blonde Jakyr Kalesh who was standing quite comfortably near Riva before raising an eyebrow again. Kir simply gave her a bland look in return, commenting, "Karchanek is far blonder. Very unusual hair color."
"Your horse dislikes blondes," Jaina said dryly. "Yes. I'm sure that was all there was to it. I stand by my statement – I don't want to know. Thank the Sunlord I'm not Incendiary any longer, I'd be grey in a week and gibbering in two."
"You'd last longer than two weeks," Colbern said loyally, mouth twitching as he continued, "I'd have put money on three and a half, at least."
"Oh thank you, Colbern, that is such an endorsement," Jaina shot back, rolling her eyes, "I don't suppose you would care for the job?"
Kir and Colbern both barked laughs at that, Colbern shaking his head and saying, "Become First Order Firestarter? I thank you for the confidence, Jaina, but I'm rather fond of breathing, particularly now that things are changing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hang some more windchimes and muse on screaming blood-mages."
With that, the grey-haired man walked back to his windchime carving crew, leaving the five of them staring after him with a mix of bemused concern. "Is it all right to say he scares me a little?" Jakyr commented with an idle tone but wary eyes, only relaxing when Jaina responded by snorting and Anur outright laughed.
"I don't know," the Herald commented, eyes glinting with mirth, "I rather think he's how Kir's going to grow old."
"Please," Kir scoffed, "I wouldn't have the first idea how to use that battle-axe. And I hate screaming."
"Colbern is one of a kind," Jaina said fondly, before casting Kir a wry look and continuing, "Though I can see the resemblance, loathing for screams aside. I had best go and help – I haven't carved windchimes in ages and I feel we'll be seeing more of them."
"I'll show you where the horses are settling, Kir," Anur said, looking over at the two Sunsguard and asking, "You two know where any more help is needed?"
"People are coming together, nowhere critical," Devek shrugged. "I'm going to head back to food preparation and distribution, I just wanted to check on you, Father Kir."
"I'm alive and well," Kir said dryly, "Though I thank you for the concern. Thank you also for that dialogue," he tilted his head towards his colleagues and was careful to keep his voice from projecting far, "They need to get used to speaking with soldiers without a sash, and while those two are going to be some of the easiest might as well start somewhere."
"Tristan is going to be a problem," Anur grimaced, "Possibly Laskaris."
"So long as Laskaris is stationed far enough away from north he should be fine," Kir murmured, Jakyr commenting that he'd head back to helping Anika – first name basis, apparently. Interesting – and smiling slightly at Kir's nod.
Anur just raised an eyebrow and started walking, Kir keeping pace beside him while they headed for a shelter that was clearly meant for travelers' horses along with the herds the villagers ran, though at the moment all the goats and sheep were out for grazing for the day.
"A valid enough point," Anur conceded, "But Tristan – I think he has a problem with the Sunsguard. Hopefully not one based on interactions like with Loshern, I think it's more a problem with those he considers lower than him – but I don't know him, could be completely wrong."
"No, that was my impression as well," Kir grimaced, "At least with the Sunsguard. I need to speak with Jaina about it – Colbern as well, I suppose. His antagonism for Colbern – it could simply be that he doesn't approve of Colbern's desire to dirty his hands with actual fighting, but that could easily bleed over to the Sunsguard in general. I don't doubt I'll have problems with him eventually, as I'll be remaining a chaplain and an active one, not washing my hands of the lowly station."
He said that last with a sour tone and Anur bumped shoulders with him, Kir looking over and meeting his concerned gaze, "Hey, there's nothing lowly about it and he'll learn that soon enough. He's going to become something of one if war breaks out," the Herald pointed out, before wincing, "Which could end badly."
"We'll break him of some of the disdain quickly enough," Kir sighed, before shrugging, "Ah well, that is some time down the road. For now, we have Hardornens to save."
"And an inner-District faction to worry about," Anur pointed out, Kir waving it aside absently, because of course he hadn't forgotten. He just didn't want to consider returning to that city until he absolutely had to.
Anur understood, of course, and obligingly changed the subject.
"Now, what was this about First Order Firestarters having a death wish?"
On second thought, perhaps discussing their return to Sunhame wasn't such a bad idea.
