Before-Notes:
1. Back by popular demand, the "politics" returned in the form of two interludes. Skip them if you're not interested in the background.
2. This chapter starts off fairly calm before somewhat exploding at the end. I guess that's become my habit.
3. I love reviews. If you gave me one, it'd really make my day.
CHAPTER 11: BATH OF BLOOD
~+.:.|:|:~~~~:|:|.:.+~
Belinsk, morning
Nowell stumbled out of her hotel room. Ever since she'd arrived at Belinsk, she'd been having dreams of that mysterious, black robed man. Every time, she awoke panting, disoriented and confused. She had no idea why.
Turning her mind to more rational matters, she wondered what she would do if she couldn't find her brother and Kraden. What would she ever tell her mother? In the later parts of her travels with Piers, Nowell kept coming across stories of Rief's travels with Matthew and the rest of the party, in addition to hearing about the calamity the Eclipse brought. She was sure her beloved twerp of a brother was in hugely over his head.
She'd never forgive herself is something had happened to him. She had told herself that Rief would be fine when she decided to sail off with Piers, but she was never sure. After all, Rief had been in the center of the Eclipse. Nowell had promised her mother she'd watch over Rief, and then abandoned him to go on some dumb boat ride. She'd been blindly smitten with a man she barely knew, who was actually thousands of years older than her and probably looked right through her the whole time. What kind of excuse was that? Her mother was probably of the most forgiving people in the world (and also the most boring), but Nowell knew she'd be finished the moment she set foot in Imil again.
Nowell had been a complete moron. She knew her mother had been even worse. If Rief is still alive, Nowell thought, I hope that love won't make him into the idiot I am.
And then, almost like an answer to all her burning questions, Matthew was standing just a few paces away from her in the hotel lobby.
Without thinking, she cried out his name.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Ayuthay
Today, the Ice Queen had a visitor. This sort of encounter always produced a winner and a loser. And she had lost.
"What is it that you want from me?" she asked him. "I can see quite well that you don't need my Psynergy."
"No, I don't need your Psynergy," Arcanus agreed. "I'd like you to do my bidding though, after you conquer the mind of a certain someone."
"And who might that be?"
"Your previous carrier."
"But he's just a boy," she protested. "I only enslave adult men."
"Ah, but now I've enslaved you," Arcanus said, smiling triumphantly. "You'll do as I say."
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Belinsk
"Uhh hey… have I met you?" Matthew asked, blushing with embarrassment. "You look familiar, but I can't place it."
"I'm Nowell, you know, Rief's sister! We met at the Konpa Ruins," Nowell exclaimed.
"Oh yeah, I do remember you," Matthew said apologetically, not quite sure how to handle the half-hysterical girl he'd been ambushed by. He'd only seen her once before.
"Is Rief with you?"
"No."
"Do you know where he is?" Nowell asked, her heart beginning to pound. "Is he okay?"
"I don't know where he is," Matthew admitted. "Last I heard he was in Ayuthay's capital," he explained, before telling her all about the Ayuthayan prince's disappearance as well as much of what she missed during the Eclipse.
"Well, thank you for looking after my brother; sorry for the burden," Nowell said after he had finished.
"Oh, Rief wasn't that much of a burden," Matthew assured. "I'm sure he's fine wherever he is. He can take care of himself."
Nowell seriously doubted that.
"Are you sure you should be here?" Matthew asked.
"Why not?" Nowell replied.
"Well, this place is in a civil war, and it's not really a good time to be a human in Belinsk," Matthew explained.
"How long," Nowell asked, "have you been here yourself?"
"Nearly a month," Matthew said, looking down.
"Why?"
"I'm waiting," he said softly, "for Karis and Tyrell to return."
"If you can survive a month here, I'm sure I can too," she said dryly.
"I'll leave soon though," Matthew vowed, now facing away from her. "I told Karis I'd go searching for her in a month, and that time has almost passed. My Echo Gem will lead me to her."
Nowell could see it; it was glaringly obvious. He's totally insane, almost as bad as me!
