Reign of Phyre

by Nicholas Cooper

  “They did?” he scoffed, “Ha, amazing. That’s the Karzarki twist on it, is it? The war-obsessed priests of The Sin, innocently minding their own business when the ground beneath them shook and they found themselves at war.”

  “They could have been dirt worshippers and the result would have been the same. They shouldn’t have raided our capital.”

  Kiern laughed. “And exactly how and why would they do that?”

  “By infiltrating into the ranks of the Khasari and launching a surprise attack on the Khasari’s own headquarters in an attempt to steal Karzark’s own Caranaum.”

  “Karzark lies, just like you did when you told the Commander you don’t know what a Caranaum is. Just listen to yourself.”

  “Some of them escaped, with one of our Caranaum,” said Rhen, choosing to ignore Kiern’s last point and refrain from elaborating on what he knew about Euphyrian designs regarding Caranaum.

  Kiern rolled his eyes. “So that’s how a realm of heretics justifies a war that destroys a nation, kills countless innocents, and subjugates all those that survived, denying them their right to uphold their traditions, their values?”

  Rhen didn’t have an answer. Not one he wanted to share. Somehow, telling Kiern that Karzarki soldiers are forbidden from harming non-combatants wasn’t going to appease his anger. And right or wrong, he didn’t want to spend a night alone as a captive in a room with a zealot.

  “Yes, how convenient for Karzark, that Euphyria simply strolled in and took an artefact, a Caranaum. How easy their journey must have been, to cross the Desari, and procure a boat to cross the Strait, all undetected. Ah, and then head all the way back to Euphyria, after the guards were alerted.”

  “Bu-”

  “No, my Karzarki friend, no buts. Instead, here are two scenarios. Which do you think is more likely? One, that Karzark made the entire raid up, and used it as a pretext for an invasion – which, given Karzark’s degenerate belief in The Sin, is entirely plausible. Or two, somehow Euparyen managed to cross the Desari, travel through from the eastern border of Karzark, all the way to the western reaches. This is of course, as you know, a journey of months. And all the while they remain undetected by all your proud Khasari. Then, they cross the Strait in a ship that they must have somehow obtained without raising any suspicion, reach port, manage to get through customs, break into the Khasari headquarters with the assistance of the men that must have been in Karzark for years to work their way up the Khasari ranks to be on guard in there, steal the damn Caranaum, flee once the guards were alerted, and still manage to complete their journey back off your damned, blighted island, back through the desert, and home to Euparyen. Euparyen truly must have been a force to be reckoned with. Tell me Rhen, though Karzark piled corrupted nonsense into your head, I still think you’ve got some wits about you. Which do you think is more likely, honestly?”

  Rhen sat there, silent, his face burning with Kiern’s glare.

  “I thought so.”

  -------------------------------------

  Yelia regretted giving her Younger children toys to play with. Committing the gravest of sins against their Brothers, she divided them unto the four corners of The Gift. She left them alone, leaving them with an eternity to contemplate what they had done. If they felt worthy of overthrowing their brothers, then they would need to learn what being a big brother meant. They would need to rise up and take control of the lesser nations and justly rule and care for their subjects, as an elder brother would his younger siblings. They would need to fill the hole left in Yelia’s heart.

  Razyc es Masten, The Sin

  The Tyrellian

  “Maleca ten Yelu uona,” she said, as her axe found itself wedged between the neck and shoulder of the last of the Seekers. He didn’t even scream. Strong to the last, but it made no difference. A dead man is dead. Still, he was a warrior – he had taken down two of their own, and she had shown her respect by giving the words.

  She wiped her axe clean with his garments. The clouds formed a suffocating blanket over the moon and stars. Rain would soon come.

  “Nartenis, what do we do with them?”

  “Leave them,” the Nartenis said.

  How dishonourable. How unkind.

  -------------------------------------

  And so Yelia wept. So did she weep a great engulfing flood, her pain an upheaval on the blighted land, forever separating the younger children; that they may grow as strangers. Some say Yelia’s tears turned to raging tides to drown her children. Others say her tears were to wash away the sin of the Youngers. The brothers would never know for sure, for they were cast from her loving embrace.

