It was another cold, bright and quiet morning. Pelleas stepped outside his tent to find that someone else was up early, as well.
Senator Maian was busy collecting the firewood they hadn't used during the night. She was carrying the smaller bits, the bigger ones were floating behind her.
Pelleas had already noticed that Maian often relied on magic to do things for her. It was certainly ingenious.
Pelleas went over to join her.
"Er, excuse me, Senator..."
She looked up. "Ah, King Pelleas. What can I do for you?", she asked, smiling.
"I just wanted to ask you a few things."
She nodded encouragingly while dropping the branches onto one of the wagons.
"Do you know why the senators used a Blood Pact on me?"
"No, I do not", she replied with a sigh. "I had no idea about this at first, or I would have brought this matter to Sanaki's attention immediately. I found out by reading another senator's mind, but I had no time to tell anyone before I had to flee Sienne... If I had to wager a guess, I would say it was because the senate wanted to use your soldiers as pawns to carry out their plan to eradicate the laguz. That is why they made you ambush the retreating Laguz Alliance. When that plan failed, the senate took direct control over the Central Army, and tried to make Crimea help them. But they had no means of blackmailing the Queen, and Elincia refused their request, even risked her own life to stop us from fighting…"
"She seems to be an incredibly brave woman."
"Yes, she is, no doubt about that."
"The senate wanted to eradicate the laguz... do they truly hate them so much?"
"Most of them do, yes. The only ones they despise even more are the hybrids..."
"Hybrids?"
"People with mixed blood. I am trying to teach this word to as many people as possible, I think the others are very rude. But come to think of it... what if the war against the laguz was just the beginning? What if they planned to wipe out those with the blood of the laguz next? What a terrifying thought that is..."
Pelleas watched her pensively. Just as he was forming a thought in his mind, she frowned at him.
"Please do not compare me to a lowly traitor such as Lekain. Some of us are striving very hard to be decent people."
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to – did you just read my mind?"
"Yes, I did. I possess the same powers as Lady Micaiah – except for the Galdr of Release, of course."
Nala, Maian's guard, came over to join them.
"You slept well, senator?"
"Believe me, if I had a nightmare, you would notice. But thank you for asking – I slept well indeed."
Another dragon...
Nala gave Pelleas a penetrating look, then, she turned back to her lady.
"Senadora, - "
The rest was lost to Pelleas as Nala spoke rapidly in the Old Tongue. Maian nodded, then shook her head.
"We can discuss this once we are in the air. We will have enough spare time on the road."
"Right. Then I'll go warm up your pegasus."
"Should you not do a warm-up yourself?"
Nala laughed. "Honestly, at times you can be very funny. I am a dragon – I don't need any warm-up. You know, dragons, that big fire-breathing species. Did you never wonder where the fire comes from? We're pretty hot on the inside."
Maian raised one of her delicate eyebrows. "I see."
Nala grinned.
"Hey, hey, senator!"
It was one of Maian's cats, Tlia.
"What is it, Tlia?"
"We're in trouble! The others – well, most of them – are slacking off!"
"Slacking off? Whatever do you mean?"
"Well, we've been travelling for days without seeing anything of those Disciples the other teams are so worried about." Somehow, she managed to make the hair on her tail stand on ends. "They're getting careless, not paying enough attention. I, too, feel totally at ease, but I also know it's dangerous – they could attack any time, from any direction. We have to stay sharp!"
"Yes, you are right. This feeling is too comfortable... Tlia, I hereby charge you with the task of reminding everyone what it means to be part of the Hawk Army. Make sure they stay on their guard."
"At once! I'll make sure they remember, senator!"
The cat dashed away.
"My. I would have never thought that hyperactive little Tlia could be good for anything besides running errands", Nala observed.
"Oh, that is not true. She always takes my orders very seriously and carries them out precisely."
"Hm. She's very fond of you, I wonder why..."
"Well, I did save her life – the same way I saved yours."
"What do you mean by that?", Pelleas asked.
"All my laguz guards are former slaves. Even though slavery was declared illegal over twenty years ago, some nobles ignored that, and continued to keep slaves. I freed them, and most of them decided to stay with me."