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Ayuthay, a day later
Rief's mind was held captive by dreams. Before him stood a woman, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He recognized her as the Ice Queen, but he never recalled her being this beautiful.
A part of his mind was aware of the danger. Hordes of men had fallen victims to her spell, becoming her slaves. He vaguely knew he could easily suffer the same fate. And yet, for some reason, it didn't seem to matter. All that mattered to him was her.
Rief was consumed by an unfamiliar feeling. He had only felt anything like this once before- in Chafko's chamber, when he had looked at Chafko's scantily clad servant girls (or whatever those were). But what he had felt in Chafko's chambers was nothing compared to the spell he was now under.
Rief had no idea where this feeling came from, and had no idea how to handle it. Perhaps this was what they called love? But how could he be in love with the Ice Queen?
But it didn't seem to matter why he was here and what he was doing. All that seemed to matter was how beautiful she was. Rief could only stare. He was dying to touch her, but somehow he couldn't. Somehow, he was frozen, and knew he couldn't move. He wished he could touch her, but somehow he knew it wasn't possible, and that made him sad. He wanted her. Badly. The ache that he felt was painful, but somehow he didn't want it to end. Instead, he could willingly just stand there, staring at her for an eternity. He wouldn't realize there was something terribly wrong.
He didn't register that the Ice Queen had managed to completely immobilize his brain as he lay unconscious. He didn't realize that he was rendered incapable of resisting the Tuaparang as they imprisoned him and stripped him of his possessions.
The Ice Queen had built for herself a palace in Rief's brain. He had let her. He had barely noticed, in fact. All he ever paid attention to was her presence, not what she or anyone else was doing. In his trance, he hadn't noticed that Arcanus had infiltrated into his mind and was probing, keen to discover everything there was to know about him.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Interlude: Background on Sahha, Part 1
Sahha was founded as a market town. For this purpose, it was located at an ideal position. It sat in the center of the valley that connected the Morgal's northwestern plateau to the rest of the country, while the rest was blocked off by either thick forests, steep mountains, or both.
Due to Sahha's status as a trading hub, a considerable number of beastmen (who were traditionally nomadic) settled down in the town, establishing themselves as traders. At first, they had an occasionally violent rivalry with the original human merchants, but eventually both sides came to see the necessity cooperation rather than competition.
From then on, Sahha's beastmen and humans lived in harmony, and they worked together to bring about a golden age of prosperity for the town. The town weathered quite well during the chaos and the wars of the previous decades. Even when humans from the surrounding countryside fought the Morgallian guerrilla army in the later stages of the Morgallian War of Independence, Sahha's ethnic harmony seemed to go undisturbed.
The harmony and stability Sahha enjoyed contrasted with the misery of the surrounding countryside. The rulers of both Sana and newly-independent Morgal completely ignored the plight of the rural hinterland, causing the peasants to remain illiterate and uneducated. As a result, wealthy city merchants were able to swindle them with outrageously lopsided deals. The rural humans were trapped in a cycle of backwardness and poverty, for which they blamed the city dwellers.
Many impoverished rural humans moved to the city to improve their miserable lives, but they were met with a mix of condescension, hostility and fear from the city dwellers. They were seen as both backwards and criminally-inclined due to their impoverished backgrounds, and were shunned and oppressed within their new homes. Indeed, when Kolima was "cursed", Sahha's leaders preferred to cut off all contact with the neighboring village in order to "prevent the dirty curse from spreading", rather than aiding the neighboring village in its time of need.
The Eclipse ended the façade of stability. During the Eclipse, the Morgallian army, which ran the country in the absence of the king, did nothing to help the eastern regions, preferring to defend "true" Morgallian beastmen. This, compounded with the fact that Volechek, the symbol of the nation, had been responsible for starting the Eclipse, caused the humans' well of grievances to overflow. Soon after the Eclipse ended, rebellion spread like wildfire…
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Sahha Town, the next day, afternoon
By the time that Sahha came into sight, Karis was about ready to collapse. They had spent every waking hour walking, almost constantly, for days.
Well at least Tyrell agreed that we would rest in Kolima if there's a place for us there, she thought appreciatively.