***===***pagebreak***===***
By nightfall, Anur had managed to almost forget about Kir's far-too-curt explanation about just how one went about becoming a First Order Firestarter.
But staring up at the ceiling, Kir breathing quietly beside him and Devek snoring softly on his cot – Jakyr had mumbled to himself a few times, but nothing indicating a nightmare so Anur just ignored it – he couldn't help but wonder. He'd never really thought about just what it meant for Kir to have become a First Order Firestarter – he'd also hardly understood just how rare they were. Jaina and Kir were the only First Order Firestarters around, and before them it had been Verius, the man that had trained them, and Jaina's predecessor.
Before them, it had apparently only been the Incendiary; never in the history of the Order had there been more than three First Order Firestarters at a time. If Rodri made the rank before Jaina died (because Kir wasn't going to die before seeing that boy through the ranks, Anur had already sworn it) then it would only be the fifth time it had happened in well over a thousand years.
He had assumed it was a mix of politics and skill, and while he'd been right, he hadn't realized just how much skill went into it – and just what the consequences of failure were. Knowing Kir's abilities as he did, he didn't doubt that the trial had been just as simple as Kir had told him it was, even enjoyable from what he'd said, but still. He'd needed to be nominated for the test, and for someone to nominate a fifteen year old who'd been hiding his talents behind mediocrity besides whatever event had gotten him hailed as a prodigy in the first place –
Anur was quite glad this Verius character was dead. While the man had undoubtedly had a huge influence on Kir's life and he probably owed the man for his brother's survival through his acolyte years, he still would be sorely tempted to punch him in the face. Who would do that? And Jaina being thrown into the trial a few months later was hardly any better! Certainly, she'd been twenty or so at the time, but for a freshly ordained twenty-something to be the best option for Incendiary and a quite literal and potentially lethal trial by fire?
It left him looking those older than her with new suspicion, that was certain.
At least it helped explain the relative lack of challenges Kir had received from the other Firestarters. They, at least, knew damn well that someone couldn't coast their way into the rank with smooth talking and powerful friends.
He was never going to get to sleep at this rate.
Sighing slightly, he sat up and pulled on his boots, dragging his thigh-length coat on over his nightclothes – which were really just an old Sunsguard uniform he'd had to patch a little too often to wear in polite company – before ducking out the door, hunching his shoulders at the cold and stuffing his hands in his pockets as he settled on the stoop. The town was completely silent, no one was out and about despite the relatively early hour; it wasn't even midnight yet.
He doubted everyone was asleep, but no one else was wandering.
:Chosen?: Aelius murmured sleepily.
:I'm fine, Aelius. Just going to stare at the stars for a bit,: Anur sent back immediately, feeling a surge of affection for his Companion. This could hardly have been what Aelius had thought he was getting into, that spring day he'd tracked Anur down and startled him into what could generously be called a pond.
Being Chosen while spluttering in a muddy pool was probably not the most undignified way to go about it, but there certainly weren't any songs like that floating around! Which was really a shame, it had been rather hilarious.
True to his word, he stared up at the night sky, sliver of moonlight letting the stars take the stage. The tail of the Windrider marked north for travelers in Valdemar – but in Karse that star was the end of the Shepherd's stave. A constellation he had grown up knowing as the Sisters Six, the weaponsmaster had informed him was actually the Crown, while the arc Valdemarans called the Crown was a sickle, to mark the start of the harvest season.
He thought that one made a lot more sense, and the Windrider had never really looked much like a winged horse to him anyway. A person holding a stick was much more intuitive.
A creak of wood as the door opened and Anur shook his head slightly, his brother coming up to sit beside him wrapped in his own coat. "You should be asleep, Kir," he murmured.
"I slept half the day away," Kir replied mildly, following his gaze and continuing, "The stars are beautiful tonight."
"People will be able to enjoy them now, with summoning banned," Anur said quietly, "I like that thought."
Kir pressed their shoulders against each other, saying softly, "I rather like it too."
They sat in silence for a time, breath fogging in the chill air, and they might have remained like that for marks. It had been known to happen.
But instead, Anur spotted someone else taking advantage of the quiet, walking the streets with no apparent purpose or destination. "Who on earth would be wandering at this hour?" he murmured, catching Kir's sardonic look and saying defensively, "Well we're not wandering we're – contemplating things!"