"You mean, you broke into other nobles' houses?", he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, I did. It was kind of funny. But I had to be very careful not to get caught, or Sanaki and I would have had some explaining to do."
"You were acting under Apostle Sanaki's orders?", Pelleas gasped.
"Yes. She wanted to end the corruption of Begnion's nobility."
"I see... she really is a good ruler... I wish I could be more like her, or Queen Elincia."
"But you can."
"Really?"
"Yes. You can be anything, if you only try hard enough."
"Well... maybe I'll try."
They were joined by Tibarn, who was flapping his enormous wings in order to warm them up.
"Good morning", he said cheerfully. "Do you have any predictions for us, senator? What's the weather going to be like?"
"Well, since there is no wind, and no clouds in sight, I believe we will have good weather all day. But apart from that, I cannot say anything."
"I see. If you have a vision, just tell us."
"Of course."
"Well, I'll be going for now", Nala said, and walked away to fetch Maian's steed.
"I think I should prepare as well", Pelleas added.
"Just one moment", Maian said. "I noticed that you do not seem to be used to walking so much. You could ride one of the supply wagons instead."
"Yes, thank you."
Tibarn shifted his weight to one leg and crossed his arms as they watched Pelleas leave.
"Considering he's the only son of Mad King Ashnard, scourge of Crimea and butcher of innocents, he's quite the mama's boy", he observed.
"It is hardly his fault", Maian chided. "Queen Almedha does not exactly encourage him to become more independent – on the contrary, she is a very doting mother."
"Hm, well. Whatever. I meant to ask you something – why did you join our group? Don't get me wrong, I sincerely appreciate your being here, but I thought you would want to travel with Sanaki."
Maian closed her eyes. "I wanted to, at first, but – I have several reasons why I chose this team in the end. One is – the Galdr of Release. Sanaki was unable to use it, but Micaiah could – only a direct descendant of Altina is supposed to possess that power. I have no explanation for this..."
"Maybe Micaiah is the offspring of a member of the imperial family?"
"No, that is not possible. All births and deaths have been registered. She could not be from a cadet branch."
"And now you are worried about the Apostle's reaction to all of this?"
"Yes. You see, Sephiran and I have kept a few things from her, and now she might be starting to catch on. I am frightened... frightened to tell her the truth. You see, there is a chance that the senate was right about her not being the true apostle... we were hoping that Sanaki would become a true apostle, but it appears that the powers could not be transferred to her..."
"What do you mean?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. I have already said too much. If you would excuse me, I have preparations to attend to."
"Sure thing", Tibarn replied, realising he wouldn't be able to get more out of her.
Perhaps another time. Not that beorc politics interested him all that much – Tibarn thought their way of clinging to bloodlines to be rather dumb.
"King Tibarn, Queen Elincia, Senator Maian, we may need to halt for a bit!", Ranulf called. "We have some stragglers lagging behind."
"You mean Almedha and Pelleas are slowing us down again", Tibarn growled. "We have to reach the Tower of Guidance as soon as possible. We can't always have them hampering our progress."
"I will take care of this", the senator offered. "But you may have to wait for a bit..."
She turned her pegasus back north and flew off to the rear of the army.
"Reyson! We'll stop here", Tibarn called. "You can rest and give your wings a break."
Reyson came swooping down.
"I can remember a time when a journey like that would have exhausted you", Ranulf said to Reyson. "You're really doing well."
"Yes, physically I'm quite healthy, but I can't say I'm really happy about it..."
"Why would that be?", Elincia asked.
"We of the heron clan can feel the energy of others. In times of war, negative energy is dominant, and we sicken. Now that all of the people have been petrified, the energy is gone and, physically, I feel much better. It's unsettling to feel healthy, and know that the reason is such a sad one."
"It's a terrible irony", Elincia sighed. "We finally have the peace we have been praying for, at the cost of all freedom, everywhere."
"Could this truly be the world Goddess Ashera wants for us?", Reyson asked with a frown.
"No, this is the world she had to give us after we ruined hers", Ranulf replied.
Janaff and Ulki returned from their scouting trip.
"Welcome back", Tibarn said. "Any sign of the Disciples?"
"No, not one."
"I don't like this. Why are they leaving us alone?"