Karis couldn't get over her sense of like déjà vu. She was traveling into Northeast Morgal to save a royal prisoner, just like she had months ago. Just like the last time, there was a considerable threat that the rescue attempt could lead them into a nasty trap. I sure hope it doesn't turn into anything like last time, Karis thought apprehensively, recalling how they had ultimately been manipulated into helping trigger the Grave Eclipse.
Another similarity, Karis reflected, is that I'm on this trip because of Tyrell. Last time, the original reason they ventured into Morgal was to obtain a Roc Feather, to replace the Soarwing that Tyrell ruined in his botched flying attempt.
Tyrell had always been a mystery to Karis. On the one hand, he quite often acted so recklessly that one would conclude he was a complete idiot. On the other hand, she knew Tyrell actually wasn't the least bit stupid; he was actually quite perceptive. But why, then, does he act so brashly, time after time? Surely he must realize his mistake.
Karis recalled that after Tyrell burned down Patcher's Place, her father Ivan had told her that Garet, Tyrell's father, could be quite reckless. Maybe it was a family trait. But, according to her father, Garet never did anything that stupid.
Maybe, Karis realized, it's because of Garet in a different way. For all his childhood, Tyrell had lived in Garet's shadow. People called him "Garet's son" more than "Tyrell", and she knew Tyrell hated that. Perhaps Tyrell feels the need to prove himself in order to stand as an individual in his own right. In addition, Karis figured that Tyrell probably feared failing to live up to his father's example. Karis could easily relate to that; she felt the same way sometimes.
But I always had my mother, who reassured me that I didn't need to be a clone of my father to be a good person, Karis thought. In contrast, Tyrell's mother left when he was three years old, never to be seen again, after a huge fight with his father. As she understood it, Garet had banished her. Ever since then, Tyrell and his father had lived with Isaac, Jenna and their son Matthew. That was why Matthew and Tyrell were practically like brothers. And yet, they were so different.
Perhaps his mother's absence could be another reason for Tyrell's antics, Karis pondered. On the other hand, though, Rief lacks a father, and he doesn't have any glaring personality defects.
Karis remembered that Amiti lacked both parents. And on top of that he had the stress of being the presumptive heir to a kingdom. But he doesn't seem that messed up, Karis remarked to herself.
Then, she realized how wrong she was. On the surface, Amiti seemed fine, but he was actually one of the most awkward people she'd ever met, in so many different ways. When he was leaving Ayuthay, he didn't say goodbye to anyone except his uncle, the king. When she asked why, Amiti told her that he didn't think he had any friends there. He'd lived nineteen years in the capital city as the prince of the kingdom, yet he didn't think he had any good friends there.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Interlude Continued
…The human rebellion started in the Southeast of Morgal, in Port Rago, where the humans were relatively wealthy, profiting from trade in the Eastern Sea. Both the leadership of the rebels and their funding came from Rago, but most of the rank-and-file guerillas came from the rural Northeast.
Because of their different backgrounds, the northern humans saw the conflict very differently than their southern brethren did. Rago's population consisted almost exclusively of humans, who were educated and affluent. They perceived a national struggle to end Morgal's "foreign occupation". They aimed to create a new country they could call their own, and enter a golden age unhindered by Morgal's "oppression". Although southerners did complain of the unfair trade balance between Belinsk and Rago, The northern human peasant didn't understand any of this; in fact, he probably wouldn't even recognize the name "Pamorasak", which the rebellion's southern leadership had invented for the new country. Instead, most of them merely saw the struggle as an opportunity to finally take back the wealth that was rightfully there's, which the wealth that the upper classes in Sahha had been hoarding.
When Morgal's state authority collapsed, these bitter impoverished humans suddenly found themselves in a position of power. Many decided to exact a terrible revenge for all the years of oppression they'd suffered.
For a week, the insurgents terrorized the beastmen of the city, as well as any wealthy humans deemed to be pro-Morgal. In some areas of the town, the entire resident population was forced to flee as the rebels seized their property.