"When we could be asleep," Kir replied, keeping his voice low, "I don't think wandering versus sitting makes any difference. Besides, she has more reason than most to be contemplating anything at this point."
Anur blinked for a few seconds, before narrowing his eyes and wondering just what it was about that shadowed figure bundled in coats and scarves that gave away an identity even as Kir pitched his voice to carry without being loud and said, "Mistress Brersi."
Anika Brersi looked up, staring at them over her scarf and clearly surprised to see them awake – she hadn't noticed them lurking on the stoop then. "Holiness Dinesh," she murmured, taking a hesitating step towards them before commiting herself to the action and walking over. "Enforcer Bellamy, my apologies for disturbing you."
"More appropriate for us to apologize, I interrupted deep thoughts," Kir replied, tilting his head back slightly to continue to meet her gaze. "Would you care to join us? Heavy thoughts can be easier with company."
He waved his hand to the step-space beside him and she again hesitated before nodding, sitting down with a very careful gap between her and Kir. Kir noticed it, of course, and accommodated by scooting closer to Anur – he just shifted his own seat so he was pressed against the railing. Why they needed a railing for two steps, he didn't know, but it gave him something to lean on so he wasn't going to complain.
"It is good to see you well," Kir said after a few moments of silence, looking out over the square and grimacing, "Though circumstances leave much to be desired."
Anur snorted, unable to resist pointing out, "To be frank, that's how we meet half the people we know, Kir."
"Probably more than half," Kir conceded, Anur grinning at him and teasing, "Technically speaking, that's how we met."
"Which time?" Kir replied, elbowing him in the ribs and Anur spluttered with mock indignation, a smile on Kir's face as he continued, "The time you set yourself on fire? Or the time you nearly got set on fire?"
"The latter, obviously," Anur snorted, "Because I was never in any danger the first time."
"You still insist that you could have made it to snow? No, you were far too drunk to – "
Their banter served its purpose, Anur hearing their audience of one stifling snickers in her mittened hands, "You remind me of my uncle and da," she managed to gasp, wrapping her arms around her ribs, "They're always tormenting each other."
"I think it's a standby of brothers everywhere," Anur offered her a grin, "So not too surprised."
Anika only shook her head, a smile on her face. Kir broke the much more comfortable silence that had fallen, asking, "How is your brother, by the way? We never got the chance to tell you, but he was never in any danger from the Fires – and he certainly isn't now."
"He's quite well," Anika hesitated before shrugging, "At least, he was last I saw him. I only stayed for a few moons – as soon as that compensation purse came through I gathered up enough to start a bit of a trade and left, settling here because Sister Rhiane knew Father Jak."
All three of them winced at that, Kir murmuring a prayer under his breath for what Anur knew was at least the twelfth time today. "I'll have to write her a letter," Anika murmured, gaze bleak as she stared at the scorched earth where the temple had once stood, not at all far from where they sat.
"We can arrange for it to be delivered, if you finish it quickly," Kir offered.
"You're riding out tomorrow after the dawn service, aren't you?" Anika asked, both of them nodding. That had been the decision they'd come to after staring at some maps and carefully estimating travel times for the four of them, for the blood-mages, and for any blood-bound soldiers they might be fetching from Hardorn.
At least they'd managed to do some basic laundry this afternoon – Anur had been down to his last two pairs of socks, and one never wanted to go long without clean socks. Foot rot was not in the least pleasant.
"I doubt I'll finish by then, unless I still can't sleep," Anika grimaced, "Then who knows how much I'll get done tonight."
"Sleeping can be difficult," Kir acknowledged, continuing, "I wouldn't doubt if the majority of the town wasn't sleeping at the moment."
The woman snorted and said bitterly, "It's not even this. It's the Nameless – the one you hunted when we met, I mean," an incredulous laugh escaped, "I now know six Nameless ones."
"I assign them numbers," Anur said with a forced cheer, "The one you mentioned is Nameless One, the one you called out is Nameless Two, and so on in order of death."
"So that's why you were counting them as they died," Kir said, "I was wondering." Shaking his head, he continued tiredly, "It seems hard to believe, that such a thing could happen six times. It speaks to how far the rot in the priesthood had spread, I suppose."