  Nalacata of Yulesa, End of an Era

  Kiern

  The bird outside his window told Kiern that it was his turn on watch. He opened the window slightly and let out a call of his own to let Derilen know he heard. This particular call belonged to the Bjarni, a small, blue bird which called only the icy north-east region of Yalea home. He turned to make sure Rhen was still sleeping before he made his way outside. He considered Rhen bright enough to not try making a run for it. Not in this town where his face was known to be a Karzarki prisoner. Still, best to make sure he was sleeping sound before leaving.

  The weather was getting colder; partly because winter was slowly expanding its stranglehold over Cerenea, and partly because they were heading further north. The snow must have encompassed most of Yalea by now. Rin Kas’ winter would have well and truly begun. Fortunately, this winter didn’t seem like it would be colder than last. Last winter, the Arlas froze over, and that really caused some suffering. The dwindling number of merchants had to travel by land, which meant a longer route to the capital, with treacherous terrain as well. This winter, the Arlas would remain open to trade.

  But enough of home. Right now, he was feeling the creeping cold in Euparyen. At least it would be a bit warmer once dawn came and they started moving.

  There was rain in the distance. It was heading this way as he watched the clouds rolling over, but Kiern wasn’t going to be drenched one way or another. He took a step back under the balcony.

  Those damned, Sin-cursed Karzarkis. Rhen was a smart man, and Kiern knew there was more to him than he let on. No one travels alone for months without some wit about them. Yet how could he be so blind? His background was in trade, not military service, so why couldn’t see through the farce that the Karzarki rulers had propagated? He’d seen enough of the world to know better.

  Even though the Euparyens had strayed from the true path of The Wrath, they still followed its guiding principles. They were brethren to Yalea, and they wouldn’t have launched such a daring raid deep in Karzark territory without Yalea knowing. Even if they wanted to, it was a logistical impossibility. There’d have been songs written from one end of Euparyen to the other. Even if he’d wished it were true it wouldn’t make it so.

  Dawn broke, and the first rays of the sun were welcomed by Kiern’s cold body. He’d have been shivering if not for the training he received in the Elsgard.

  “Kiern,” came Bairn’s voice from behind, startling him, “Come inside. The Commander’s called a meeting.”

  Good thing he had last watch, for if he was sleeping, he’d have been quite annoyed having to wake up so early. He made his way upstairs to find himself looking at Rhen with his hands bound, kneeling before Commander Reisch. Rhen had done something stupid after all. And he was Kiern’s charge. The bloody Karzarki had gotten him in trouble again.

  “Commander Reisch, what has he done this time?”

  Reisch took out the letter from his pocket and passed it to Kiern. “Read it.”

  Kiern took the letter out from its envelope and began to read.

  Though this letter is bound for Mhir, I do not expect it to reach that far, and it is my only hope that it is intercepted by one of Karzark. I am in desperate need of aid. I am currently held captive by a band of Yaleans who have infiltrated the Euphyrian Territories and are using me to help find valuable
treasure to fund the rebels. I have no doubt that as soon as I am no longer of use, they will not think twice about killing me. We are currently staying at Bridgetown, soon to leave for Verni, before Rulven. I beg of you, my brothers and sisters of Karzark. Find me. Save me. I am of a noble house, you will be rewarded.

  Rhenias Tallesen

  Kiern folded the letter back into the envelope. “Where did he try to hide this?”

  “A while after you went on watch, he left his room and tried to slip the envelope under another patron’s door. My guess is he knew they were the merchants from the innkeeper, and he was hoping to get his letter out that way,” said Bairn.

  Clever, but not clever enough. “There will be another. Check around the inn. I’ll check our room,” said Kiern, hoping to regain some lost dignity.

  Rhen did a poor job of concealing his surprise. He was an easy read.