Then, enraged by the horrific abuses committed by the humans and emboldened by news of the Morgallian army's advances, the beastmen "self-defense" militias struck back. These militias were for everything but self-defense. Like the rebels before them, the militias didn't distinguish between civilians and fighters, slaughtering (and often later devouring) any humans who were unfortunate enough to cross their path.
After this cycle of retaliatory massacres had substantially reduced the city's population, both the Morgal and rebel armies decided to intervene to save lives. Neither side recognized that civilians themselves had perpetrated the massacres, instead blaming each other. After the two armies had created their own shares of destruction, they managed to work out a ceasefire, to save the city they both claimed to have come to rescue from further carnage. By that point, however, there wasn't much left to save.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Sahha Town
Sahha Town was unsettlingly quiet. Baqsu had told them three days ago that a battle was raging in the town, so Karis had expected to walk into the crossfire. Rather than two battling armies, however, she couldn't see anyone in the town. This made her uneasy: the previous fiasco in the forest left her afraid of another ambush.
The town bore no resemblance to the bustling market town that Karis had visited with the rest of the troupe just a few months ago. She had no idea how much of the damage was from the Eclipse, but she could tell the current war was responsible for much of it from the clear signs of recent fires. The monsters of the Eclipse never brought fire. Karis wasn't sure it could be called a "town" anymore- it was more of a corpse of one.
Karis caught sight of the statue in the town center. It had been such a beautiful statue, she remembered, made of glittering marble. Now it was ruined and covered in ash, with parts breaking off and one large crack shaped like a lightning bolt running down the center. Karis recalled from the statue's inscription that it was dedicated to humans and beastmen who were "crusaders for peace and harmony" between the two races.
The whole city, Karis reflected, shares the fate of that statue. It once had peace and harmony, but now it is broken, obliterated by this horrible war.
"Hey!" a gruff voice yelled. "You furless human, you, there! What are you doing here?!"
She whipped around to see three beastmen leering at her and Tyrell menacingly. Oh no, not this again, she despaired.
"We're just passing through," Karis answered, her hand immediately reaching for her bow.
"Don't you know," asked one soldier, "you're violating the ceasefire agreement?"
"We weren't the ones who signed that agreement," Tyrell shot back.
"We're mere travelers, not rebels," Karis explained.
"Oh, so you expect us to believe that crap?" demanded another soldier. "What sort of ordinary traveler is armed and ventures into a warzone?"
"So," the third soldier asked slyly, "what should we do with these buffoons? They broke the ceasefire agreement and now they're at our mercy."
"If you lay a finger on them," threatened a quivering voice from behind the soldiers, "my bow will slay you!"
It was Baqsu. He must have followed us this whole way, Karis realized.
Suddenly, Baqsu collapsed forward, and fell into a pair of thick, beastman arms that shout out from behind him. The decorated, hulking figure that appeared behind Baqsu looked vaguely familiar to Karis. He ripped Baqsu's bow out of his hands and broke it in half like a twig.
"Brothers, the human pup was right. They are indeed travelers, though I wouldn't call them 'ordinary'" the huge beastman told his subordinates. Clearly, this beastman, with all his regalia, was a decorated commander. His soldiers looked at him in disbelief.
"In fact," continued the commander, "if you were to engage them in battle, I don't think you'd stand a chance. These are the children of the Warriors of Vale who saved our kingdom from the Eclipse. If you harm them, you'd have to answer to the queen... and me. I expect you'd treat them with the respect they deserve."
The soldiers hastily backed off from Karis and Tyrell and began apologizing profusely and bowing to their commander. They didn't, however, apologize to Karis or Tyrell.
The commander came forward and offered his hand. "Hello," he said. "I am General Fashty. I believe we've met in the Belinsk Palace?"
"Oh, yes, I thought I recognized you," Karis replied. "It's good to see you again."
Was he there, Karis wondered anxiously, when Tyrell threw that temper tantrum at the court?
"I remembered you too," mumbled Tyrell, looking away as he clasped Fashty's hand.
"Oh Tyrell, I remember you quite well too. How could I forget the show you put on for us?" Fashty replied with a polite smile and a chuckle. Karis shuddered.