"It's not right," Anika murmured, crossing her arms and bracing herself on her knees, "It's not right, that they should even – that they can even wear the same uniform as true priests. As Sister Rhiane, Father Jak – as you. It made me so angry, that they would even dare consider themselves part of the same brotherhood. And for them to have fallen so far to be witach – I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to – but there it was, crimson and pulsing and so ugly and he welcomed them!"
She slammed a fist into one of the posts of the railing next to her, tears starting to streak down her face even as her lips twisted into a furious snarl, "He welcomed them and called them brother and they smiled and tortured him!"
Anur closed his eyes, bowing his head as pieces fell into place. Sister Rhiane had known Father Jak, after all, and had undoubtedly chosen this place as one where the priest could bring Anika back into the fold, to win her trust in a priest again, so she didn't paint all with the same brush as Eshkal. And the man had done it, had welcomed her and won her over in the moons she'd lived here and for someone who'd probably worked damn hard to win her esteem, to win her trust, to be betrayed like that?
It would hurt.
"You could see it?" and Kir apparently had latched on to an entirely different part of that statement – what in the hell was he even talking about?
"What?" Anika asked, startled out of her furious grief, staring blankly. At least he wasn't the only one confused.
"The blood magic – crimson and pulsing and ugly, you said. You could see it?" Kir elaborated, Anur blinking as he ran over what she had said and he was right, she had described blood magic in terms of sight. She had mage sight?
"I – yes. Not at – not at first, but when the – ah, when Nameless Two," her lips twitched at the designation at least, so Anur tallied that one as a win, "picked Mistress Vanka as his next victim I could see it surrounding him – this, rusty red nasty color that was disgusting and throbbing when he listened to them sob and he was so pleased to be listening to it and it was awful."
"Blood magic is horrific," Kir said quietly, "All the more so when you're aware of the stains it leaves behind. When we were making our way here – the screams followed them in the earth, I could hear it and when I got closer it was even stronger," Kir shuddered and Anur pressed himself close to Kir's side, hating that his brother was becoming so sensitive to this poison and hating even more that they'd probably be taking full advantage of it in years to come. "I had to stop and retch twice before arriving here, I barely managed to pull back enough to actually be aware of what was going on before I rode in."
Now that was a blatant exaggeration, Anur knew. Kir had indeed needed to throw up twice on the way down the mountain, but he'd managed to pare back his sensitivity enough to be aware of what was going on well before he'd hit the flats that marked the final stretch into town. He'd let it slide though, it took less explaining and the point of this conversation wasn't to be a fully accurate historical chronicle.
It was to let Anika know that what she had seen was abhorrent, was awful, and that it was fully okay to be completely traumatized by what blood-magic looked like. Anur found the lothga more terrifying, but as he'd never been a direct witness to actively practiced blood-magic with mage-sight, only the poison left behind, he had no idea which was more horrifying.
Personally, he still thought it'd be the lothga, but with any luck he'd never be able to make a fully knowledgeable comparison.
With the way his luck ran, he doubted he would be so fortunate.
"I am sorry," Anika said solemnly, Kir nodding slightly to accept her apology before revisiting the question that had gotten them started, "But you can see it? Can you see it now?"
"I – I don't know?" she stumbled, eyes darting towards the temple and Kir pounced on that, asking, "What do you see when you look over there? At the scorched grounds?"
"I – I see – " Anika licked her lips and let her gaze stay on that blackened earth, whispering, "I see red, and black, and pulsing rot, hemmed in by gold and white and silver and fading, at least a bit."
"Yes," Kir murmured, letting his own gaze join hers, "That is what I see."
Anur tilted his head and stared at the scorched temple too, breaking the silence with a shrug and saying, "Nope, just ashes and smoke here. Is the gold and silver and white Jaina's wardings?"
"Silver and white, yes, the gold is – the gold is calling on the God's power," Kir smiled faintly, "Or at least, that's what I believe it is. Wardings are usually silver, purification webs white – the gold is different."
"There was golden light during your hunting rite," Anika murmured, expression losing some of its hauntedness as she heard the positives of what she was now able to witness. "It was like – like liquid sunlight."
"And during that not-really-exorcism," Anur recalled the sending-on of the soldier-farmer ghosts near Aulch and felt his expression turn grim, "I hope we don't need to use that again."