"I'm not sure I see your problem, Tibarn", Ranulf said. "If they're going to let us stroll through, I won't complain."
"Not me. Right or wrong, I would prefer a stand-up fight. Right now, even."
"What are you saying, King Tibarn?", Elincia exclaimed. "How could you wish that upon us? I don't understand you."
"Right now, the world is calm, peaceful... almost eerily so. It almost feels – comfortable. If this goes on, we might relax, lose our edge. I'm worried that we'll get careless."
The others considered this.
"Everyone, I want to make one thing perfectly clear: this isn't a natural peace. It's Ashera's work. Don't forget for an instant that the world isn't supposed to be like this. It should be noisy, vibrant and chaotic."
"You're right", Elincia said. "A peace built on the sacrifice of so many lives is monstrous and unjust. It cannot be allowed to stand."
"I didn't mean to say that I'm losing the motivation to save the petrified ones", Ranulf protested. "It's just that, before we started talking about it, I felt – complacent. Is it just me?"
"The spirit of order is hanging heavy across the land", Tibarn replied. "When we fight, we get a dose of chaos, which might help us to get in touch with our true selves. If our enemies have figured that out as well, it might explain why they are staying away."
"Are you tired, Pelleas? Should we rest?", Almedha asked, deeply worried about her son's well-being.
"No, I'm fine."
"The others ought to be more considerate of you. In your veins runs the royal blood of both Daein and Goldoa. This makes you very special, my son."
Pelleas made no reply.
The sound of wings made them look up. It was Senator Maian's pegasus. Apparently, she had turned back from the vanguard to come looking for them. The pegasus touched down and cantered a few paces before Maian reined it in and turned around to face them.
"I do hate to interrupt you, but the other leaders request that you speed up a little. We are trying to save the world, and are operating on a very tight schedule."
"My son is tired!", Almedha exclaimed.
Maian's eyebrows rose. "I remember suggesting to him the use of a wagon just this morning."
"Well, there is not a single wagon near us, as you can clearly see", Almedha retorted.
Maian bit her lip while tilting her head to one side.
"This is neither the right place nor time, and I am aware of the fact that I am going to inflict pain on you... but if it helps this army to reach its goal, I will do it regardless. Besides, I believe you ought to know..."
"Know what?"
Maian took a deep breath. "That you are not mother and son."
"What?! Preposterous!", Almedha gasped, outraged.
Pelleas, to her surprise, didn't seem shocked.
"I have been thinking the same thing for a while", he admitted.
"What – what are you talking about? Pelleas – surely you jest!"
"Queen Almedha, please listen to me very, very carefully", Maian implored. "I would not have brought this up if I was not absolutely certain. I have also discussed this with Nala – she is very sensitive, and can tell if someone has mixed blood. You are a Goldoan princess – a laguz – who married a beorc. So, naturally, your child has to have mixed blood. This boy, however, is no hybrid. He is a Spirit Charmer."
Almedha gaped at her before whipping her head around to stare at Pelleas, silently begging him to refute Maian's words.
"That's right", Pelleas confirmed, much to Almedha's horror. "I started having doubts way back, when you said that you recognised my mark... you couldn't because it's not a birthmark. It's called 'Spirit Protection', and it comes from forming a pact with a spirit. I was 14 when I acquired it."
Almedha felt like someone had just pulled the rug out from under her feet. "But then – how – why..."
"Both of you were deceived by Izuka, who was working for the senate", Maian explained softly. "I believe they were just looking for someone they could use as a king, so they would be able to control Daein. Izuka never had a good reputation... He merely used your wishes and hopes to manipulate both of you. I am truly sorry."
"But then – where is my son?!"
"I do not know. But I promise – should I ever manage to find out anything, I will let you know."
"How could I possibly trust you? How do I know you won't deceive me, as well?", Almedha shouted, losing her composure.
"I never knew my mother."
"I – did not know."
"Senator, what should I do now?", Pelleas interjected, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. "Now that I know for certain that I'm not King Ashnard's son..."
"You are still the King of Daein. And I believe that blood does not matter all that much. It is your decision."
"Perhaps, but I never was a good king... all I ever did was cause everyone trouble... I could abdicate the throne."