  Kiern entered their room and scoured the room for another letter. If he was to leave one letter here in Rhasten, there would be no point leaving two. The odds of leaving one for a Karzarki patron were slim, and if discovered by a Euparyen, the Sons would be after him in no time. No, if he wrote two, he would take one with him further down the road before passing it off when an opportunity presented itself. In Verni or Rulven.

  Of course, that would mean Rhen’s satchel. He tipped out the contents of the satchel. No letter. Maybe he had only written one. Maybe he wasn’t as smart as Kiern had thought, which meant that when he came back with nothing, Rhen had taken him down to his level. That surprised face was perhaps too exaggerated after all.

  He was giving up hope when he noticed a small cut in the leather near the bottom. He turned the satchel inside out and felt around in the newly-crafted sleeve. And there it was, a second letter. The same content and the same, messy, handwriting. It was too messy, too childlike – simply not good enough for a merchant’s son. Kiern considered this. Besides, he had seen Rhen’s writing on the map that he had carried with him. It wasn’t nearly as poorly written. He took the letter went to the Commander’s room. He found the map rolled up next to Reisch’s own. He unfurled it on the table and glanced over it. He was right. The writing was much neater. Why did he write the letter with his left hand? He left the room and found Reisch, passing the letter over. Reisch seemed pleased.

  “In his satchel, likely to pass it off to someone sympathetic to the Karzarki cause in Rulven, if not before.”

  Reisch put the letter in his sleeve. “Take him outside. The other patrons will not want to wake up to this.”

  Bairn and Derilen grabbed Rhen under his arms and dragged him outside. Karrik followed them outside. Rhen began his protest by flailing about, desperately pleading, and asking what they were going to do with him.

  Kiern expected some sort of praise when only the two of them remained, but Commander Reisch quietly said, “You know I don’t enjoy doing this. I promised him he would be free once we reach the Dawn Shield. He is your charge because I believed you to be the most adept at befriending him, so he could come to trust us and cooperate.”

  “I did not know, sir.”

  “He is his own master. However, this would not have been necessary had you sooner understood why I gave you custody of him. You will not blame me for this.”

  Kiern felt the pride from uncovering Rhen’s plot moments ago all but decay into an overbearing sense of failure. “Understood, Commander.” He hadn’t felt too sympathetic for the misguided Rhen, but now that he knew he had failed Commander Reisch in making no attempt to befriend him, he started to dread the punishment that awaited Rhen.

  “Is there anything else you found before justice is dealt?”

  Kiern thought about it. If he wanted to prove himself that he was up to the task, then he would not mention the handwriting. Reisch could already know about it and be testing him, after all. “No, only that he is craftier than I thought.”

  “Then let us do what must be done and put it behind us.”

  Kiern tried to hold his head high as he walked behind Reisch to the large tree just outside of town, where the others had gathered. If he hadn’t found that letter, they might end up in trouble further down the road. Still, it was not a good feeling seeing the Commander grab the rope that bound Rhen’s hands and lift them up onto the tree stump that lay before Rhen. Everyone in the Elsgard knew this was because Kiern had failed his task. He was the only one who hadn’t known.

  Commander Reisch took off Rhen’s gloves. Kiern leaned in to inspect them. “Ink on his hand,” he said, grabbing Rhen’s left hand, relieved to find evidence, “Sir, he is left-handed.”

  “Very well. Make it his left hand.”

  Bairn and Karrik grabbed Rhen by the wrist, pinning his hand on the stump.

  Reisch continued, “Rhenias Tallesen, I promised you that once you took us to the Dawn Shield, you would be a free man, and no harm would come to you. Yet you still sought to betray us, adamant that your life was in danger because we would renegade on our promise. This was in spite of me giving you my word. Your letter is not your crime; it is your lack of faith in us. If we are to continue on our journey together, this behaviour must cease.”

  Rhen was beside himself in fear. His face seemed to know what was to come, and this was all Kiern’s fault. Why was I so cold, why didn’t I win his trust earlier?