"Hopefully Jaina and Colbern are able to get Laskaris and Lumira on board with the plan, we should hear from them tomorrow," Kir sighed, accepting the change of topic gracefully, "I don't see why they'd object but I don't really know them – remind me to ask Lumira if she wants to attempt the Second Order trials, particularly if she manages this coercion breaking, it's absurd that she's still a Third Order Firestarter."
"Because I'm definitely going to remember to remind you of that," Anur said dryly before shrugging, "I'll try. You're going to need to start writing these things down, Incendiary."
"Call me that again and I'm setting your hair on fire," Kir grumbled, "Cursed titles."
"There are multiple titles?" Anika interjected, hesitant curiousity in her voice, "Their Holinesses Jaina and Colbern called you Eldest, I believe?"
"That's unrelated to the title of Incendiary," Kir waved it off, elaborating without even giving her an askance look that might discourage questions – Anur knew that he welcomed them, welcomed near anything that indicated he wasn't being held on a fearsome, fire-drenched pedestal. "That is simply because I am the First Order Firestarter who has held the rank the longest, I beat Jaina by a few moons. Incendiary is the primary title for the Head of the Firestarting Order, but there are others."
"And they're hilarious!" Anur crowed, though careful to keep his volume low as he didn't want to wake anyone, "Incendiary means arsonist, for one, and then we have Incandesence and Luminary – both of which make it sound like you're glowing and I'm sure there are more! Just wait till we get back Kir, I'm hunting through the archives for the most ridiculous ones I can find!"
"Make sure to look up the old titles for Enforcer while you're there," Kir replied, Anur eyeing that casual smile suspiciously. There was amusement hiding in there, and he had a sinking feeling that if he pushed this title issue, he wasn't going to be having the last laugh.
"It's not just – Enforcer?"
"Oh that's the most common," Kir freely admitted, "But if you get into ceremonial roles, there are things like Sun's Brand – which was actually initially the title for any Sunsguard sworn to service in the temple. Granted, none as ridiculous as the ones I'm saddled with, but there are some gems, from what I remember. I'd have to look them up. Actually, I believe you're the first instance of the Incendiary having an active Enforcer, so there may very well be a special title just for that."
"That's never been used?"
"You don't need a position to be filled for it to exist," Kir snorted, "It's a governing institution, there will always be excessive paperwork that no one bothers to read."
:Like your enforcer applications,: Anur snickered mentally, not wanting to reference something that they wouldn't be able to safely explain the humor of.
:Precisely,: Kir sent back dryly, physically turning to look at Anika again and continuing aloud, "Have you ever seen things like that before? In shades of odd colors and glowing power?"
"No," she said immediately, expression turning worried again, "What does it mean?"
"Nothing bad," Kir reassured her, "It's simply another way of seeing the world. With focus, you should be able to ignore it and see things as you usually do, it will simply take practice. Burning sage and sandalwood can help make things more clear – there are other specific blends but they're difficult to obtain."
"Sage and sandalwood," Anika nodded slowly, "So the incense burning now might be making it more vivid?"
"Entirely possible, I'd even say likely."
"Well," Anika sighed, "It is nice to know I'm not going mad then, seeing things that aren't there."
"The next priest to be sent out will hopefully have some abilities with mage-sight so they can monitor the stain more effectively, but this will allow you to keep an eye on it as well," Kir explained, "I'm sure they'd be able to help you manage it if it gets out of hand, but you can always write to me – in Sunhame would probably be the best bet."
"I thank you," Anika bowed her head before standing, "I think I had best try and sleep again."
"We should probably do the same," Anur echoed, standing and offering Kir a hand to pull him to his feet. Anika gave Kir a searching look, Kir simply bearing her scrutiny before whatever it was she was looking for was apparently found and they exchanged brief blessing gestures before she turned on her heel and departed. At a much more brisk, confident pace than the meandering stroll she'd been practicing when they'd first seen her.
Good. They had helped.
"Come on Anur, riding out tomorrow is going to be blasted unpleasant if we don't manage to get a few hours at least," Kir murmured, leading the way inside.
It was strange, Anur mused, shutting the door behind them. He had gone outside unable to sleep because he kept thinking of his brother facing the First Order trials – and nothing of that worry, of that concern had been addressed. Absolutely none of that too-little, too-late anxiety had been resolved.
But nonetheless, he was able to drop straight into sleep.