"Yes, you could. But in whose favour? We do not know the whereabouts of the true prince."
"Well, if blood truly doesn't matter – I'll make Micaiah queen. The people love her, and I know she'd be a good queen."
"If you wish to do that, you should discuss it with your retainers and Micaiah first. And, of course, you would have to inform the Apostle, as well."
"I see. I'll think about it."
"Good. Now, come on. The others are waiting up ahead."
Pelleas gave her a curt nod and strode away. Almedha stayed where she was, rooted to the spot. When Izuka had reunited her with her "son", she had been overjoyed. She'd spent decades looking for him, and to finally have him back had been the greatest gift imaginable.
And now, it turned out that this boy wasn't her son at all, and she was back to square one. An ugly part of her reared its head and suggested that he had taken advantage of her, used her for his own ends. She forced these thoughts out of her mind – Izuka had been the one to bring Pelleas to her, claiming to have found him in an orphanage. If Pelleas had suspected that he was Ashnard's son before meeting Izuka, he would have made a move much sooner. No, she couldn't, in good conscience, blame the boy.
The rustling of fabric roused her from her stupor. Maian had dismounted and was leading the pegasus by the reins. She reached out her free hand, and for a brief moment, Almedha sensed pain, grief and longing – the pain of a child who had never met its mother. It was gone almost immediately, as though Maian had only wished to show her that she truly understood her pain. Letting out a wet gasp, Almedha accepted the proffered hand, and they began walking. As she cried silent tears, Maian started humming a melody. Somehow, it reminded her of Lehran, and she managed a fond smile, despite the pain.
Reyson had to admit that Maian was good at persuading others, for she managed to make Pelleas and Almedha catch up with them. But he also sensed that something was very wrong – Almedha was in pain.
However, he had no time to worry about her because that very moment, Janaff reported that he and Ulki had spotted enemy forces to the south-west.
"How did they get so close without being noticed?", Tibarn asked sharply. "Did we have men out of position?"
"No, I just checked in", Ulki replied. "Enemy forces just suddenly appeared, without any sign or warning at all."
"Guess that's one good thing about fighting a goddess... things are sure to be exciting. Everyone, get in position!"
"An entire legion that can appear out of nowhere?", Reyson asked, flabbergasted. "Just who are those Disciples?"
"To be honest, I don't care who they are. I just want to knock a little disorder back into the world!"
Maian narrowed her eyes at the enemies.
"It is Valtome!", she hissed.
"My humblest apologies!", the senator called. "I hope we didn't sneak up on you. I'm sure that cheeky little queenlet is still amongst you? I hope so. I'm going to make her pay for defying me! Uweeee heee heeeeeee!"
"Valtome... I will make him pay for attacking my people, and starting war in my country!", Elincia exclaimed angrily, reaching for her sword, Amiti.
"No way, I'm going to claw his eyes out!", Tibarn objected, reaching out to stop her from drawing her blade.
"Pardon me", Maian interjected smoothly. "Empress Sanaki would have the greatest claim to his head – for committing treason. Therefore, punishing him is my task now."
Elincia and Tibarn exchanged a look.
"All right, you have the greater right to the kill", Tibarn conceded, while Elincia nodded. "Just make sure to do the job thoroughly!"
"Do you think you can handle him alone?", Elincia asked.
"Yes, I do. But if I should have any major problems, feel free to help me."
Apart from Elincia's and Maian's people, General Tauroneo, Zihark and Ilyana were travelling with them, as well as two of Ranulf's subordinates. The laguz transformed, the beorc readied their weapons, and the battle began.
To everyone's greatest surprise, Pelleas appeared, announcing that he would fight, as well. Tibarn told him to stay near Reyson and Ilyana.
Pelleas turned out to be a powerful dark sage, but Reyson also noticed that his magic was no match for Maian's. He also noticed that something about her seemed to bother Pelleas.
Very soon, the Hawk Army was in very big trouble. No matter how many enemies they defeated, more kept coming. And even though Elincia, Tibarn, Nala and Maian moved at top speed across the battlefield, they could not be everywhere at once. Tibarn ordered the soldiers into a defensive formation while he called the other leaders to a meeting.