Fashty's quite an interesting character, Karis thought. Somehow, he managed give off the tough, even brutish, air of a military commander and the polished wit of the royal court at the same time.
"I assume you two are heading north to rescue Ayuthay's Prince? I can escort you to Kolima, if you wish," offered Fashty.
"Yes, that would be wonderful of you," Karis quickly said, before Tyrell had a chance to refuse.
"It's my pleasure," Fashty replied. "After all, it's miniscule compared to how you ended the Eclipse."
"Well, you have our gratitude in any case," said Karis.
Fashty ordered his subordinates to pick up Baqsu's unconscious body and carry it with them. Baqsu would be taken prisoner. It distressed Karis to think about this. She was in debt to both Baqsu and Fashty, but she worried about what the beastmen would do to Baqsu while he was in captivity. She knew she couldn't do anything to help him though- she had promised Sveta not to get involved in the conflict, and especially not to take a side. And furthermore, whatever Baqsu would endure in Morgal's prisons, Amiti probably had it much worse under the custody of the Tuaparang. Karis knew it would be ridiculous to distract herself (and Tyrell) from saving Amiti with the diversion of saving Baqsu.
"Which route," Fashty asked her, "do you wish to take? The route leading to Kolima's main entrance… or you could show me the route through the sewer through which you were probably planning to go?"
He knows about that! Karis grimaced as she thought that peaceful Kolima would soon be overrun by the army. Beside her Tyrell clenched his fists and looked away.
Karis couldn't help but wonder if Fashty had a second motive. After all, wasn't this turning into a great opportunity for him to scout out the territory upon which he'd be making his future assault plans?
"We'll take the main entrance," Tyrell answered grimly. [BETA:maybe a better adjective? It should imply that he has come to a grave realization]
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Kolima
Something about Fashty gave Tyrell the chills. Fashty had saved them from another tussle with soldiers, but instead of being thankful, Tyrell felt profoundly disturbed. Perhaps there was nothing sinister going on at all. But then again, didn't it seem awfully convenient that while Fashty was nobly escorting "civilians" across a warzone, he'd get a tour of the territory behind enemy lines? It wasn't only Tyrell's instinct that was telling him something was wrong –his brain concurred.
It wouldn't be long before they reached Kolima's gate, and Tyrell had a driving desire to get rid of Fashty before they did. He wanted absolutely no part in the general's schemes. He didn't know whether Karis was thinking the same thing, or if she would be annoyed with him for trying to get rid of Fashty, but he didn't have the luxury of asking her opinion.
"Sir, General Fashty," Tyrell began, "we are close enough to Kolima to make it there on our own. Don't you think things could get ugly if you and your beastmen soldiers come to Kolima's gate with us?"
Fashty paused awhile before answering, apparently contemplating his response. "I believe my soldiers and I can take care of ourselves, even in such a tense situation, though I appreciate your concern," he said finally.
"I don't doubt that," Karis replied to him. "But we're concerned mainly in self-interest. We would rather not risk getting caught in the crossfire between you and Kolima's humans."
Tyrell was relieved that Karis was on his side in this. Now, things would be so much easier.
Fashty paused again, thinking, as his subordinates looked at him anxiously. "Sveta is your friend, is she not?" he asked.
"Yes, she is our friend," Karis affirmed. "Morgal is lucky to have such a pure-hearted queen."
It's too bad that this pure-hearted queen is stuck with a military full of bloodthirsty thugs, Tyrell retorted silently. He held his tongue, though, mainly for Amiti's sake. He believed Karis when she told him that if he acted upon his impulses, it could delay their progress.
"Do you know," Fashty asked, "how it would affect poor Queen Sveta if she were to lose nearly half of Morgal's territory and all its access trade in the Eastern Sea, just after her coronation?"
Tyrell remembered how uncomfortable Sveta had been on that throne, how unsure she had been of her position. Sveta had always said that she knew little of politics, and ruling a kingdom was hard even if you were knowledgeable, charismatic and wise. Sveta clearly didn't think she was any of these. No wonder she relied on those manipulative advisors so much- advisors like Fashty, Tyrell thought darkly.