  “It is my hope that after today you will come to trust us, to realise we are in fact not your enemy. What’s done is done, but I hope we can earn a little bit of trust from today. Derilen, show him.”

  Rhen’s eyed turned to Derilen, who dragged a body out from behind the bushes. It was the one-eyed man from the inn yesterday. His throat had been sliced. “This man came for you during the night. He intended to kill you while you slept. The man clearly held a grudge against Karzark. Rightly so, even. Nevertheless, it was Karrik who heard him creep up the stairs and attempt to open your door.”

  Rhen’s face had lost its colour. “If I, if I died, you’d never find the Dawn Shield. You can’t prove you acted out of benevolence and not - and not to further your own end. That isn’t proof I can trust you!”

  The Commander looked down with dismay. “You are right. I cannot prove that it was anything more than preserving the life necessary for us to complete our mission. Yet, I had hoped that it was a small step in building trust between us. Ah well, to the matter at… hand.”

  Kiern did his best to keep his new-found guilt from emerging as a scream of protest, but it would fall on deaf ears. He did not have the courage to look. He only heard Reisch ask Bairn to pass the axe, and then, the words he was dreading to hear, “Kiern, you do it.”

  No, no, no. This was all his fault. How could he befriend Rhen after this? How do you reconcile with someone after you… Commander Reisch intended for this to be a permanent reminder of his failure. He would never be able to be his successor now.

  “Sir?”

  “You must accept your part in this. You will deal the blow. And Rhen, if this were Yalea, this would be the blade, not the flat side. Understand we take no joy in this.”

  Rhen turned to Kiern with pleading eyes. “Please, please I am sorry, don’t do this. I will never write for help again, I’ll do whatever you say, I’ll cause no more problems.”

  Kiern did his best to hide his feelings. He rarely had to deal with pleading. He tried to keep a stern face, but he couldn’t.

  “I’m sorry, Rhen.” Kiern swung the axe down with all his might, knowing full well if he didn’t, the second blow would come from the Commander himself.

  The sound of Rhen’s hand shattering pulsated through his ears long after the deed was done. The screaming was a sort of relief to drown out the sickening crunch of bones that had come only a moment before, yet he knew would linger on in his mind. As Kiern dropped the axe, he grabbed a piece of fabric and shoved it in Rhen’s mouth to muffle out the screaming. He knelt over to Rhen and said in a quivering voice, “I am sorry, and I hope one day you will forgive me. The best I could do was make it your lef
t hand.”

  Kiern stood up, and as he walked away, he saw Reisch smile approvingly, with ink on his hand. Did he…

  “Don’t worry,” said the Commander, “You didn’t misjudge. I just wanted to make sure you are the right person for looking after him. With handwriting like that, Yelia knows he needs someone to.”

  Good thing he had two people looking over him then, he thought.

  -------------------------------------

  However, Yalea was not alone in feeling remorse, for Euphyria too felt pained by his actions. Euphyria also believed in The Wrath and chose to walk the path of atonement; that he may feel the embrace of Yelia once more. Like his brother in the north, Euphyria sought to reconnect with his mother through penitence. He swore never to strike his brothers, and to mediate any quarrel amongst them, to show Yelia that he had learnt from his great Sin.

  Virel Bartel – The Elders

  The Euphyrian

  The sound of gulls was the alarm that woke the city up to a new day. Every day, the gulls would start as soon as the sun came up, screaming at each other as though this giant ball of fire was going to hurtle towards them and obliterate them. Every, single day. Lately, it didn’t really matter. His shift would begin in an hour’s time, so it gave him enough time to get dressed and eat breakfast. His men had to see him up and ready before anyone else, as any good captain should. He donned his father’s armour and headed to today’s battle.

  “Captain Tullis, the Legatus would like to go over today’s plans with you at his camp.”

  “Thank you, Jarren. Tell my men to wait at the gate.”

  So Jarren was up before him, the sod. He worked until late, so how was it that he had beaten the gulls and risen four times this week before him? He’d have to try extra hard next week to win this competition that only he knew about.