"This is seriously bad", he said gravely. "Any smart ideas?"
He gave Maian a pointed look.
"There is a way, but I would prefer it not to do this..."
"Look, I don't care what it is, if you've got any means of getting us out of this mess alive, then use them! At this rate, they'll wipe us out."
Maian took a deep breath.
"Very well. For everyone's sake…" She dismounted. "Tlia, take the reins!"
"Yesss, my lady."
The cat reverted.
"Nala, I need you to cover for me. I will be completely defenceless while using it."
"Of course. Anyone trying to harm you will have to go through me first."
Nala towered over her lady, daring anyone to challenge her.
Maian closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed down and she seemed to relax. Reyson noticed this was an exercise very similar to the one he always did before using a galdr.
Maian folded her hands and when she opened her eyes again, they had turned green. The next moment, she spread a pair of grey wings, as big as Reyson's.
Several people let out gasps and exclamations. Nala growled at them, but Maian didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were fixed on a point very far away. She appeared to be in a kind of trance.
A gust of wind rustled through her wings, and a few feathers slowly drifted away. Maian took another deep breath, and began to sing.
She had a beautiful singing voice, but something about her song was deeply disturbing. The melody was slow and sad, and the lines were very fitting.
"What is that song, Reyson?", Tibarn asked, his wings tensing as if ready to take flight.
"It's a galdr, but it's unlike any I've ever heard. This one – is designed to call death."
"What, don't tell me she's trying to kill all of those soldiers with a galdr!Besides, why can she use one in the first place?"
"I don't know... But we were wrong to assume that only herons could use galdrar. We should have realised that sooner..."
"You're referring to the Galdr of Release?"
"That's right."
Reyson could feel the power Maian was releasing – the power to end lives. Around them, the Disciples of Order fell to their knees, clutching at their chests or throats as Maian's song drained them of their life force.
A tear was trickling down her cheek.
Soon, all the soldiers surrounding them were dead. Only Valtome and a handful of his men were left when the song ended. They looked rather frightened.
Maian was still staring into space. Nala reverted and snapped her fingers in front of the senator's face. Maian jumped, and her eyes focused on the dragon, turning brown again.
She looked around to see the result of what she had done.
"Is this – do I really possess that much power?", she whispered, sounding almost frightened.
"Looks like it", Nala replied.
"What – what have I done? This is not how it is supposed to be... I - "
"Now I finally understand!" Senator Valtome had found his voice at last. "Now it all makes sense – why no-one ever knew anything about your mother... why your father kept you hidden all the time – he was probably ashamed of you! You are not only a bastard-child, but also one of those cursed Branded!"
Everyone turned to stare at Maian, who had drained of all colour. Her eyes flashed an angry green, and Reyson could feel a wave of fury building within her.
"Someone's due for a rampage", Nala said cheerfully.
"How dare you!" Maian's voice jumped upwards by one octave. "How dare you talk about my family! How dare you insult me thus, you cursed human!" She jumped into the air and soared towards Valtome. "You have gone too far! It is partly your fault that I never met my own mother, that she was murdered along with the other herons! In the name of Empresses Sanaki and Misaha, my mother and all your other victims, I will punish you!"
"Hah! Winged vermin don't scare me!", he shouted back, creating a strong shield around himself.
Nala shook her head. "Poor fool... to push her even farther while she's already mad... He just dug his own grave."
Maian let out a cry of rage, clenching her hands into fists. Her entire body was radiating light, which formed into small rays that attacked Valtome and his living shield. The soldiers, despite Ashera's blessing, didn't last long, and Maian started battering the barrier. It soon collapsed under her merciless onslaught, and the next rays hit the senator directly.
Valtome collapsed, dead.
For a few seconds, Maian stayed where she was, about two meters above the ground, then, she alighted and folded her wings. She stepped over to Valtome's corpse and removed something. A golden chain like the one she had given to Soren.
She held it up and used magic to break the links holding it together. She let the pieces rain down onto Valtome's body.
"There will be no more senators coming from this family!"
"Senator! Senator! So, you really are a hybrid!", Tlia shouted, running over to her, literally bouncing with excitement. "I knew it! I knew it! That means I've won!"