"She might never recover from it- and neither would Morgal," Fashty argued, turning toward the West, at Belinsk. "In fact, we would be terribly weak afterward, and Bilibin or Sana might even take the chance to invade us. Imagine… Morgal would be oppressed, and Sveta would be executed."
Fashty turned back to face the travelers. "We, the sons of this land, have been fighting hard, laying down our lives, to save our beloved Motherland and Queen from this horrid fate, and won't rest until the threat recedes," Fashty vowed. His subordinates looked at him in admiration and agreement, feeling full of purpose.
Tyrell wasn't convinced though. As Fashty spoke of how he and his soldiers were nobly fighting to save their "Motherland" and Queen, he couldn't help but remember that burnt human village whose inhabitants had all been massacred and then eaten by Morgal's army.
Rage churned in Tyrell's chest. Fashty was using Sveta and "Motherland" as an excuse for all the horrible things the army was doing. For Fashty, a couple thousand massacred humans was nothing if it was to save the "Motherland." Tyrell did his best to contain his rage, though, letting Karis handle the situation, knowing that she felt the same way.
"And now, you want us to help you, don't you?" Karis deduced. "You want us to play along with your pretense of 'escorting us', to give you a chance to scout out Kolima, which I assume you will attack next, once you've finished off the resistance in Sahha, right?"
"You're a smart girl," Fashty said with a smile. "You're father Ivan should be proud of you."
"Thank you," Karis said stiffly.
"Well, what do you say? Will you do just this little bit?"
"Your appeal is very moving," Karis said. Tyrell suddenly feared that this creep could have actually persuaded her.
"However," Karis continued, "I also made a vow to your Queen, at her request, that we would avoid getting involved in the conflict."
"But if it would help Queen Sveta greatly, even then you'd refuse?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Yes," Karis replied. "As men of the military, who must always follow orders… surely you wouldn't try to make me break a vow to your queen, would you?"
"…of course not," affirmed Fashty. "We will depart now, to scout the area on our own. Farewell."
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Ayuthay
Where am I, Rief wondered, confused, a little panicked, and only half awake. He looked around to see that he was in an elaborately decorated bath chamber. He was standing in the bath, and the water was up to his knees. His memory offered no explanations for how he had gotten here. In fact, he was having trouble remembering anything at all.
For some reason, something told him he had been staring at a particularly beautiful woman- probably the Ice Queen- for a very, very long period of time. He shuddered with embarrassment. No, he told himself, it's extremely unlikely that that's what happened. It makes no sense and explains nothing.
In the bottom of his view, he saw a cloud of red spreading in the water. What was that?
Suddenly, Rief heard a gurgling sound from beneath him. He looked down, and inadvertently gasped at the grotesque sight of an old man's corpse. The man had been stabbed through the throat, many times. Rivers of blood were pouring into the water from his neck. The old man's mouth and eyes were wide open, in shock.
Rief yelped out in pain as something very sharp pierced his foot. He must have dropped this object out of shock when he saw the dying old man. His nerves screamed in pain as it ripped through his foot. Out of impulse, he reached down, and his hand grasped a handle. He yanked the object up, and his foot exploded with even more pain. The pain clouded his tired senses, and he writhed in the agony. And yet, the haze of the pain did not obscure to Rief the fact that he was holding a knife. This was the object he had dropped.
I've been holding a knife, Rief thought, his heart pulsing in his throat as he digested what the information meant.
He looked down at the corpse. The man's jaw was mutilated, but he still recognized the face of King Paithos of Ayuthay.
This was crazy. Now, both Rief's foot and his brain were screaming. Words could not describe how unbearable the agony was. He writhed, clutched himself, and screamed aloud again.
Rief had no explanation for whatever madness this was, but there was one thing that did make sense- far too much sense.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Next Chapter: The Swan Prince
Author's Notes:
*Next chapter will be a major one.
*Don't forget to review- I'd love to hear any response you have, it doesn't have to be polished or anything. It takes only a minute.
*The poll on my user-profile-page is still up. Please vote if you haven't already.