Maian turned to face them.
"You seem delighted."
"Of course! It explains a lot about you – besides, Gannymeth now owes me ten gold!" She grinned at her boyfriend, a tiger.
"But that's half of my next month's income!", he protested.
"A bet's a bet."
"Oh, very well." He sighed. "Senator, half of my next month's income goes to Tlia."
"I shall make myself a mental note."
"You even got wings!", Tlia exulted. "May I touch them?"
"You may not!", Maian exclaimed, retreating a step.
"That's very rude of you, Tlia!", one of Maian's ravens chided. "Our wings aren't like your tails, they're much more fragile, especially a heron's wings."
"Sorry", Tlia muttered.
"Captain Nala, did you know?", one of the beorc soldiers asked while Maian and Tlia made their way back over to them, the cat girl still bouncing and grinning from ear to ear.
"Yes, I've known for a couple of years. But I wasn't the only one – the Prime Minister found out years before I did."
"Prime Minister Sephiran knows about you?", Tibarn asked Maian incredulously.
"Yes, he does. That was one reason he was so determined to make me a fine sage – he wanted me to be able to fend for myself."
"So, your galdr worked all right", Nala observed.
"Yes... it did. I am glad those two years I spent working on it were not a waste, but... I still feel uneasy about using it... even if I did just save everyone, I feel like I defiled something sacred..."
"Don't say that!", Reyson interjected.
Maian gave him a surprised look.
"All right, it's kind of strange to see someone use a galdr to kill, but you are not a heron, after all. And if you hadn't done that, we'd probably be all dead by now."
Maian nodded slightly, and Reyson noticed a sudden drop of energy within her. Maian's knees buckled.
Nala caught her.
"Hey! Are you passing out on me again?"
"My apologies... I have never used this galdr before, and the additional energy my fury gave me has evaporated..."
"It's all right. Just rest – I'll look after you."
Maian's head dropped against Nala's shoulder, and the dragon lifted her into her arms, careful as not to damage her wings.
"We should set up camp. I bet you have plenty of questions, but I won't answer them for her. Oh, and don't try anything funny, or I'll roast you alive."
They set up camp and lit a fire at its centre. Nala laid Maian face down onto a blanket, and covered her with another. Then, she sat down next to her lady and fixed them all with a glare.
"Stop staring at us like that already", Tibarn complained. "We're not going to kill her."
"I can't just take your word for that. I'll need her confirmation that you're no danger to her. Until I get it, I won't trust any of you."
"I would never harm her", Elincia protested. "She saved my life, after all. Besides, isn't it because of her mixed blood that she was able to help us so much?"
"That's right. The laguz blood makes hybrids much stronger than the average beorc or laguz. It doesn't necessarily have to be magic. But as it is, without the heron blood, she wouldn't be able to use any galdrar, read minds, sense emotions, or receive visions. And her magic wouldn't nearly be as powerful. In other words, all of you would be dead by now, had her parents not fallen in love."
Maian stirred slightly and slipped one hand under her head, turning onto her left side, so she was facing the fire.
"Watch her wings", Reyson warned. "She'd better not lay on them."
"Don't worry. If she turns too far, I'll just turn her back. I know how to look after her."
Maian started muttering something, then she slowly blinked her eyes open.
"How much time has passed?", she asked sleepily.
"About two hours", Nala replied.
Maian's eyes widened. "So much? Oh no... I made everyone wait..."
"Hey, don't you get too worked up about it. You saved us a lot of time with your brilliant performance on the battlefield, so we didn't lose that much time. Besides, our healers have been busy while you were sleeping – all the injured people are able to walk or fly again by now."
"I see."
Maian tried to turn over and noticed that her wings had got in the way. She turned her head to look at them.
"Oh, I forgot to put them in. What a bother…" Her wings vanished, and she rolled onto her back, gazing up at the sky. "So, I was able to save everyone... that makes me so happy..."
"She's weird", Tibarn muttered.
"I heard that!", Maian said, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Do not forget that I am half laguz. My senses are rather sharp."
Nala bent over her. "Do you think you can sit up?"
"I believe so, but I might need some support."
"Just leave that to me."
Nala helped Maian to sit up and propped her body up against her chest. It was really strange to see them like that, and Reyson could feel the strong bond between them.
"You really trust each other, don't you", he observed.
"Well, she saved my life", Nala replied. "Something like that usually creates trust. And she trusts me so much because she knows that I accept her the way she is, and that I would protect her, no matter what."
"I see." Reyson sat down next to them. "Well then, we have so many questions."
Maian smiled. "I expected as much."
"First, it was you who used the Galdr of Rebirth in Serenes Forest, right?"
"Indeed. I could not stand it – that my mother and the others had to rest in such a desolate place. But my powers were not strong enough to do much... As the years passed, I was able to gradually expand the healthy area. I visited my mother's grave often, to pray and bring her some flowers... this was the closest I could be to her."
"Her name was Sybille, right?"
"Yes... did you – did you happen to know her?", she asked, exuding a cautious hopefulness.
"I did, but not very well... you see, she was one of my mother's servants."
"I see... so I am the daughter of a Begnion senator and a servant..."
"If you like, I could tell you what I know about her", Reyson offered.
Maian smiled. "Yes, I would like that."
"And Prime Minister Sephiran knows about you?", Elincia asked.
"Yes, he found out the day I started working for the senate. You can probably imagine how I reacted when he told me he knew my secret... One of the first things my father ever taught me was that I had to hide my true nature from everyone, or I would endanger my own life. That is why I never married... had no friends... and did not even trust my guards. Sephiran was the first 'outsider' to know about me. I did not even tell Sanaki..."
"Would you tell us your story?", Tibarn asked.
"Very well... I believe I was born in Serenes Forest, or in that area. My mother, fearing the heron tribe's retribution, decided to give me into my father's care. She travelled all the way to Sienne on her own, unable to transform, carrying a basket... I can only imagine what an ordeal this must have been for her.
"My father took me in and accepted me as his right- and lawful daughter, which is the reason I was able to become a senator. I spent the first 29 years of my life more or less in seclusion, for my own safety. My father was – very protective of me, just like my sister. I was educated at home, and saw little of the outside world. I spent most of the time in my garden because staying indoors for too long made me sick... Soon after I met Sephiran, and we became friends, he offered to teach me. He also introduced me to Sanaki, and from that day on, we have been looking after her together. Being unable to have children of my own, I used her as a kind of substitute... I loved her as if she were my own daughter. I still do. The three of us started to work against the senators who were abusing their power.
"The shock caused by the Serenes Massacre almost killed me, and it broke my father's heart. He never fully recovered, he just continued to live for my sake. But eventually, he could no longer stand the pain... his broken heart killed him in the end."
Although her face betrayed no emotion, Reyson could tell just how much the loss still hurt her. As he couldn't access her thoughts – why had he never realised this was one of the skills his people had commonly used? – he could only wager a guess whether she was mourning both her parents. Though, given her disposition, it would greatly surprise Reyson if she didn't grieve for her mother, stranger she may have been.
Almedha, who had slowly edged closer to Maian during her tale, let out a small sound.
"Shortly after Sanaki's coronation, I started rescuing laguz slaves from the nobles' estates, with Sanaki's consent. That is how I met those who are now fighting for me. I had to stop doing this after a while because some people started to suspect me, but luckily, Tormod and his friends took over. When Ike and Princess Elincia came to Sienne, I suggested using their help to uncover what was going on about the slaves, and it worked. Tormod and Sanaki have been cooperating ever since.
"Apart from that, there is not much to tell. The recent events you know about."
"Well, that certainly is a long story", Reyson said. "And an interesting one."
"I can look back on almost 40 years now, after all."
"Is it the laguz blood that keeps you from ageing?", Tibarn asked.
"Yes. I was told that all of my kind age slowly, but with dragon-blooded and heron-blooded ones, it is much slower. I have not aged for 20 years... that is the only thing about myself that I do not totally approve of."
"Why not?", Ranulf asked. "I'm fine with not ageing."
Maian smiled wryly. "You see, I am a 40-year-old woman, trapped in the body of a 20-year-old. Unable to grow – unable to grow stronger. My body is frail, so I need others to look after me – to protect me. Sometimes – sometimes I curse this body – wishing I was stronger. But I know that will not do – we cannot change what we are."
"Senator, I have a question", Pelleas spoke up. "Can you feel it – I mean, do you know when someone's just like you?"
"Yes, we recognise each other the moment we meet. Why do you ask?"
"Well, this has been bothering me for a while now – you are not the only one here, are you? I don't mean just the Hawk Army – Soren is one, isn't he? A hybrid."
Maian looked taken aback. "What makes you believe that?"
"His magic is stronger than mine – just like yours. Besides, he told me that his mark wasn't Spirit Protection, so..."
"I cannot imagine why he told you that…", Maian whispered, her eyes wide. "We are usually rather determined not to let anyone find out about our true nature... But you are correct, Soren is a hybrid."
It took everyone a while to process the meaning of this.
"So... is that the reason why he's always so cold?", Reyson asked.
"Yes. You could call Soren my opposite... he hates all the people of Tellius, laguz and beorc alike, but he despises the Gallians most... You see, my story is an exception. Most mixed couples do not keep their children – they either die, or are raised by strangers... like Soren was. He told me his story... I shall not go into detail, but what he told me was terrible... The old woman who looked after him never cared for him in the slightest, nor did the sage who taught him magic. All little Soren knew was that he was not wanted, by no-one. Ike became his only friend because Ike was the first one who cared... that is why Soren is like that. People made him like that."
"I see...", Pelleas whispered. "I know what it's like... people often thought I was a br- a hybrid. I always had a hard time convincing them I wasn't... come to think of it – isn't Micaiah a hybrid as well? I saw her mark, too."
Maian shook her head in mock frustration. "Oh dear, young people nowadays are just too careless..."
"I take this as a confirmation."
"I believe that Lady Micaiah is heron-blooded, just like me, but she knows nothing of her parents. So, there is no way to prove it. As for Soren – well, my first guess would be that he is descended from the beast tribe, since he grew up in Gallia, but it doesn't feel quite right... he, too, never knew anything about his parents."
"And there I thought the relations between laguz and beorc were bad...", Tibarn muttered.
Maian grimaced, and moved to stand.
"Are you well enough to move on?", Reyson asked, rising as well.
"Yes, I believe I will be able to manage", Maian replied.
"Good", Tibarn said. "But, you know, that battle really did do me some good. I feel a lot more alive now. Everyone got that now? We need chaos."
Maian let out a tinkling laugh. "Of course. Did you not know that? We need a balance of order and chaos. Oh, but I have one more request to make."
"What is it?"
"Could anyone find me a slab of rock? I am sure the senate is going to investigate this – I wish to leave them a message."
Tibarn grinned. "I kinda like your idea. Shouldn't take too long, either."
Reyson dug into his pouch, searching for the Sending Stone.
"May I tell the others about you?", he asked Maian.
She shrugged. "Do as you please. I very much doubt I could stop this news from spreading. But – please say nothing about Soren and Micaiah. I do not know how the others might react to that, and I would not want Sothe nor Ike to have to take on an entire army to protect them."
"I understand."
A/N:
I never quite understood why people didn't figure out that Pelleas wasn't Ashnard's son. While Pelleas himself does realise this, and has this conversation with Almedha in the game, although without telling her, I think, not even Micaiah – who knows he is a Spirit Charmer because he told her – thinks it weird that he supposedly has a laguz mother. Ike should also be able to piece it together with the information Kurth gave him, though he was preoccupied with other things in his last PoV. And anyone else who is sensitive to these things should be able to tell something isn't quite right here.
So, I had Nala bring it up to Maian, who had already picked up on this discrepancy, and they confirmed each other's suspicions. Maian originally didn't feel the need to act on this information, but decided to do it to get Almedha to stop smothering Pelleas (and hamper their progress in the process).
Originally, the scene between her, Pelleas and Almedha ended after Maian told them to pick up the pace, but then I figured that Almedha just had her life turned upside-down, and should have to work through that, and that Maian, who just told her all that despite knowing it would hurt her, isn't callous enough to just let her struggle with that on her own. Maian didn't do it out of malice, but perceived necessity. Cutting the bond between Pelleas and Almedha forced Almedha to shift her focus.